Page 24 - Business Plans that Work A Guide for Small Business
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Entrepreneurs Create the Future • 15
talk to as many people as you can, and keep them informed of your
progress.
Energy
Building knowledge and networking take energy. As Dennis Kimbro,
best-selling author of Think and Grow Rich: A Black Choice, shared
with faculty and students when he visited Babson College, “Successful
people make the 40-hour work week look like child’s play.” He later
added, “If your work is your play and your play is your work, you will
never work a day in your life.” Launching a business takes a tremendous
amount of energy. The typical entrepreneur can expect to work on aver-
age 60 hours a week or more. In reality, most entrepreneurs find that they
never leave the job. Even when they are in bed or on vacation, entrepre-
neurs are thinking about the business. The business planning process also
takes energy. A good plan takes 200 hours to complete, and that is just
the first working draft. This energy is somewhat self-sustaining, assum-
ing that you also have the final two points on the star, commitment and
passion.
Commitment
To sustain energy, one needs commitment because everyone will face
difficult times. Launching a business is an emotional roller coaster. The
highs are higher and the lows are lower, and they come at breakneck
speeds. If you are not committed to your opportunity, to your vision, it is
all too easy to quit when the first low hits. You have to believe in yourself,
you have to believe in your vision. Without that definite sense of purpose,
you will abandon the venture when things look tough, and things will
look tough at several points on the journey. Thus you also need the final
point to help sustain you.
Passion
The last and most important point of the star is passion. Returning to
the self-actualization theme, you need to know what drives you. What
are your professional and personal passions? As Dennis Kimbro says,
“If nobody paid you, what would you do for free?” If you are pursuing
entrepreneurship only to make money, you will lack the commitment and