Starting a Business QuickStart Guide. Ken Colwell PhD MBA

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      Quick Case: To find a clear example of fierce competition and the need to maintain a sustainable competitive edge, one need not look further than their own internet browser. In August of 1995, computer services company Netscape launched what was, at the time, one of the largest IPOs on Wall Street. Netscape’s decision to go public was buoyed by the popularity of their flagship internet browser, Navigator. Netscape’s entrance into the public market caught the attention of competitor Microsoft. Microsoft didn’t have a strong internet browser at the time, but they did have a robust operating system in the form of the Windows suite. They also had massive reserves of cash.

      Microsoft released a competing product called Internet Explorer. Both Navigator and Internet Explorer were free products, but the key difference (and overwhelming advantage for Microsoft) was that Internet Explorer came bundled with the popular Windows operating system suite. To compete, Netscape infused their browser with newer and better features. A veritable features arms race ensued, and when the dust cleared Microsoft emerged the victor.

      Given a second chance, could things have gone differently for Netscape? We will never know, but a clue can be found in today’s iteration of the browser wars of the early 2000s. Internet Explorer’s successor Edge is duking it out with Chrome, Firefox, and others who have managed to survive (and thrive) using Netscape’s own tactic of relying on features to produce competencies in the areas of browsing speed, privacy, compatibility, and functionality.

       Chapter Recap

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       What Are You Afraid Of?

       Chapter Overview

      Starting a business is a big step, and would-be entrepreneurs must ask themselves difficult questions. Many people have fundamental self-limiting beliefs and misunderstandings that prevent them from taking even the first steps. Before you begin, think carefully about the following items. Which of them apply to you? Are they holding you back from achieving your dreams? What can you do about it?

      Self-Limiting Beliefs

      One of the main barriers that holds us back is strongly held internal beliefs about ourselves and our ability to succeed as entrepreneurs. These beliefs are almost always based on generalizations or stereotypes about what “real” entrepreneurs are like or what the process of starting a business entails.

      Here are some of the most common misconceptions that lead to self-limiting beliefs:

       Entrepreneurs Are Born, Not Made

      Everyone has an idea in their mind about what a “typical” entrepreneur is like. What is yours? Are they brilliant? Driven? Self-made? Charismatic? The answer may surprise you. In his 2003 book The Change Makers, Maury Klein profiled twenty-six of the greatest US entrepreneurs of all time. His conclusion? Outside of some very superficial characteristics such as “hard worker,” they really don’t have much in common. Some succeed in school. Some are dropouts. Some come from great families and others from broken homes. Some are very popular and sociable while others are loners and misfits. There simply isn’t an overarching “entrepreneurial personality.” Klein summarized what each of these men have in common as a series of intersections.

       Every man had his own vision, his own style, and his own obsessions. Their common ground seems little more than a series of intersections where their ways of doing business crossed. No single explanation could embrace their roads to success or the routes by which they reached their destination. No formula or set of rules can transform one into a great entrepreneur any more than it could produce a great artist or scientist. ⁴

      – MAURY KLEIN

      Does this mean that successful entrepreneurs don’t share any common mindsets? Absolutely not. The remainder of this chapter explores not only the misconceptions that form the foundation of the self-limiting beliefs that hold would-be entrepreneurs back, but also the mindset changes that can help them approach their endeavors in a realistic and successful way.

      The talent necessary to successfully launch a venture is the same that’s needed for any other creative endeavor. Think about learning to play the piano. A few people are born tone-deaf, and no amount of work will result in their being competent musicians. A few are blessed with natural talent and can become world-class pianists without the need for extensive formal training. The vast, vast majority of us fall somewhere in the middle. Maybe we’ll never play Carnegie Hall, but with enough practice and the right coaching, we can reach some level of competence. We can’t all be Mark Zuckerberg, but that’s okay. We should be following our dream, not his.

      Quick Case: To illustrate the range of personalities that are no obstacle to success, consider the stories of three titans with entrepreneurial roots: Warren Buffett, Mark Zuckerberg, and Thomas Edison. Buffett was born in 1930 as the son of a congressman in Omaha, Nebraska. He expressed an interest in entrepreneurial activities as a child and worked in his grandfather’s grocery at a young age. He also dabbled in various other entrepreneurial undertakings, to the point of amassing a considerable amount of money as a child. His intention was to skip the world of higher education and instead head straight into the world of business; СКАЧАТЬ