Make failure your teacher, not your undertaker. -Zig Ziglar
In the modern-day economic environment, entrepreneurship and innovation are crucial aspects when establishing a new status quo that does not follow the Pareto efficiency model. In the United States alone, the number of entrepreneurship programs being offered in universities has grown from 180 to more than 2000 between 1990 and 2014.
Approximately 27 million Americans have started or are running new businesses. The US itself tops the Global Entrepreneurship Index (GEI) in light of its ecosystem, resources, and infrastructure. Globally, the top countries include Switzerland, Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, the UK & Ireland, and the Netherlands. The UAE stands 19th with an index of 58.8.
Another essential indicator for entrepreneurship is VC activity. In the past years, VC activity's total value has been growing from $55 billion in 2013 to $148 billion in 2015. The US dominated the number of deals, and the total value added to 3916 sales and $72.3 billion.
Despite the high number of entrepreneurs, many entrepreneurs would relate to the feeling that they have to persevere and not give up whatever the circumstances may be. It is effortless to feel like a failure, although it is very tough to sustain through those hard times and keep moving on.
The life of an entrepreneur is never a joyride. It is often full of several hurdles along the way. Starting from the seeds of an idea until the zenith of success, an entrepreneur has to go through the seven levels of “hell.” The real entrepreneur is a go-getter who is not afraid of any situation. They get up and get going by implementing their ideas.
What if the Idea Doesn’t Work?
Your idea of running a business is creating something very different from your own. You are the only one who believes in your idea. It is possible that your dreams become shattered, and you are forced to leave your vision. You might come across thoughts of leaving your idea. You may ask yourself, “is the idea good enough?” and even if the idea is excellent, you still have questions like, “will it be successful?” This is the point where entrepreneurs tend just to let go of their ideas. Entrepreneurs are great thinkers. However, they do not have the habit of pondering over their ideas for very long. They are risk-takers who challenge their mind and move forward with their dreams. Their ideas come in small bursts, or they may take the shape of a storm, ready to take over everything that comes in their way.
Success is Where Preparation Meets Opportunity
The journey of entrepreneurs is challenging, but the good news is that there is always room for new opportunities. In the modern-day, there is no shortage of options. In fact, at any time, you can take over each opportunity that brings you closer to your dream. But what do you do when opportunities knock on your doorstep every now and then? You simply grab the first opportunity that comes your way. An entrepreneur never waits for an excellent chance to come. Instead, they turn every chance into an opportunity.
When you are truly passionate and enthusiastic about your idea and your vision, you activate this energy and bring your dreams to life. When times are tough, passion and enthusiasm push you to hold on to your vision and motivate you to go the extra mile.
Never Doubt Yourself
It does not matter if you have just graduated from college or have just begun your career. If you are an entrepreneur or are planning to be one, you need to possess one attitude that has no relation to your experience, wealth, or education. This attitude is what gives you confidence and self-respect. This attitude is called – Eliminate Self Doubt.
A lot of entrepreneurs do not realize they doubt themselves, as this phenomenon is mostly sub-conscious. It masks itself in other forms, and it hurts your growth. For example, you have an idea, and you discuss it with a friend or a family member. Soon after, some of the following questions are asked:
• What if your idea fails?
• What if someone copies your idea?
• Do you not have the capital like bigger brands? What if they crush you before you take off? • Why would you want to leave the comfort of your monthly paycheck?
• What if you spend 3 to 4 years and still fail? What will happen to your career?
• Will you be able to get a job as a failed entrepreneur?
No matter how much you try to motivate yourself with your idea, someone will always come to kill your vibe. Entrepreneurs need to realize the self-destructive outcome of self-doubt. You do not begin your start-up in simple words if you are a person who gives into self-doubt easily. This does not mean that you will never face failure. In fact, for every happy moment you experience, you will go through many upsetting moments.
The good news is that entrepreneurs can train themselves to remove any self-doubt they might have. To eliminate uncertainties is to remove selfdoubts, and three steps can achieve this:
1. Become a Voracious Reader – Apart from reading popular books on entrepreneurship, read about how your solution can cause an effect on the ecosystem. For example, if you have an idea to build an AI application in healthcare, then read about all the economic policies, best practices of competitors, geopolitical influences, and more regarding healthcare. This way, you can gain confidence in your idea.
2. Play the Devil’s Advocate – Try to find failure points of your business idea every day. Think of ways that will destroy your company. This way, you will train yourself to revise your innovation accordingly. Moreover, this will help you when forming your team and discussing your idea with the investor.
3. Share Your Idea Boldly – Avoid the thought that someone will take your idea and use it as his own. In fact, some people will even offer to join you because of the idea you have. The least benefit you can have is that you can greatly improve your primary research by sharing your idea with others. You will build a network of the right resources, which can be your advisors or mentors in the future.
Change is the only constant, and the world is certainly changing rapidly. The retail industry is surely in deep trouble as I watch more and more of my favorite boutique stores advertise closing down sales. Over the years, my experience has allowed me to convince small business owners that digital marketing does work and they should get with the program.
I often believe that I can only take the horse to the water, but I cannot force it to drink. If there is anything that history is teaching us is that it certainly does not repeat itself in a predictable pattern. The current economic climate and the pandemic is forcing us to become more creative, understanding, and carving out more time to work with our selected service provider. We can do an incredible job with our online presence and strategy.
I have seen so many business owners sign up based on the sale and then given up within 30, 60, and 90 days claiming that it wasn’t working. You have to get one thing straight. Just like opening your physical store, similar rules apply to online stores and their overall presence.
There is no magic wand. The team you hire has to build content, work with branding, and polish everything up and then execute it using social media, SEO, and advertising and create awareness. At the same time, you must educate your audience and then convert them into customers. If you have to take one thing from this chapter, know that EVERYTHING requires a team effort.
Out of everyone in the team, you, the business owner, are the most important for the first two months. You need to set aside time, give directives, think about your online vision and how you want the brand to be perceived offline. You need to be available so that they can understand your business, what worked for you in the past, and learn everything they can about your ideal customers.
The decision to go digital and start online marketing should not be a halfbaked one - you need to give it your all and follow the basics that time has set out for you. The main things you need to commit are:
• Attitude – You must have a positive outlook on all things digital.
• Curiosity – You need to be curious regarding how things will work out for you
• Inquisitive – Ask questions, read online, and the fact you are reading this book says a lot.
• All in – Be all in - When you got a good team and strategy, give the entire program a chance to work for you and begin tweaking
• Don’t change providers – Stick to your carefully selected team. Try to make them work for you and give them enough time to explore all possibilities before jumping ship.
• Be proactive – Try to put yourself in your team's shoes, anticipate what they would need from you, or just ask them.
• Act as if you understand – Many owners just say I don’t get all of this. So, they go ahead, do it, and then they energetically give up. They do this sometimes by trusting the team and, at times, just crossing their fingers and hoping for the best. This is not necessary. With a little effort, you can, and the appropriate questions direct the ship in the right direction. Here are some good questions to ask your team:
• What am I to expect in month one and each month thereafter?
• How does the reporting look? How will I know if we are getting quality visits and customers?
• Is the messaging aligned to our brand?
• What else could we do?
• Anything outside of the box will work?
• If the budget is too little, what can we focus on that will make this budget effective?
• When can we conduct a call and discuss the reporting?
• What is this reporting saying in a nutshell?
Just be pro-active, handle this like you are a champ. Remember, paying attention and working with timelines won’t stop you from succeeding.
Entrepreneur, (2020). Infographic: The Growth of Entrepreneurship Around the Globe. Retrieved 21
Entrepreneur, (2020). Entrepreneurs – Never Give Up! Retrieved from https:// 22
Entrepreneur, (2020). Eliminate Self Doubt: The Most Important Attitude that Entrepreneurs Must 23
Develop. Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/295474
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