Season 2 Episode 2 – “Entrepreneur – Extreme Highs and Lows”

EXTREME HIGHS, EXTREME LOWS

Hi everyone, and welcome to another inspirational episode of ThoughtLeadership.biz. I’m Chris Machut and in today’s episode we’re gonna be talking about the highs and lows of entrepreneurship. 

Because, believe me, there are both. . . 

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People often say they like surprises.

But that’s not really true. . .

For example, taking a leisurely stroll in the park one sunny morning but then being shot in the ass with an arrow would be a surprise. But it wouldn’t be a nice one — especially when you found out that tied to it was a nasty letter from your wife’s divorce lawyer. . .

So, if you’re seriously contemplating embarking on the path of the entrepreneur, then you must be warned: it really isn’t a walk in the park.

There are potentially deadly arrows flying about all over the place, ready to strike you down and leave you lying on the floor writhing in agony and wallowing in self-pity.  It’s also extremely lonely at the top – and I don’t mean the “top of your game”. I mean at the top of the leadership tree.

That said, there are also some stunning views from up there, too. Views that’ll make you glad you took the chance to walk the entrepreneurial gauntlet in the first place.

So, the question I’m asking today is:

 How do we get to the top of the entrepreneurial tree and enjoy it while we’re up there?

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 But before we do that, I’d better remind you to check out all my latest podcasts and articles over at ThoughtLeadership.biz. You can also see me on YouTube, listen via Spotify and Anchor.fm, or get on over to my Apple and Google Podcasts. I’m also active on Twitter and LinkedIn, where you can subscribe for notifications!

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Okay, so let’s start with Number 1:

• Get comfortable with discomfort. 

Top entrepreneurs don’t shy away from getting out of their comfort zone – they relish it. They understand that achieving something in a new area, market or discipline, especially when it’s achieving something that others have failed in, is one of the greatest highs of all.

They understand that comfort often breeds complacency – and there’s no room for complacency at the top of the tree.

Number 2:

• Get connected and get ahead.

Networking is key. Harness the power of LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and other platforms to spread the word and reach out to investors, potential customers, advisors and other who can make a difference.

However, simply using these platforms to get yourself ‘out there’ is something very different to harnessing their true potential – and those who do so do better. In 2022, competition is fiercer than ever and the mechanisms for ranking high and maintaining visibility and influence online are only getting more complex.

So, consider hiring specialists to help supercharge your networking and marketing strategies so that you make maximum impact online.

Number 3:

• Pick your team well.

As I’ve said, it can be lonely at the top. So, if you really want to make it work, make sure that your team works first.

You’ll need support and so will they. You’ll make mistakes and so will they. And at the end of the day, the effectiveness of the team is often what makes or breaks a company.

So, try to find people who feel as passionately (or almost as passionately!) about your business as you do. When you’ve done so, do your very best to keep them. Listen to them, nurture them and make sure that they know that you trust in them, so that they can trust in you.

Fourth is:

• Be consistent.

We’ve all heard it before: Consistency is key. And it is. Period.

It’s impossible to be an effective leader and established entrepreneur if you aren’t consistent because there’s simply too much competition. If you don’t provide what the customer needs, someone else will, guaranteed.

Lastly:

• Have fun!

Sure, starting up and then leading your own business is going to be stressful; no-one’s pretending it won’t be. There’ll be some very high highs, and some very low lows. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to be having fun – maybe not all the time, but at least some of it.

After all, if you’re not having fun, what’s the point?

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Most of us get into this game because it’s our passion. But sometimes, somewhere along the way, we lose that spark of life that created the motivation to do it all in the first place.

One sure-fire way to lose that spark and stop having fun is by isolating yourself and trying to go it alone. . .

Serious entrepreneurship isn’t only a very lonely ship to sail; it’s also a very difficult one. Before you realize it, you’ve cast yourself adrift on a vast ocean, the depths of which you have no way to measure and the direction in which you’re actually headed, uncertain. And the seas are often stormy. . .

So, you need the support. Support from your colleagues, friends and family.

But it’s also helpful to have support from other entrepreneurs. And that’s the main reason I started Thoughtleadership.biz in the first place.

So let’s make the most of it and help each other navigate the wily waters of 21st Century business together.

Because, [feign becoming emotional – because it’s getting a little cheesy] “we’re stronger with each other”. . .

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Alright, alright: Before I burst into tears like a big fat, bearded blubbering baby let’s wrap it up.

We all have our own motivations for starting a business. Some want freedom, some want potential fame, some want to change the world. And most of us ARE achieving our dreams – on well on the way to doing so.

When we work by doing what we love, it makes the endless hours in the office or staring at screens worth it. Each day seems like a new opportunity to make a difference and move things forward towards achieving our goals and realizing whatever dream it is that we have. It makes the lows just about bearable and the highs – well, they make you kinda high right?

But we’ve gotta watch our backs. Not just because of the competition, but because we’re sometimes in danger of steaming ahead solo and isolating ourselves. If we do that, the lows will feel even lower, and the huge highs will feel, well, flat. . .

Success always feel better when we celebrate it with others – especially when those others have had a hand in making the magic happen, too.

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This is Chris Machut.

See you next time – and keep talking out there!