Nike is right, entrepreneurs: just do it!
Do you realize that the things in your life that you will “never forget” are things that you learned by doing them? You’ve heard the saying “you never forget how to ride a bike”, right? Well, it’s true. It’s also true of walking, swimming, riding a motorcycle or driving a car. The songs that you’ll always remember are those you sang over and over and over until they got stuck in your head!
Even in early childhood development, you learned by sorting and stacking blocks, growing plants from seeds, and playing with sand or at a water table. In fact “authentic learning involves comprehension”, according to Rae Pica author of several books on active learning in children.
So what does this have to do with entrepreneurship, you may ask? Everything, in my opinion. I contend that you will never become a new or better entrepreneur by studying what others have done: you have to actually DO SOMETHING!
Unless you actually do some market research to discover what customers are buying, you won’t know how to modify your business idea accordingly;
Not until you actually begin to do some marketing, will you know which campaign peaks your customers interest;
Unless you actually file your paperwork to establish your business, you won’t officially be in business;
Not until you ask for the business, get rejected, modify your sales pitch and ask again, will you learn how to become proficient in sales.
Not until you recognize the shifts in your market and actually adjust your product or service offering to the needs of your clientele, will you learn how to thrive during changing times.
But you MUST be willing to ACT! Far too many individuals are only thinking about starting or expanding a business, but are so concerned about the economy or competition or finances that they fail to do anything and thus miss out on opportunities that can only be recognized through action.
Even the possibility of failure is not an excuse for inactivity. A study was done on several entrepreneurs who initially “failed” at their first business. But they learned to improve themselves as entrepreneurs by doing it again. They learned by doing.
Of COURSE, you have to do some planning. But the planning must be active; it must be written down and distributed to others. Thinking about it is not enough. You have to do it!
The Business Jump Master ® principles are based on action. Entrepreneurs who experience success are those who have experience running a business-either their own previous business or running someone else’s. There is no substitute for actual personal experience. So if you don’t have experience in a certain aspect of your business, you must find a way to gain that experience. Just go do it!
Until next time,
Geronimo!
Dino Herbert
www.dinoherbert.com
REFERENCES
Ekanem, I. and Wyer, P. (2007). A fresh start and the learning experience of ethnic minority entrepreneurs. International Journal of Consumer Studies 31(2), 144-151. Retrieved from Business Source Complete database.
Pica, R. (2008). Learning by leaps and bounds. YC: Young Children 63(6), 52-53. Retrieved from Education Research Complete database.