Desperate or Deliberate: Startups Cannot Afford to Get Rich Quick

David Worrell
Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

In a recession, plenty of people launch new startup businesses out of desperation.

Don’t make that mistake. There’s a world of difference between desperate entrepreneurs and deliberate entrepreneurs.

Are You A Desperate Entrepreneur?

A desperate entrepreneur is looking for quick cash. In his frenzy to start a business, he’ll say he needs to find the “fastest way to pay the bills.” He wants to find the idea that is “most likely to succeed … now.”

Because desperation – real or imagined – is driving this person to start a business, he becomes driven by short-term thinking. But starting a business is not a short-term proposition. In fact, I believe that it takes six months to start a business the right way.

Speed Kills

Entrepreneurs are successful when they meet a market need. But understanding your market and customer, then designing a product that fits, is not an overnight proposition. It is not the kind of thing you can jump into on a Monday and expect sales by Friday.

Desperation drives speed, and speed can kill.

Yes, entrepreneurs are known for being fast. Yes, they push the envelope. Yes, they work all day and all night. But rushing into a business because it appears to be “fast money” is a recipe for disaster. Work all day and all night if you like, but do so only after you have a mature understanding of your own vision, your product, and the customer who is going to buy it.

Shiny Pennies

A desperate entrepreneur sees opportunities around every corner. Each of these “shiny pennies” seems better than the last. No surprise, then, that a desperate entrepreneur is constantly changing his or her mind about what to do next … wasting time, effort, and money. As he picks up each new shiny penny, he drops dimes and quarters from his pocket, which makes him more and more desperate.

1,000 Ideas, Zero Vision

The real problem with desperation is that it robs you of your own vision, your own passion. And without vision and passion, an entrepreneur is powerless. Pursuing an idea out of desperation, greed, panic, or any of the other pressures of daily life does not make you a business builder.

Turn Desperate into Deliberate

A deliberate entrepreneur is a very different animal. Armed with a powerful vision and intent on accomplishing a specific goal, a deliberate entrepreneur moves in one direction. This focused energy can be so great that hurdles and obstacles melt before him. When he works all day and all night, he goes home knowing that he made progress toward the goal.

Consider this: The fastest, surest way to make money is to get a job. Entrepreneurship is a risky business, and few successful entrepreneurs go into business because they want to be rich. Most will tell you they want to solve a problem. They want to realize a vision. They want to engage with their own passions. They want to change the world. Wealth, if it comes, is the byproduct of doing these other things very, very well.

So you now have to decide. Are you a desperate entrepreneur? Would you be better off with a job? Do you really have a vision or a passion that can be served by building a company? Or are you looking for the fastest way to pay the bills?

Dedicated to your (deliberate) profits,

David

P.S.: I am a business owner just like you. I'm also a deliberate entrepreneur - most of the time! If you're looking for clarity and direction in your business, readers of AllBusiness.com have a special page on my website with exclusive access to free business finance resources. If you like what I write, please leave a comment below or .