It was not long ago that I was clean shaved, suited up and standing at a podium giving a keynote speech. The next day I was motivating kids about veteran’s day by having them march and take funny pictures in formation etc. Immediately after, I was getting right back at what happens “Behind the Scenes” of a start up. The constant dedication and working on whatever is needed to get the company to the point needed to the next point needed until it is ready for “exit” or whatever the agreed upon strategy.
Entrepreneurship has it rewards. I am in control of my day, I do not have to answer to someone who I do not respect and I can work on my own dreams… However, with full control comes great headaches and a lot of sacrifices too. For instance, I do not have a steady paycheck every week to count on and very often I do not have a real social life because building a business takes up a lot of my time. The behind the scenes portion of a startup, building a business or however we define this journey of creating something in this entrepreneurship life – is very demanding and comes with a great deal of uncertainty.
The behind the scenes aspect – how can I describe it from my perspective? It is very nerve racking at times! It is also very rewarding and humbling. The nerve racking part comes from feeling like I am not making any progress as if I am totally standing still. Imagine the hamster in the wheel just spinning – no matter how much I speed I am always in the same place. Nerve racking – would you not agree? However – when I take pause and take a good look at the work that I have done from a fresh pair of eyes. I can see the progress or better yet I can see a new idea or an additional thought that furthers what I have been working on. The rewarding and humbling part comes from meeting my milestones (because most of the work I do by myself – I am a startup) and seeing how much I can accomplish when I push myself. There are a lot of early to late nights and pacing around thinking about the topic at hand over and over again until I can figure just enough to move on. By the way this is just to get started before actually getting to the fun part of presenting to the money people and/or dealing with outside vendors (companies) to help me do the parts I need help with.
THERE ARE A LOT OF DAYS OF JUST WORKING ON YOUR CRAFT AND NOTHING ELSE.
Before you get to the Shark Tanks, the Dragon’s Den and/or the Yachts with the champagne – there is A LOT of work being done behind the scenes. I know t.v. makes entrepreneurship seem so damn easy – you have an idea, you get some people, you ask for some money and voila you build it and they will come. Ha ha sloooooooow down for a moment. It is not quite that simple – in fact it’s not that simple at all. There are a lot of days of just working on your craft and nothing else – in business it’s called your core competencies, your competitive advantage – what you do better than everybody else that makes you unique. In the start up world it’s your product or service! This is what you do day in and day out – EVERYDAY! There are no days off. A comparison is like Kobe Bryant practicing his fundamentals tirelessly – you are working on your business tirelessly – you code? You’re coding – period. You draw and create character – you are drawing – period. You keep honing and refining your product to build the business around until you have a product or service worth selling. Never stop! Your work is free.
FOR PEOPLE THAT MADE IT BEFORE I HAVE QUESTIONS – PLEASE ANSWER
The point is the magic that happens behind the scenes is the tireless effort that is not told in the stories of success. We only hear the beginning – “I was poor and did not have a dime to my name”. Then we hear the end -“I made a million dollars working my tail off – working very hard”. This is where I give the blank stare at those people because my next question would be to know about the working hard portion. What did this person do? Tell me about the ups and downs you experienced? What was your lowest point? How did you fight through the down period? How did you get people to believe in your product and/or believe in you? That is the behind the scenes portion that you and everyone that is starting out needs to know about because hearing the success stories is like listening to a salesman. You are sold the beautiful exterior that is all shiny and new of a luxurious car but when you get inside you feel that you that you were sold a beat down pinto. You can get it to match the luxurious outside, but it is going to take a lot of work and you are so overwhelmed that you do not know where to begin.
So the next time you watch a movie about someone’s successful life or about achievement in general – just think about what really happened or is happening during the middle portion that is condensed. Look to see if there is a book version of the movie and read it as that will give a clearer picture of what really took place and provide a better understanding. For instance, in the pursuit of happyness Chris Gardner gave an account of his life that spanned three years that was condensed into 15 to 20 minutes of a 90 minute movie. I know you will probably say how much can fit into a two hour movie? I get it but the point is that behind the scenes there is a lot that goes into a start up that is not talked about that you need to understand just like in an autobiographic picture of a successful businessman.
