How is Starting Your Own Business

Like participating in the Olympic Games?

The Olympics have been on my brain quite a bit lately.  They kick off on the day after my birthday (Which is today by the way). My niece has chosen the Olympics as a theme for her August birthday party.  And two of my sister Alumni from Oakland Catholic are competing in the games.  All of this reminds me of my mom’s favorite quote growing up.  My mom had never played a sport, being one of eight kids there wasn’t much time or money for each of them to play a sport.  My grandfather was a doctor and worked long hard hours in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood – and well my grandma…with eight kids to chase, she didn’t have much time either.  My mom did and still loves to swim.  She always says:

“If I had played a sport, I’d have been in the olympics.” 

It sounds silly and we always cracked up when she said it, because as athletes ourselves we couldn’t imagine our mom playing a sport.  We had only ever known her in her “mom” role.  She continued to say it, and it left an impression on it.  It was one of many ways that she and my dad taught us to work hard.  So the Olympics was placed on a very high pedestal very young and became the embodiment of hard work and dedication.

Now that I have dreamed, worked and sacrificed to start my own business, I look back and see many parallels with what it might take to make it to the olympics.

Disclaimer – I am in no way comparing myself to any olympic athlete.  Those men and women have drive, dedication and a work ethic that I can only dream about.  They are a true inspiration.  I’m simply using their qualities and goals as a metaphor what it takes to follow your dreams, when those dreams involve starting a business.

What does it take?

Goals

An inner, burning desire to accomplish something is calling you.  When I was a kid my goal was to be an olympic skier…but that wasn’t in the cards.  Instead I’ve enjoyed skiing all my life and realized that my true calling was to start my own business, to be the platform on which that I can build my own success.  It started a few years ago when job after job was not fulfilling me.  Like the athlete with eyes on the Olympic trials, when you are thinking about starting your own business it consumes you and becomes the driving force for all of your actions.

Planning

You don’t get to the games without planning.  From workouts, to nutrition, to competitions along the way, there is a lot of strategy and planning that goes into becoming an Olympic athlete.  Starting your business takes a lot of planning as well.  Most of us start working towards our dreams of founding our own business while we are still working a full time job for someone else.  Giving up that cashflow can cost you dearly if you do it before you are ready.  There is the paperwork to full out, the branding to pull together, the business plan, all kinds of things to plan before you really are ready to launch your business.

Hard work

That is a nice transition into the next quality – hard work.  It’s not enough to make these grand plans.  You really have to roll up your sleeves and get to work, often burning the midnight oil, both as an athlete and as an entrepreneur.  It takes more than just creativity but dedication and perseverance.

Patience

It took me four years of creativity, planning and hard work to get to the point where I was ready to start business.  For me, a large part of it was acquiring the clients that I needed to make up for the income I had in the job that I was leaving.  For athletes, whether it’s injury, or awaiting the next competition, patience is a must as well.

Sacrifice

When you think about athletes that work hard enough and long enough to make it to the games, sacrifice is a given.  There’s been a whole NBC commercial that looks into the sacrifices our athletes have made in the name of training.  But as an entrepreneur you also make sacrifices.  You tighten your belt, and limit your expenditures.  You stay in on the weekends to work and build your brand.  You risk sacrificing a few friendships because people don’t understand your drive and dedication to something like starting your own company.   You risk stress, which sacrifices your happiness, and if you’re not careful, your health.

Support

It takes support – even if you are your own support network.  I hope and pray that your family and your friends are behind you as strive to accomplish your dreams and make them your reality; whether they are to become an olympic athlete or to become your own boss.  But regardless of whether they are in your corner, cheering you on or not, you need to be force of positivity and belief for yourself.  If you don’t believe in yourself how will anybody else? Be there for yourself.  Treat yourself with kindness.  Know that you will make a mistake or two and be prepared to forgo being harsh with yourself when they happen.  Be the first tier of support, and then you can build a network of others who support you as well.

Passion

I said it before – passion is the fuel that drives you as you work hard and persevere to make your dreams come true.  But its not enough to mention it fleetingly.  From the athlete that visualizes themselves on the uneven bars, the soccer field, or the downhill slope to the entrepreneur who sees themselves fulfilling their dreams, it takes untold amounts of passion.  The road will be long and there will be bumps along the way.  You’ll get knocked down but it’s passion that will inspire you to pick yourself back up and to push onward.  Find that passion within yourself and you can achieve anything – even becoming an olympic athlete…or you know, start your own business because that’s pretty darn awesome too.