Risky Business

Before I begin to dive into the heart of what I really want to discuss in this note I should say that finally we have come to official agreements with our developers and have begun the early stages of design and development of the website. I say finally as if I am relieved that the process of developer evaluation is now over (and I would be lying if I said otherwise...) but I have to say that no matter how strenuous or tedious the process is when money and opportunity are on the line, one can never be too careful. When entering a partnership with another firm sans a proper attorney, you basically have to rack your brain to the point of severe headaches until you feel as though you have sufficiently covered your bases. Granted there are aspects we have forgotten, costs we have ignored and fees we will probably face in the future. These setbacks are unfortunate but it is important to recognize that mistakes will be made in entrepreneurship, no matter how smart you are. Our goal is simply to minimize mistakes, giving ourselves enough time to be thorough but not too much time such that business does not move forward. We have to be ready to deal with mistakes. That is a simple by product of development and there is absolutely no avoiding it. Anyway, the website will be up by approximately in mid August at which point you can expect us to go into shameless self-advertising mode in which we encourage you all to visit it and use it. In the time being we will be keeping you updated on any interesting turns in events (they will definitely happen I can assure you) as well as general pressing topics of entrepreneurship.Alright. I'm a person who is known to take a long time to get to the point so let me get to it. Anybody who is anybody knows that entrepreneurs are risk-takers. Risk-taking has been in the description of the entrepreneur dating back to the 1700's when the word was first invented. Is that a surprise? As an observer, let's say a non-entrepreneur observer, what separates you and that strangely successful business man over there? Ideas? I don't think so. We all have had good ideas at some point or another. We can all relate to those instances when we are thinking or speaking with someone and we say, "You know what someone should invent? A machine that..." or "You know what Company XYZ should do?" or "I want to open up a ____ store..." We have all thought about it. But when you are staring at that "entrepreneur" across the room, as a non-entrepreneur you separate yourself from him by recognizing that he/she was willing to take on risk. Ladies and Gentlemen, that is what I think this boils down to. Risk. And risk is unfortunately frightening. I don't care who you are, what you have done, where you have been and what you have accomplished--risk crawls under our skin and throws us into fight or flight mode. Entrepreneurs fight and that is a choice.The reason why I am discussing the issue of fear and risk, fight or flight is because despite the fact that entrepreneurs have been categorized as risk takers for centuries it is not always that simple. Yes, there will always be those all stars that can crush fear in the palms of their hands. But they are few. Most potential entrepreneurs, most "risk-takers" need support in their risky business. They need someone or some people there to encourage and motivate. If you ever enter in an entrepreneurial endeavor you will most certainly find that some people will respect you for your choice but most will be inclined to point out the pitfalls of your idea, the fear of failure and the stupidity of your risk taking behavior. Even though you consider yourself a passionate entrepreneur the negative words of the non-risk takers--the people that simply cannot understand (to no fault of their own) how you think--will affect you. They are powerful because often times they are irrefutable. Things such as, "Well what happens if you fail? You have missed this opportunity, you will have problem x, problem y and problem z." It's true. One could theoretically argue that entrepreneurship is too risky. We know what they mean, but I must say that theoretically, they are dead wrong. They are wrong because unless they quantify the risk using financial mathematics (which in entrepreneurship you almost can't and even if you could you can't guarantee it would be that accurate) there can never be such a thing as too risky. Investing in junk bonds in the late 1980's was too risky. Walking through the ghetto at 2am drunk and with money hanging out of the pockets is too risky. Pursuing your dream with a certain amount of systematic (inherent to entrepreneurship) risk? Not too risky. One must trust that the entrepreneur has a decent idea that they are willing to implement and the level of risk he/she is willing to take on will depend on preferences. So ultimately it is subjective.The overall lesson? (Sorry about the longwindedness). Entrepreneurship is risky business. There is no getting around that. People who don't understand risk, who could not ever imagine themselves in your shoes will try to stop you. Don't let them. I will say again, do not let them. Find the people (they need not be too many) who support your dream and talk to them constantly. You will need it no matter how tough you are, no matter how much you are willing to fight. I am the type of person who understands risk but has small shades of risk averseness. So many have tried to tell me I am doing the wrong thing. It has been a select few who have helped me through it.Keep the end result on your mind. What will those non-risk takers think of you when you try and succeed? They will admire you and envy you beyond belief. Nobody minds success, not even non-risk takers.And If you fail? They will admire you and envy you just the same because they will never understand your courage.The glory... everybody... is in the attempt.-Miles