Starting a Business is Like Getting Married
“Come to the edge.”
“We can’t. We’re afraid.”
“Come to the edge.”
“We can’t. We will fall!”
“Come to the edge!”
They came. And he pushed them.
And they flew.
This is one of my favorite quotes of all time and has been attributed to the French poet and playwright, Guillaume Apollinaire. Sometimes the fear of the unknown can keep you from experiencing something greater. Many people have the same attitude about being afraid to “come to the edge” about starting a business or getting married. It turns out that these two are similar in a lot of ways.
One of the most often quoted statistics about starting a business is the fact that most small businesses fail. In fact, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration, the survival rate for new firms is about 50% after 5 years. In other words, one-half of new firms fail within 5 years. This rate is similar across all states and all industries. This is undisputed. It’s “true”.
But what does that have to do with whether or not you start YOUR business?
Before you answer that question, let me ask you another one.
Are you married? Are you considering getting married? Do you think you will ever get married?
If you were told most marriages fail, how would that affect your decision? According to the U.S. National Vital Statistics Reports – 2009, the divorce rate was exactly 50% of the marriage rate. Does that percentage sound familiar? And does it even matter? Of course NOT!
If you’ve found the one you love, you don’t care about what other marriages have done or what other marriages are doing. Your focus will be on YOUR marriage. It should be the same with your business. Don’t focus on how many other businesses have failed; focus on making your business successful in every way!
Some of the ways marriage and starting a business are similar:
YOU NEED PASSION
Of course passion is not the ONLY thing that you need, but it is a vital component! Passion is usually the thing that gets the marriage/business started. Some people say that “passion won’t pay the bills.” But passion is the spark that runs the engine that drives the vehicle that takes you to the place where you can get the money…that WILL pay the bills. You cannot do without passion for your business. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
COMMITMENT & DEDICATION IS REQUIRED
Starting a business may involve long hours of working on tasks with no apparent results. Make no mistake, though. This will be “good work”, if the passion is there from the beginning. In order to see the results that you want, you will need to dedicate yourself fully to your business, its brand, its customers and its success. The same applies to marriage.
EXPECT TOUGH TIMES
Anyone who tells you that they’ve never had a problem in their marriage is not telling you the truth. Marriage is such an intimate relationship between two unique individuals that differences are bound to occur. This just means that the two of you have something to work on…together. Similarly, don’t get discouraged when your sales drop or a big client gets away or your employees misbehave. It’s part of being in business. Expect it. Enjoy it! Is that possible?
“FAILURE” IS NEVER FINAL
Suppose you are part of the 50% who has a “failed” business or marriage. What does that mean? Does that mean you are a failure? Or does that mean you have some great information and feedback that will allow you to succeed the next time? Use your previous experience to make your next one even better! I’ve had a business fail before and I survived. Now I am passionately encouraging others to take the leap into entrepreneurship. I’ve have a marriage dissolve before and now I’m married to the “sweetest woman in the world.” Not that my first wife wasn’t sweet….um…I fear that this post is getting a little too personal! :^)
Until next time, Go Boldly! ®
Dino Herbert
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RESOURCES
U.S. Small Business Administration, Advocacy Small Business Statistics and Research
http://web.sba.gov/faqs/faqindex.cfm?areaID=24
National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 58, No. 25