By Eric J. Gall, February 5, 2015
I've read a lot of business books during my formative years in business starting with the iconic "In Search of Excellence" series written by Tom Peters in the 1980's. Having transitioned from the Corporate world to the Entrepreneurial world a little over eight years ago, it amazes me how different the mindset is, the physical demands are, and the pure enjoyment can be between these two worlds.
The Corporate world is so much built on division of labor you really never understand business. You understand a project, a task, a role, a group, etc.. In the Entrepreneurial world, most often, you are the business. You need incremental capital? Go find it. You need an accounting software? Evaluate and select. You need to generate revenue? Go sell something. You have an unhappy customer? Fix your problem.
Division of labor in the Corporate world narrows the problems you see and the problems you solve down to such a small part of the business, you really only learn a fraction of the day-to-day operations. Even if you make it to the top, you probably only really understand a few aspects of the business you have actually worked in. In the Entrepreneurial world, until you've grown into a mid-size business, all problems make it to your desk. All solutions may or may not originate from your mind; however, they are all your decision. They call it "ownership" for a reason -- because you own every problem and you own every solution.
The entrepreneurial mindset is far removed from the Corporate world mindset. Entrepreneurs are always seeking excellence. We are always looking to improve our processes and our results. We view the business world as a NASCAR driver views a NASCAR race. We'll stay up all night looking for that extra .01% reduction in drag coefficient that may mean two seconds in tomorrow's race. We eat, sleep and breathe our business. Hungry? Our minds are on a customer who we can invite to lunch to obtain their feedback on your new product or service. Headed to bed? Our minds are on a new social media campaign we plan to launch after the next big sale. On a fishing trip? Our minds are on how to reach five new customers the day we get back. In the Corporate world there is work life and then there is home life. Home life consists of dinner, family time watching some idiotic sitcom, very little thinking about tomorrow's tasks at work, and time to decompress. Corporate people live their lives more as a NASCAR fan than a NASCAR driver.
Because of the entrepreneur's relentless pursuit of excellence, the physical demands are significantly greater. There is very little decompression time. Your mind is always thinking about your budget, your marketing plan, a new customer, an old customer, an employee, etc.. You'll throw on a smile and drag your body to a Friday networking event in hopes of being introduced to a hot prospect even though you haven't had more than 5 hours sleep in a night all week. And your soul is so dedicated to your craft you will sometimes forget birthdays, anniversaries, and sometimes, your own self. Your business becomes your identity not only to customers, suppliers and employees, but to family and friends as well. Becoming the face of your business isn't all bad. It as worked quite well for a lot of entrepreneurs: Bill Gates is Microsoft, Michael Dell is Dell Computers, Steve Jobs is Apple, etc.. It doesn't quite work that way in the Corporate world. Sure executives and employees can get burnt out, but it isn't very often. Long days are 14 hours, not 20. Vacation time is planned, not squeezed in. Evenings and weekends aren't frequently interrupted by customers, employees, suppliers, etc.. Entrepreneurs are more often 24/7/365 versus Monday through Friday 7am-to-5 or 6 or 7pm.
The primary benefit of living in the Entrepreneurial world is the ability to control your own destiny. You are the boss, for better or worse. When you succeed, their is no greater feeling in the world. You did it! Or in better terms, in spite of what our President believes, you built it. Your product, your service, your ideas created a sustainable business that wakes you up excited in the morning, puts food on your table and a roof over your head. The idea that you didn't need some entity to force you out of bed in the morning to slave away at a task or tasks primarily benefiting executives and shareholders, not necessarily you, for your subsistence is a mighty powerful drug. And, if you fail, you just pull up your bootstraps and start working harder. There is no quit. There is no go find a job. There is your product, your service, your ideas and most importantly, there is you and your pursuit of excellence.
For additional information regarding Florida business sales, acquisitions and valuations, please contact Eric J. Gall at Eric@EdisonAvenue.com or 239.738.6227. Also, visit our Edison Avenue website at www.EdisonAvenue.com or my personal website at www.BuySellFLbiz.com.
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