Thinking about “going for it”?
I’ve been following a blog over at Catalyst Space that targets young leaders…especially entrepreneurial leaders. Nothing below is original with me. It’s all from them. And, I think, it’s priceless if you are thinking about doing something new…something significant.
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5 Lessons for Kingdom Entrepreneurs
1. “If you’ll do now what most people won’t. You’ll be able to do, for the rest of your life, what most people can’t.
It’s the biblical principle of delayed gratification. You sacrifice your desire now so you can reap future rewards. That may be: investing in your retirement, working out, eating healthy. In the case of Kingdom Entrepreneurs it means sacrificing time (every week, even every day) to start working on, praying about, researching, discussing your venture. Whether it’s a church plant, a collaborative project, or launching a non-profit, to start your own thing, it’s going to take sacrifice.
2. If you go looking for money, you’ll get advice. If you go looking for advice, you’ll get money.
It’s hard to find funding for a risky startup. But when you ask for advice, everyone loves to share their opinion, and some people really want to share their knowledge. When you come to someone humbly asking for advice, they will invest their experience and knowledge in you, and perhaps also buying-in to your project.
3. Once you build your financial model, double your expenses and double the time it will take to get your revenue, and that will be about right. It will always take longer and cost more than you expect.
This is a great rule of thumb for any project. In our culture we tend to over promise and under deliver. It’s easy to be overly optimistic and plan from a best-case scenario perspective – but that’s often unrealistic. To avoid surprises and heartbreak in your entrepreneurial ventures, plan for fewer people, less interest, and higher development costs.
4. The only difference between failure and success in the startup arena is the ability to survive the lows.
There will be highs and lows when you’re first starting up. Make sure you don’t go bankrupt in the lows. Countless startups have gone bust with large orders and opportunities on the horizon, but were unable to get there because of over spending or poor planning. Minimize your startup costs, minimize your overhead, minimize your debt.
5. There’s only one way to fail, and that’s quitting.
Keep this quote in large letters on your wall: NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP – Winston Churchill
.Real.Greg.Lee. 