True entrepreneurs thrive

on long hours, long odds,

   and adverse circumstances.   

     If you took yesterday’s Entrepreneur Personality Test and the results made you now feel qualified to start your own business, you may first want to consider some of the following:

     Entrepreneur Deaver Brown founded Cross River Products to manufacture and market Umbroller folding baby strollers.  In four years, the business he began in a corner of his kitchen was grossing $9 million a year.  Inspiring, huh?  Well, here’s what he had to say:

Starting a new business is like horse racing — the fastest way to lose your fortune is to bet on long shots.  The failure rate for new entrepreneurs is staggering.  4 out of 5 fold within within three years!  And most survivors are survivors, not prosperous businesses.

Major corporations can withstand numerous problems; a small company can barely survive one.

The life of an employed person offers a predictable salary, better fringe benefits, and more job security.  The commodity exchanges and stock markets are terrible risks, but they’re still better risks than gambling on your bread and butter earnings.  Simply put, the odds are overwhelmingly against creating a business success.

A new venture is continually dealing from a position of weakness, little cash, not enough customers, low credit lines, untrained employees, inexperienced operations management, unsympathetic bankers, and too much change happening too quickly.

     Discouraged yet?  The typical entrepreneur would not be.

     True entrepreneurs thrive on long hours, long odds and adverse circumstances.  Strange as it may seem, when things are going smoothly, an entrepreneur feels nervous, unchallenged and unfulfilled.   So, where does that leave you?  halalpiar

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See Nov 29th post (below) for New Year’s contest prize and rules – Then GO FOR IT!  Emails to Hal@TheWriterWorks.com with “SOUNDS OF THE SEASON” in the subject line.  # # #

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