Starting a Business QuickStart Guide. Ken Colwell PhD MBA

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       By professional definitions of success, I was successful. By any sane definition of success, if you are lying in a pool full of blood on the floor of your office, you are not successful. ⁶

      – ARIANNA HUFFINGTON

      Arianna Huffington is far from being the only successful entrepreneur to encourage those who are starting new ventures to carefully consider their work-life balance. Ultimately, there is no single answer for everyone. Some people simply perform better when they can lose themselves in their work, and that’s okay. Working hard and working too hard can seem like a nonsensical distinction until working too hard leads to burnout and dissatisfaction with something that was once your passion.

      It all goes back to the triangle. Ideally, all three facets of your life—work life, home life, and personal life—exist in harmony without too much pushing and pulling. This harmonious state allows you to shift focus between each aspect without too much friction. But if you are consumed by an obsessive focus solely on your work life, that part of the triangle pulls heavily on the other two and stretches into an unrecognizable shape. With your life triangle out of balance, shifting focus away from your business causes feelings of guilt—guilt that stems from focusing on anything other than your business. The best way to combat this? Mindful living supplemented by healthy doses of self-awareness.

       Living a Self-Actualized Life

      Together, mindfulness and self-awareness culminate in what could be called a self-actualized life. This may sound like something out of a Kung Fu movie, but the reality is that time and time again the intangible aspects of entrepreneurship have the greatest impact on success. Just like self-awareness, mindfulness, and interpersonal skills, the recipe for living a self-actualized life is made up of ingredients that can be learned by anyone.

      A person (entrepreneur or otherwise) who lives a self-actualized life is someone who has an appreciation for life and is guided by a set of inner goals and values. More than any other aspect, what is generally referred to as “the entrepreneurial mindset” is really a description of self-actualized living.

       Creativity

      The act of entrepreneurship is the ultimate creative act. Forming something that is successful, durable, and makes an impact on people’s lives out of the randomness, ambiguity, and uncertainty that is the entrepreneurial ecosystem can’t be called anything but creative. To some, that may sound intimidating, but even people who don’t consider themselves “the creative type” find ways to let their imaginations soar. Creativity is an enduring human trait and can be both very powerful and very personal.

      Quick Case: Eddie Huang, Baohaus – The son of Taiwanese immigrants, Huang has had a diverse entrepreneurial career. He lost his job as an attorney during the Financial Crisis of 2007-2008. Instead of hopping to another employer, Huang changed gears completely and turned to stand-up comedy to pay the bills. Over the next decade he started a clothing design company and became a chef and restaurateur, author, and TV personality. He is best known for his Manhattan restaurant Baohaus and his TV show Huang’s World. Regarding his education, he said, “I wasn’t meant to be an attorney, but I was meant to go to law school.” His ventures have seen varying levels of success, but the sheer range of industries and markets Eddie Huang has participated in is a testament to his creativity and perseverance.

       Authenticity

      Whether they are well-meaning or not, those around you will have something to say about your choice to pursue an entrepreneurial path. Don’t be surprised if this solicited and unsolicited input is overwhelmingly negative. Authenticity, at its core, means choosing your path and knowing why you’re on that path regardless of the opinions of others. Authenticity isn’t contrarianism, and it isn’t an excuse to ignore good advice. Rather, it is a way of staying true to yourself, your goals, and your own happiness and success.

      Quick Case: Whitney Wolfe Herd, Bumble – Featured on both the Forbes 30 Under 30 list and the Fortune 40 Under 40, Whitney Wolfe Herd was on the founding team for the uber-successful dating app Tinder. After she left the team in 2014, she began her own dating app called Bumble. Bumble’s tagline is “Make the first move” and features a twist on the traditional dating app: matches between users are only truly matches if the woman messages first. This shift in functionality has paid off in a big way. Bumble reported 30 million users in June of 2018, which trails the 50 million reported by Tinder, but despite lagging, Bumble has demonstrated impressive growth. On the topic of success: “Being able to put your blinders on, ignore negative opinions, and follow your strong intuition is what’s validating to me. It’s a great feeling to know you can trust your gut.”

       Continuous Improvement

      In our world, the only true constant is change. A philosophy of continuous improvement not only embraces change as a constant but reframes it as driver of improvement. This philosophy is referred to as kaizen, a Japanese word that translates as “continuous improvement.” More than a doctrine of ongoing development, kaizen prioritizes incremental improvement over broad, sweeping changes. Incremental changes are easier to implement— they require fewer resources and can begin making an impact right away (albeit a small impact). Over time, incremental improvements add up and result in the same gains СКАЧАТЬ