The Secret: Hard Work and Patience
Failure rates for businesses are very high. I don’t know the exact number but I’ve heard 80% of new businesses will fail in their first year. Most people think it’s because the original idea was bad or the company lacked enough capital but that’s a symptom not a cause. Businesses fail in their first year because their founders either run out of patience or don’t adapt to the world around them.
The real secret to success is not a great idea or boatloads of investor money, it’s patience and hard work.
An investor of mine told me that he’ll invest in people not ideas. “Smart people can adapt and mold their ideas into great ideas but stupid people can’t let go of their ideas and it eventually kills them”, he said.
Patience is that quality that allows you to see the long road ahead and adapt accordingly. Hard work is what gets you through the ups and downs along the way. Don’t labor over your business idea if it’s not working the way you expected. Mold it and improve it to make it something worth working hard for. Don’t drink your own Kool-Aid and think your idea is the best thing since sliced bread, even when no one will pay for it.
The good news is that everyone can work hard. Hard work levels the playing field. Patience weeds out the people who won’t go the distance. That leaves lots of opportunity for those people willing to work a little harder for a little bit longer.
