Category — Entrepreneur

For a short period of time recently, my son, his wife, 9-year old son and 10-month old daughter had to move in with me after they both lost their jobs. Although I live in a small one-bedroom apartment, there was little I could do but make room and endure. For three long months, we had to share, tolerate and continue to carry on despite the circumstances. Struggle is a nice name for it.

But the most amazing struggle I was privileged to watch was that of my granddaughter, Sasha, who was learning to walk. Although her space was limited with all the boxes of human need surrounding her, nevertheless she would pull herself up on her chubby little legs again and again.

Her need to rise out of the play saucer in which she was placed, or up off the quilts I laid down on the floor for her was impressive but also distressing. She reminded me of my tries and failures to start my own business and the changes I had been through the last 18-plus years trying to stand on my own.

As with my first offers of help, reaching out my hand to her would be welcome at times, but then again she would choose to try and make it on her own even though she knew she might fall. I thought of the first contract from which I withdrew rather than drastically change my concept, and the second contract which failed when the publisher went bankrupt.

As I had, she realized somehow that struggle was a part of the plan, but if she was going to get off her knees and stand, she had to do most of the work herself.

My little family moved on before Sasha’s first birthday and her first solo steps, but I have the same faith for her that I have for myself. One day I will receive a call from my son saying she is running around and they have to run and catch her. And one day I will call him to say that my competition is struggling to keep up with me as the sales of my books and dolls are running way ahead of them all.

When did the desire to open your own business begin for you? Was it a decision you made out of necessity because you needed or wanted more freedom, money or control over your finances? Or was yours a life-long desire? In considering your answers, I’d like to introduce you to someone.

His name is Malcolm, he’s 9 years old and he is one of my grandsons. Malcolm, I believe will one day be a very successful entrepreneur. How do I know that? Because even now he is constantly looking for ways to “legally” make money. He often buys items at a low price and sells them to his friends for a little more. His mind also sees a transaction in many of his day-to-day activities, and his eyes light up when he discusses new strategies he is planning.

Does Malcolm remind you of yourself as a child? Did you dream of having your own business? Did the uniqueness of your business evolve over time or was the whole thing laid out before you in its near entirety? Was it easy to write your business plan, and was it a horrible struggle to complete it? Which part was the most comfortable to write and which was the most troublesome? Did you write a business plan? Did you ask yourself questions of “why” often, and could you answer them or find the answers?

One aspect of the plan for Malcolm, and perhaps it is due to his immaturity, is his switching from one idea to another. He is pretty well set on buying and selling, but exactly “what” he is still processing. One day its toys, one day food items, one day his artwork. Another factor we are working on is quality. Sometimes he only sees the profit he can make from an item and neglects to see where the excellence of his products will continue to have his customers return to buy new items from him.

In your business, what is your priority…money or customers? Do you consider whether you are offering your customers the best possible value or are you just trying to make a buck? Are you constantly switching from one idea to the other, from one scheme to another, or from one product to another? If you have settled on a product or service, how much time and effort do you devote to developing it? In the schedule of your life’s things-to-do, where does your business fit it? Are you devoting too much or too little time to it?

The future for Malcolm lies before him, but he is already establishing certain ground rules for the kind of business man he is going to be, and the kind of human being. Our businesses should reflect our passion, integrity and character, as they should become an extension of us. I hope that when Malcolm grows up and is actively involved in wheeling and dealing, he will be the accomplished man and business owner of whom I am already proud. I also hope he will remember his grandmother and his boyhood dream and cherish them both.

After working diligently to get my children’s book and rag dolls published and manufactured, I am constantly made aware that there is always something new that needs to be done. There’s always some tweaking, redesigning, refining, and redefining required.

As our products move along in our plans for them, we become more aware of how time is affecting what we have to offer, as well as the way in which we have to offer it. For example, on one of the sites where the image of the doll is imprinted on various products, another image requiring a transparency rather than a picture will be utilized.

This change was suggested by the artist who did the vector illustrations for the book. This alteration will give a more updated, cleaner look to the products and the artwork will provide outlets for further items like cards, posters, etc.

It is changes such as this that is required to keep up with what is happening in the marketplace. When I watched cartoons with my grandson on Saturday morning, I was delighted to see how fresh and beautiful Mickey and Minnie and Goofy and all the Disney character’s looks have evolved.

Seeing Disney as an outstanding role model, and observing their evolution, keeps me moving forward. Their success motivates me to continue to realize that there is always something that needs to be done, and being willing to make the changes can be very beneficial as well as promote longevity.

For the last 18-plus years since I have been trying to bring my dolls and books to market, there have been many occasions when I’ve felt like throwing in the towel and giving up, and I often wondered why I hadn’t.

I have signed three contracts and seen many people come and go who have become enthused and excited about my project, but who have faded away over time. I have even had people whom I have asked for advice and direction, and some who would have loved to see me fail, suggest that I should give up and try something else… but still I held on. Something always pulled me back whenever I got too close to the precipice of throwing in the towel. 

In time I came to see that it was not because I needed to do what I was trying to do. I’m retired, I have a nice apartment; good friends; and a loving family. It was not because I am a materialistic person, I can buy whatever I desire and come and go as I please. Sure I could use more money, who couldn’t, but money was not motivating me to keep going either. Like Martin Luther King, Jr., what was holding me hostage was the realization that I had a dream. 

My dream was and is to help my family; help other people who like me have a dream; and help parents and their children. The desire to help has been so strong it keeps pushing and pulling, carrying me along through all the disappointments, deterrents and detours I’ve had to overcome and endure. Throwing in the towel was not an option, and if nothing else, I’ve learned to be patient and to believe that “delay does not mean denial.” 

Now I have published my first children’s book, The First Trip, and have the first character doll, Bubba Oodle, ready for market and I know the thrill of achievement. But the greatest lesson learned has been the establishment of faith in my ability to successfully accomplish whatever I say I can. 

So to any entrepreneur who needs to hear it, don’t throw in the towel just yet. There could be something greater than you ever imagined waiting to be realized.

As an entrepreneur, how do you measure success? Is it measured by the amount of money you’re able to generate? Is it the ability to duplicate your idea or get the greatest acclaim? Can it be your staying power in the marketplace or your brand building? I believe there are as many different ways of measurement as there are entrepreneurs, and success is an individual determination. 

For me, having dabbled in the game of self-generated income, I am reconsidering my idea of success, as my current situation is causing me to feel some conflict. Although I have had the ability to be self-supportive from revenues garnered from my gifts and talents through the years, I have not been able to sustain nor excel to the point of what others may think is success for too long. 

Many ideas, time and effort have come and gone. My interest was piqued for while, but eventually waned and I moved on to something else. Nevertheless the time I’d spent and the pleasure derived from my performance of the activity was thought of by me as positive measures of my success. 

When I published my first book after waiting 18 years for the pleasure, the congratulations and love shown me by my family, friends and business associates made me feel on top of the world. Before I sold one copy, I felt like a success. I had accomplished a great part of my mission. But the work to sell the book is ongoing and difficult, and sells have slowed. Do I measure my success, not in selling books, but in having a book to sell? 

The conflict I am having is in trying to gather the same level of enthusiasm and excitement into marketing my product as I had in getting it made. I am in a new arena and a new game in which the measure of success is different. I am wondering if making money is the most concrete, important evidence of a successful entrepreneur. 

Some of the elements of entrepreneurship I’ve decided to consider are: how willing am I to risk being a failure? Am I learning things of importance as I go? How much more do I know about business or life? How much personal growth can I claim? Have my values changed, or do I view my products or customers or my responsibility to my customers in a different light? Is my attitude or my level of patience or consistency to my expression of quality the same? Do I feel that I am doing and being the best that I can be at what I do? 

For me and others struggling with our definition of success or feeling disappointed in not being what and where we think we should be, perhaps we should consider using another yardstick of measurement. I’d like to read any comments on the subject you care to share.