One of the main drawbacks of being an entrepreneur is that every decision is on you. You are responsible for your success and you are responsible for your failure. No pressure, right? It is evident in my point of view that this is cause for stress in most of us, including me. Whether you accept it or not, when you work for a company, whether it is small or large, you can rely on someone else setting the strategy and taking charge of the decisions at some point in time. Maybe you decide 95% of the time, but that 5% may be the most critical decisions of all and someone has to carry them.

Needless to say, but I will, it also has its risks. You make a wrong decision or a good decision which leads to a bad result, you have only yourself to blame. We call it independence and we value it wholly. It is your right to make your choices on how you will run your business and it is your prerogative on what you you choose to do and how to approach it. Nobody can force you to do anything you do not want to do, unless you believe it is good for your future. If you do not perceive it to bring benefit to your overall plan, even if it brings you income, then the best thing is to be honest and decline.

Sometimes your decisions, even if you really want to make them, walk on the narrow line of ethical ambiguity. You want to make sure that you decide and take into account all factors and relationships and make sure that even if the pot of gold is in front of you, you are careful not to stir it with the wrong spoon. Respect your principals and be honest with your customers, even if it means walking away from good business.

That was this week’s dilemma, let’s see how it turn out in the long run.

Keep Calm and Stay Humble…

So I was talking to my teenage son who is real excited as he is about to apply for his driver’s permit. That is a big step in any young man’s life. It is a prelude to a Driver’s License. The power to cruise around, without parent supervision, and obey the rules of the road, while, very carefully, not speed. Or maybe the power to go look for girls and blast the stereo, I think that is his motivation; oh, to be young and have hair again.

Anyway, as I was talking to him and I could not stop laughing, I thought about the fact that in business, just as in life, we have to be very careful in our instructions and how we request things. Case in point is the following. We are reviewing his application which took him about 30 minutes to complete – you know he does not want to get one wrong because then I will be on top of him letting him know he is not ready to drive; that is the fun cruelty of being a dad.

As we are looking down at the list we get to the question and one of them states, Do you want to be an organ donor? He crossed no. It startled me I must admit it because all of us at home that drive are organ donors. So I ask him, why don’t you want to be an organ donor? He looks at me with his face in disgust and fear at the same time, and he says: “no way man, not me” I said, why not, it is a good thing, he defiantly gets up and paces around the table and tells me, “nope. not gonna happen, not me, nope”. I must admit I am baffled and disappointed. How could this young man not want to donate organs to those in need if he is not going to need them. And then it hits me…. wait for it. I tell him, you do realize you will be dead when they take them, and then, I see his expression change and relief possesses him with skepticism and he replies, “are you sure, I need you to be sure”…

I could not take it anymore and I laughed until I cried a little. If we do not explain things well to a young man that has never filled out his form, and did not explain what the procedure consists of, who is wrong: us or him. Well, I think we all share the blame a little. I am happy to report that he changed his answer and he is now a proud organ donor. I am also proud to report that I did not have to convince him. I am sad to report that I will rub it in until he is an old man and this story has just become public knowledge. Kids are great, hopefully we as entrepreneurs give out instructions clearly to those who work with us if not we can expect horrified looks as well.

Keep Calm and Stay Humble…

So I am sure you have experienced the event I am describing. There is an opportunity that closes on your face. You have been working long and hard behind it, and just when you think it is there, it closes up on you, almost taking your nose in the process. This happens to all of us, but somehow, it is that nose thing that really hurts the most. I guess you can smell it and it is not for you. Oh, well the life of entrepreneur continues and it will probably be the same always.

Two doors open all of it sudden and like a movie, you start smiling and running towards it. We are imagining ourselves hugging and kissing our opportunity, because it is so good and it feels so right… but you never know, it might hit you in the nose again.

I guess that as I explained some months back, you have to be emotionally ready to succeed and to fail as well. When you succeed all is excitement and positive, when you fail, negativism rules. The best thing is always to be leveled, even in the best of times and the worst of times. When you do this, you can actually inject reality into your emotions and your actions most importantly, whether it is a good or bad situation.

I am telling you, I am always grounded, except when I write this blog, I get silly! Anyway, please be sure to look out for the doors swinging back at you and remember that most doors that close will also open back up, you just have to wait a little.

Keep Calm and Stay Humble…