I know a very successful entrepreneur. He was highly praised locally as a success, and indeed the growth and reach increase of his business was impressive.
Upon careful observation, he was taking what much more risk than I would have ever considered to grow his business. This created substantial doubt for me – maybe I was too risk-adverse to succeed in my ventures? Are all entrepreneurs so highly risk-taking? Now, a few months later, the economy in that particular business is tough and he is close to losing everything. It’s tough on my side too, but thanks to a prudent management, I am confident my business will survive.
I do believe that real entrepreneurs are necessarily masters at risk management. They know how to take risks, and they also know how to manage them, and in any case make sure that the worst case does not mean losing everything and creating excessive strain in their personal and family life.
Successful entrepreneurs on the long term are prudent.
Failure, yes. But failure withing a managed risk framework. The winners are those who survive. After the event, nobody talks any more about those who died on the way. You can be a temporary sensation, have your minute, hour or even month of fame. It’s much tougher to have a sustainable success – and often we don’t see these entrepreneurs until they have become so successful that we can’t ignore them – but they tend to stay beyond the limelight.
Nobody remembers the fatalities on the Everest. We remember only the winners. Those who know how to take the right level of risk and were also lucky in a way. If you are an entrepreneur, be prudent!
