The entrepreneurial myth
by Kelly Schwedland
When we think of the “Entrepreneur”, images of a John Wayne type figure come to mind. Someone, standing alone, against the world, building a business with true grit and raw determination. In a way it is a vision of the legendary “American” experience. This is what being an “Entrepreneur” is all about right?
Well, it has been my experience that the whole image is nothing more than a myth. It is the entrepreneurial myth. It is in fact the type of image that causes many small business owners to fail. Or worse, to hang on working themselves to exhaustion, until they can no longer take it any more, until they finally explode.
As I have had the opportunity to meet many of these small business owners in person and in groups when I speak, the one common thread is that most of them were merely technicians. They understood the work of the business, usually very well. Then through various circumstances they decided one day that they could do the same thing for themselves, rather than the other guy. And in that moment an “Entrepreneurial seizure” struck them and they were in business for themselves.
The tragedy wasn’t necessarily in the beginning. While certainly there wasn’t nearly enough planning for how they got into business, the real difficulty came because that entrepreneurial spark was now gone. They began to do the work in the business and didn’t do any of the strategizing, planning and all the other items necessary to build a business that was good at that work.
In essence they had created a job for themselves. And it was the worst job in the world. Because not only did they have to do the work they knew how to do, but now they had 20 jobs they didn’t know how to do.
Then comes the misperception that the Entrepreneur has to do it alone. The feeling that they should be the expert. They are embarrassed at needing the help. While they may listen to tapes and go to seminars, these things rarely make a lasting impact on the business. Because ultimately, they don’t truly understand how to create a Strategic Objective for the business. Nor do they know how to create a Marketing, Financial and Operational Strategy for obtaining that objective.
The tragedy has by this time taken its toll. The owner is a victim of his own success. By not building a business that could do the work, the owner is faced with the necessity to do everything, to oversee everything, to touch everything. They would try to give the work to someone else, abdicating the responsibility of all the things they didn’t like to do. But it never really worked out. After all, they always said "No one does it like I can”, and “You just can’t find good people anymore”. And the frustration grows until finally ….
It doesn’t have to be this way. There is a better way. The myth of the Entrepreneur has to be broken. But you have to ask for the help.
Kelly Schwedland is president of American Business Dynamics, a small business consulting firm focused on issues related to growing companies.