The Game of Entrepreneurship Continues...

Dealing with each issue, it's completion items, time lines etc. may seem a lot of work but even more important is simply looking at each issue as an opportunity. Looking at a problem, which I prefer to call a challenge, from every vantage point is helpful. I look to the solution first and then try to figure out the quickest and most effective way to reach it. Often, by just examining the problem with "fresh eyes," a solution is triggered that you may never have thought of before.

One thing that over three decades of entrepreneurship has taught this old warrior is that everything has its own time line to get done. You may wish things would happen at your own schedule but more often than not, that's just whistling Dixie. One cannot get all bent out of shape if a potential deal doesn't fall into place exactly as one had planned. You cannot force an investor or would-be partner to cough up the cash at your terms and scheduling...that's just not how it works. Your best laid plans simply might not meet the time line of others' responses and guess what(?), you have to learn to roll with the punches.

I am a big advocate of back up plans and back up plans to those. In business, often things simply do not work out the way you had hoped and planned. Business plans and projections are a joke, really nothing more than an exercise to show you've done your homework and are worthy of receiving an investment or a loan to launch your business. You really do need to have those magical "contingency" plans built into whatever you are planning to do.

As I'm sitting in the cool living room of my town home, away from the scorcher outside, I'm reflecting on the fact that while things may be a bit unclear as to the multiple paths laid before me....I am still so blessed to actually have those choices in the first place. I have options - many of them - and if one or more simply don't pan out, there will be many more that seem to evolve with each passing day. By putting yourself in the paths of other entrepreneurs and learning to read the signs of opportunity, each and every one of us has a plethora of vibrant possibilities. One must simply be alert to the possibilities.

Now, you can't just wish something bad away but looking at it from a different perspective and with "fresh eyes" again, is it really that bad? Is a deal that doesn't go down as planned or an expected payment that is delayed going to derail everything you've ever worked for? Of course not. Get over it and see the endless other possibilities that will make themselves evident if you only care to look.

So my friends, from the perspective of this battle-scarred entrepreneur...look at your challenges from multiple angles, try to have Plans A, B and C lined up in case your plans are changed unexpectedly and treat the world of business for what it really is...simply a game. The rules may change midstream. The prize may be snatched away from you or given to someone else. But remember this...as long as you can pick yourself up off the floor and shake off the hurt and frustration, there will be yet another game to play and this time...you just may take home the prize. You've already won anyway, just being given the chance to play. In the end, it's all about the journey anyway...

Best to all,

Peter J. Burns, III