I love this image. And I wonder where I am right now. How much am I stretching myself outside my comfort zone? Is it enough to get to “where the magic happens”? Am I leaning in the right direction?
Gosh! Do I really need to go beyond my comfort zone?
Tough questions, precisely because I am out of my comfort zone, not quite at ease. I literally dream sometimes to get back in the comfort zone (having a simple, cosy job as an employee in a large corporation, no more worries about marketing and end-of-the-month cash?).
In that general context of uneasiness how can I know whether I am moving in the right direction to encounter magic? How will I recognize magic? That’s a tough question!
Actually, magic is easy to recognize: it is when what you do resonates with people, when you get conversations started because people are interested, when people ask to meet you to discuss what you are doing.
Once you meet the magic, the energy you get from these encounters and these conversations makes you lean even more outside your comfort zone, and necessarily in the right direction.
So, do people resonate with what you do? If not, continue to seek by experimenting. If yes, then lean further in that direction.
Before I really started to build my own company I read all this motivational literature about “thinking big”, and I thought it was a bit borderline BS…
It is not that I did not know about ambition or wanting (dreaming) to build big things, but I did not really understand what was meant.
Then I happened to read some books by Michael Port as I started my company and I found he really insisted on this concept. True enough when I looked at it with the eyes of an entrepreneur I understood that he meant looking at one’s creation taking into account from the onset, what shape it should have when it is big. Not limiting oneself by thinking ‘it’s just a one-man show operation at the moment and it should feel, smell and look like it, we’ll see later’.
So I worked on my vision for my company, on my niche, how I would like to grow it internationally with small consulting offices in many countries offering high-level advice. And even if it is a one-man show at the moment (and soon a two-men show) I have already taken into account this future growth in the way I organize things. My new partner’s external job title is ‘Manager South-East Asia’. Not that he’ll manage a lot yet. But because I am following my “think big” idea.
think big
The most amazing thing is by behaving as the head of a large consulting company, by having a “think big” approach to our website, documentation and intellectual property, people and clients do react as if we were really already a large, established company! And it just snowballs. We’re just a little kitten and they see the shape of the lion.
The way you believe in your dream shapes the way you behave and ultimately, how people react to it.
Following a previous blog post about the patience conundrum here are some nice quotes about patience I want to share with you – and how I modified one to create a personal motto.
“Have patience with all things. But, first of all with yourself” – Saint Francis de Sales
“If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it would not seem so wonderful at all” – Michelangelo
“Seek patience and passion in equal amounts. Patience alone will not build the temple. Passion alone will destroy its walls“- Maya Angelou
“The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones” – Chinese Proverb
Segovia Aqueduct, one of the most elegant stone structures
I’d like to modify the last one. Watching inspiring structures that have been built and are there for us all to enjoy, like the incredibly elegant aqueduct of Segovia built by the Romans two millennia ago, which still inspires awe and admiration, I have created my motto regarding patience:
“The man who build an enduring monument for all to enjoy begins by carrying small stones”
One of the most difficult emotional issues I am encountering as a new entrepreneur is the issue of patience. It is also at the heart of a deep contradiction everyday: we need to act today with urgency to plant the seed for tomorrow; yet, we need to be patient to reap the harvest when it will come.
It is necessary to be patient when it comes to building the company’s infrastructure and products, as it will take time; when one waits for prospects to respond to proposals. It is important not to look overly hurried and in need when it comes to negotiating contracts.
Yet it is also important to be pushy and in a hurry when it comes to produce the company’s infrastructure, develop products and tools that will be the basis of the company’s future success, or when it comes to respond to inquiries from potential future clients.
How patient are you?
There is a significant contradiction here, that we need to be managed on a daily basis. Ultimately, success will not happen by itself. It is important to be moved by a feeling of urgency, do things, try things, fail, and start again. And, at the same time, we need to be patient so as to let the world time to adapt to the change we are introducing.
How long do we have to wait? How long is too long, and we need to move on? With how much urgency do we need to act today for a possible, uncertain future result? These are all questions that we encounter on a daily basis. These are questions that are even more present when we start a large project, like a company.
There is only one solution. Passion. Because only passion will give us the energy to devote large amounts of time today on things that might or not give rise to results tomorrow. Because we know that whatever happens we will have enjoyed ourselves on the way, and what we will have learnt will be useful some day.
What prevents you from spending more time on what you enjoy doing?
Of course, the fear of failure is part of it. Fear of failure as a social fear (that other see that we fail) and a personal one (an ego wrangling risk).
Still, this sentence also adds the idea of purpose, of our final goal. If we believe, if we know we can’t fail to reach our purpose or whatever it is we wish in our lives then maybe we won’t be afraid of the obstacles between us and our purpose. Even if these obstacles seem daunting at first.
And it leads naturally us to that fundamental question: can we really fail? What does failure really mean? Many successful people have gone through moments and situations of utter failure from a social or personal point of view and still managed somehow to overcome them and become successful.
Is it possible to have a no-failure mindset? That whatever experience happens, however difficult and cruel, can be seen positively?
I believe that it is possible. That we can always chose to decide to respond in a constructive manner. And move on.
Once in a while I see an interesting idea for entrepreneurs and I note it down – I sometimes lose its origin though. Here are some words of wisdom for the would-be entrepreneur. Funny enough they could also apply to all of us individually.
cash issues!
“Profit in a business is like gas in a car. You don’t want to run out of gas, but neither do you want to think that your road trip is a tour of gas stations” – Tim O’Reilly in a post about Steve Jobs, ‘A focus on things that matter most‘. In the same post there is an quote from Steve Jobs: “My passion has been to build an enduring company where people were motivated to make great products, the products, not the profits, were the motivation“. The lesson is that if you want to build a great companies, focus on the clients and the products first. Profit will come, as a consequence.
A useful piece of advice about cash flow management: Cash flow is like the depth of water below the keel of your ship. You don’t care if it’s more than what you need to move forward. It can be 100m or 2,000m and it makes no difference. But make sure you have enough to never run aground!
A fantastic concept from the last Jim Collins’s book, Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All: “shoot bullets before you shoot cannonballs“, or in clearer terms, don’t commit large amounts of resources to a new project before you’ve tested it at small scale. The small scale experiments – the bullets – will give feedback and will allow to decide whether and where to shoot a cannonball that will commit lots of resources from the company. Do a lot of small scale experiments and shoot cannonballs rarely on those opportunities that are proven.
In my case I have observed how the lizard was powerful, creating moments of very intense anxiety even if my situation moving forward was pretty secure seen from an external, rational viewpoint. Leaving habits, a sense of institutional security, a life I got used to manage quite easily, is a lot to bear for the lizard who seeks to protect us constantly.
Once I had taken the decision, I was pretty hasty in throwing in my resignation from my corporate job, a bit too hasty for some people. Yet it was necessary for me. After having put in my letter, I was on bridge to my new life. And U-turn was not possible, at least just now. It might still be somewhere along the way when I’ll have ventured on the the other side for some time, but for now I could just go onward, straight to the other side.
Sometimes it is necessary to make sure we can’t U-turn for some time. For the sake of overcoming the lizard. Plan for it if you intend to change significantly your life.
In the last 3 months as I worked to prepare my company’s launch and my jump into the unknown of entrepreneurship, here are some useful learning points I wanted to share with you, or how I have started to look at myself differently:
building one's image
You learn a lot about yourself. After I resigned from my employment, there was no turning back – I needed to go for it. I found out it is more an internal struggle than an external one. A lot of things boil down to self-limiting beliefs. When you overcome them you find that the world is quite keen to hear about you and your project. So why hesitate?
People crave to jump into entrepreneurship: more than 80% of the people I talked to in my former company, after I resigned, expressed support and added something like: ‘I’d love to do this. It has been my dream forever’. And often, they actually provided support and contacts. So, what prevents you really from doing it?
Our mindset is very much geared towards security, and this impedes people to take action. Those people also added: ‘You have some balls!’. In effect, is it more secure to stay as an employee nowadays? I am not sure!
I went through some high anxiousness moments myself. They were not entirely rational for sure, because the short term future is assured by a contract that I managed to get, but the lizard repeats in your ear again and again, and louder if something happens like a rejection: ‘that will never work!’. Leaving employment to create your own company can be sometimes an uphill battle!
It is very important to benefit from the support of family and friends. In particular in these tough moments of doubts, or to find advice and resources. Support and excellent advice often come from unexpected places!
It is exciting to meet new interesting people and think in terms of what opportunities could be developed. As I try to grow my network I am meeting lots of interesting people and I attend great seminars, speeches etc. OK, I could have done that when I was employed but it gives an incentive to have to do it for your marketing! And that’s a side which I really like being an entrepreneur. I am also free to go to many new events, it’s just a choice by me how I want to spend my time, within certain reasonable bounds.
Take advantage of the cheap resources like books and blogs to know what to do and what not to do. Thanks to the Fourth Revolution, there are many resources available for close to free! As my development area at this moment is mainly in marketing, I read lots of books, in particular, ‘Book Yourself Solid‘ by Michael Port, ‘Duct Tape Marketing‘ by John Jantsch, and ‘Built to Sell‘ by John Warrillow ; I follow also many blogs or receive newsletters among which Michael Port’s, Pamela Slim’s Escape from Cubicle Nation blog and Tim Berry’s blog.
Just try and if it fails, you’ll have a direction for improvement. It is much better – faster and more secure – than thinking too long to develop the perfect thing, that might not appeal to anybody! Instead of going to a professional for branding, I have decided to give it a try. I’ll only pay a professional-looking website and branding materials when I’ll be very crystal clear about my niche and will have feedback from clients on the products. My first try at the company’s visual identity was not professional enough, and the feedback from prospective clients and esteemed relations hurt a lot. But it gave the incentive to go for a second try which is much better. In the meantime I had plowed my way through Michael Port’s workbook, had had some discussions with prospective clients and was much clearer about the identity and the tagline for the company, so the second version of the branding look is much more to the point, and much more focused.
Focus your niche as much as possible. I did not really believe in this widespread advice first, but it is very true, and it works. It helps you define your identity, gives a clear edge for all the resources and tools you develop, and helps you define very clearly what you intend to do. I have already met other entrepreneurs struggling with a too wide range of ambitions. Focus on a small niche first, it does not impede you to take other jobs, and you can grow later. In my case I started from general project management consulting, and now my tagline is “We Empower Organizations to be Reliably Successful in Executing Large, Complex Projects”. Much more focused isn’t it? Focus, Focus, Focus.
Professional associations are desperate for speakers, a good opportunity to get yourself known. It is relatively easy to get a slot to talk locally, and it is a good starting point for your marketing
In summary, I’ve learnt a lot already in these 3 months, mostly on myself. I feel like I am going on a steep learning curve and that’s what I like most. Stay tuned as I will continue to share with you my insights on my transformation into a Knowledge Exchanging Enhancing Networker!
What is cheaper? What is better? Going through an academic program to learn how to lead a company or just… do it yourself? Turns out, going out in an entrepreneurial project is less expensive and brings higher value!
I just received an advertisement for an exciting program at Tuck executive education center at Darmouth.
Tuck college
It is a nice color booklet including a lot of testimonies from high-ranking Vice-Presidents of large companies. The programs also features some well-known speakers.
Price tag for 3-weeks seminar? 33,000 USD including accommodation; include travel and some costs on top and it comes to a nice 36,000USD or so.
Thing is – that’s quite cheap! Want to go for INSEAD executive MBA? That’s even more hefty – quite more than 100,000 USD!
Companies around the world seem to be sponsoring these programs by registering their promising employees – it is also for them a way to retain them, of course. Isn’t it also a way to keep them in the Industrial Age?
Now let’s look at it in another way. Wouldn’t it be better to give these 100,000 USD to the person and tell them that they have 1-2 years to create a startup and learn by themselves, hands-on, what they need to learn about themselves and building a great company?
When I did my financial projections for my start-up service company, I figured out what my financial risk was, compared to staying in my cozy employed status. I am still relatively young, and I believe the entrepreneurial experience can only increase my visibility, my network and my employability; thus I suppose that I can find a job easily if I decide so. This taken into account, I will earn less, at the start, than being employed; and I have had to commit some funds as start-up capital. So I calculated that my exposure over 2 years (the time I give myself to decide whether that will work for me or not) was 50,000 – 100,000 USD, maybe worst case 130,000 USD – in relative terms, compared to a situation where I stayed employed and I save some money.
So, for the same kind of investment – and it is not money out of my pocket, but the possibility that I might get a bit less money than if I stayed in my executive career – I get a fantastic hands-on education. It is also a similar type of time-investment as most executives MBAs are one year full-time or two years part-time.
And there is a bonus too… if my entrepreneurial venture works, the sky is the limit: not only do I get the education and the experience, much more fun on a daily basis, I might also get a positive return in the form of a great value creation for my clients, myself and my company!
So, my conclusion was simple: dump the academic executive education. Go instead in the real world and figure out how to create and run a company from scratch. For the same price you’ll learn more about yourself, about leading, marketing, selling, networking, than in any kind of academic environment. You’ll be more engaged, focused. Just read books by the teachers of these executive programs to complete your education, that’s all!
It won’t cost you more money. It will bring you much more value in all its dimensions. Do it – get the experience in the real world!
If you have followed this blog you’ll know that in the past few months I have been busy setting up a consulting company in Singapore in the field of large, complex projects , called Project Value Delivery. And I now have left the corporate world! At first I am the only employee and I certainly hope that more people will be able to join before the end of 2012.
ready on the runway
That’s it! My last day in the corporate world is now past, as of end of January. I am standing at the beginning of the runway, in the cockpit of the plane. The last few months have been about engineering the company to have enough thrust and lift to take off before the end of the runway! Now comes the fateful moment where I will start the take-off run!
I feel both excited and anxious. I am excited to be free, and anxious to be free.
Luckily I have bagged a first contract so that the first few months are secured, at least as a freelancer. All the challenge is to continue to develop products and processes to be able to hire more people and become a real company.
It’s the beginning of a story. Like an airliner at the start of a runway, it takes the effort of running down the 2 or 3km of runway and after, once take-off is behind us, no more obstacle impedes to fly in any direction we want.
The fundamental difference is about succeeding in scaling the activity.
Scalability is difficult. In the book Founders at work: stories of startups’ early days, which accounts many stories of IT and internet startups, most if not all stories revolve about the problem of physical scaling, e.g. servers and databases. When a service becomes successful, a single server is not enough; you need more, and then the scalability problems start, because you need to synchronize everything seamlessly. Those startups that succeeded managed their scaling problem quickly and efficiently enough.
Similarly, many startups need to overcome the process scalability problem: how to reproduce, or model, a successful pattern of work set by the founder.
Because scaling is indeed a very difficult problem, some people just decide it is better to avoid it. For example, in the field of consulting, Alan Weiss (author of “million dollar consulting” and many other bestsellers) is adamant that it is much better to work for one’s own rather than bother trying to manage others or trying to scale into a full-fledged consulting practice. He prefers to have alliances and subcontractors when he needs more production power.
The problem is that by avoiding the scaling issue, you will never effectively build an entity that will have a life of its own (you will never be an ‘Entrepreneur’). You will not benefit from the value of leveraging a group of diverse talents to achieve a given goal. You will not be able to spread geographically, or to touch a large number of people with your great service or message. In brief, you will fall short of your potential impact on the world.
So, scalability is a problem that should be dealt with upfront, together with the business plan or other planning considerations for the new venture. A scaling plan needs to be put in place so that the infrastructure, the organization, the processes, take into account scalability from the beginning.
Don’t shunt this step out of the preparation. Work out your scaling plan today!
As I am currently transforming from ‘Employee’ to ‘Self-Employed’, which is not an easy moment, I now realize there is a further wide gap between ‘Freelancer’ and ‘Entrepreneur’! That’s quite a lot to overcome!
As Seth Godin clearly defines,
“A Freelancer is someone who gets paid for working.That means, the more you work, the more you get paid.
An Entrepreneur gets paid while they sleep. They build a business bigger than themselves, and she gets paid even if she is not there”
Right. That’s clear. I want to be an Entrepreneur. So how do I avoid, in effect, to be a Freelancer?
Now the difficulty is that when you start a consulting company like me, in a more or less bootleg fashion, you effectively start as a Freelancer. I am right now preparing to start my company, discussing some potential contracts: at the beginning, people hire you because they know you and what value you can bring to their organization. They would even like to get 100% of your time and attention! Yet, I definitely want to build a real consulting company with a brand, products, scalable activity, leveraging on the different talents of people working in an organization. So, at some stage I definitely want to transform as an Entrepreneur.
what's moving in there?
I have chosen to be an Entrepreneur. Yet, I now know I will need to go through the stage of the Freelancer and resist the temptation to stay in the relative comfort of the situation to move further.
That’s not going to be easy. It will require relentlessly working on the brand and on designing scalable products. Effective scalability will ultimately be the test of entrepreneurship.
There is a gap between Employee and Freelancer. It is mainly a psychological gap; I am right now going through it and it is not fun every day (see the post “Beyond Fear“). There is still another between Freelancer and Entrepreneur. It is a scalability gap. It will also not be easy.
I have decided that instead of dealing with everything at the same time, it is probably better to tackle these two gaps one after the other. That’s what I have decided to do – so I’ll look for Freelancer-type projects in the first six months, keeping them less than full-time – keeping in mind that the ultimate goal is that of an Entrepreneur.
