IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
By Eugene E. Valdez, AKA The Loan Doctor
For more than 40 years I have been fascinated with the subject of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs. I have lent money to them, interviewed them, written about them, consulted and coached them, and I have been one for over 15 years, (Still am!). Further, I am now a part time professor teaching entrepreneurship to young students at Oak Valley Christian College in Colton. I guess you can say I am doing my part to develop tomorrow’s entrepreneurs.
I admire and respect entrepreneurs. They are warriors and I love some of their quotes and how they think.
Gary Vaynerchuk is a Belarusian American entrepreneur who grew his family’s wine business from $3 million to $60 million. He is best known for his work in digital marketing and social media at leading New York based companies VaynerMedia and VaynerX.
Here is one of Gary’s quote which cracks me up. “I suck at 99 percent of stuff, but I go all out on that 1 percent I’m good at.”
For me in “consultant speak” this means know your lane/space and stay there. Or, know your core competencies and stick with “what you know.”
Additionally, in my walk as a consultant here are my other observations about successful entrepreneurs:
VISION – They spend a lot of time visioning what they want their company to become rather than what it is today. I love those entrepreneurs who have the vision to develop products and services we didn’t even know we needed until we starting using them. (dollar shave club?)
SELF RELIANCE – They know that the “buck stops with them” and they are responsible for every detail that happens “under their watch.” Even if they may have a “management team” they will roll up their sleeves to do anything that needs to be done for the good of their company.
ENERGY- They take care of themselves so that they have the energy to work those crazy 50-60 hours a week. OMG, they work hard and they think about their businesses all the time. No 40 hour work weeks here. I send emails and texts to my clients at very weird times (4:30AM, 11:45PM) on weekends and I almost always get responses within an hour. Per a report by Discover Financial Services, 57% of all business owners work some hours on holidays, it takes energy to do that.
CONFIDENCE- They are extremely confident in their abilities and their knowledge of their market. This confidence gives them the fuel to act boldy on important company matters. They do consider pros and cons but they don’t get trapped in the web of “paralysis of analysis.”
DEALING WITH UNCERTAINTY- They recognize uncertainty as part of their marketplace and they figure out a way to use it to their advantage rather than shying away. They are not afraid to take risks and they develop contingency plans to address worst case scenarios should they come to pass.
DEALING WITH FAILURE- Ah…. The biggest one. When they fail they do not become distraught or think of themselves as a “loser.” They view failure as an opportunity to learn and get better. To them a failure is a success that’s time has not come yet. They keep their emotions at an even keel whether they win or lose. They know emotional stability is the only way to survive the sometimes heart wrenching profession of being a business owner.
Stay thirsty my entrepreneurial friends!
Entrepreneurs: If I missed any characteristics, drop me a line courtesy of IE Business Daily.
Eugene Valdez is a 40-year veteran of business/financial management and owner of The Loan Doctor, a full service business loan consulting firm based in Upland. He can be reached at 909-230-0024 or [email protected].
