Chapter 1
The Can-Do Entrepreneur is the entrepreneur with a can-do attitude. He is not passive but actively involved in his pursuit at all times (both good and the not-so-good times).
Entrepreneurship is not as free-for all as it may seem to be. There is more to it than meets the eye.
This assertion, however, does not mean to scare aspiring entrepreneurs from taking steps towards entrepreneurship or to discourage young and experienced entrepreneurs. Careful feasibility studies of your areas of interest in business as well as the industry you intend to play in is good but not enough.
In the journey of entrepreneurship, it is paramount to understand this truth, that at some point in this journey you will be tried and tested to the point of quitting; either through the overwhelming competitive landscape, losses encountered internally in your business, the economic situations, and pressures with your family or your personal life.
This is the point where you begin to ask yourself if you are truly on the right path or really doing the right thing.
This is the point where varying and unsolicited divergent suggestions creep in to your head from the outside; mostly from sources that either wish for you to quit or are outside the circumference of your true vision or passion.
I like to call this point the ‘Make or Break Point’. As an entrepreneur, developing the ‘can-do’ attitude helps you become the ‘Can-Do Entrepreneur’. This is the entrepreneur that is able to stay calm, calculated and focused at this ‘Make or Break Point’. The Can-do entrepreneur does not give in to cheap divergent suggestions but has the can-do attitude to help him unleash his creativities at the ‘Make or Break Point’.
A story was once told of the rattle snake and how it finds the aggression to attack its victim.
When the rattle snake wants to attack its victim, it first bites itself. The pains it feels from biting itself first makes it very uncomfortable, it then rattles itself and finds the aggression to unleash its power, biting and attacking prowess on its victim, hence overcoming its victim.
The can-do entrepreneur is pretty much like the rattle snake in the following points:
Developing the ‘can-do’ attitude is a necessity for the entrepreneur even before commencing the entrepreneurial journey. It is not like that bridge you will cross when you get there. It is pretty much like deciding well ahead of your entrepreneurial journey to succeed no matter what!
This is paramount in the life of entrepreneurs since there is no clue of the length, breadth or height of this bridge of ‘Make or Break Point’.
Entrepreneurship is one hell of an exciting and rewarding journey but ever wondered why some businesses or companies you knew about in your neighborhood or perhaps heard about on radio or watched their commercials on television, do not exist anymore?
What happened to this seemingly promising companies with a lot of lasting success potentials?
Well the truth is I also asked myself such questions until I tried to do a personal analysis on the companies of interest to me and the kind of entrepreneurs they seemed to have had.
It is obvious that the companies that are out of business and no longer exist and those that still exist and are either getting their arcs together or those waxing ever stronger and stronger all perhaps faced the economic challenges of their business environments, had internal control issues. These entrepreneurs also had to deal with family and personal life pressures. Just like the rattle snake earlier described, these entrepreneurs who still stand used these unfavorable situations and circumstances to unleash their best and creativities to help them stand while others who are out of business, chose to retreat, and hence failed in unleashing their best to win.
With the can-do attitude and deciding well ahead of time to succeed in your entrepreneurial journey to succeed no matter what, you are well on your way to achieving lasting business success.