Marvin&Company: Stories About Death And Entrepreneurship

Once at a conference my friend and colleague, who had recently switched jobs, told me I was brave. The consulting firm he’d worked with for a decade had closed when its owner retired. After briefly considering starting his own business he took a job at an engineering firm. He told me he chose lack of autonomy for job security because he’s not as brave as me.

It was a brief exchange that stuck with me for years. I used to revisit those words often, especially at times in the not so distant past when I covered my payroll by not paying myself if cash flow was sporadic. I have relationships with many larger, more established companies. If I walked away from my own small business adventure I’d probably find a cubicle with my name on it. So why do I choose this? Am I really brave?

I’ve spent years building a team of like-minded people, for whom this work is a gift. The greatest reward for our efforts is one more day not in a cubicle. We are people who can’t sit still, who need an endless series of new challenges to stay engaged. Mindless work is soul crushing. The risk involved in entrepreneurship makes us feel alive. Every successful business owner I’ve ever met, regardless of what their business does, have one thing in common. We are (almost) unafraid to fail.

Failure is part of the trajectory, and we wouldn’t trade this wild ride for anything, including job security and a 401K. We fail. We learn. We try again. Entrepreneurship is having the confidence to believe, in the depths of your soul, that whatever challenge comes your way you will learn your way through it. We practice until adapting to failure is muscle memory. There’s no way to anticipate what’s next but no matter what happens we know how to play this game. It’s more than loving our jobs or wanting to make money. The thrill of a constantly shifting landscape is just as much a part of us as our blood and bones.

There’s a downside to my apparent fearlessness that belies most successful small businesses. If I’m too distracted by what’s next, I quickly lose sight of what’s happening now. While planning is an imperative part of leadership, too much focus on looking forward can undermine current success. It’s difficult for me to remain present; I thrive on planning and problem solving. Because of this, I sometimes need redirecting to the less exciting aspects of business ownership that require my attention.

Knowing this about myself, I’ve learned to delegate a lot of the day to day tasks to people who excel with to-do lists and task completion. We all have strengths and weaknesses. Acknowledging mine, and filling gaps in my own abilities with the strengths of others, has made me, and my company, stronger.

One of the best choices I’ve made so far is hiring someone with a totally different approach to planning than mine. I have a strong tendency toward implementing multiple (clearly brilliant) ideas all at once. My Vice President keeps me focused by gently reminding me to finish one project before starting another. He also likes to remind me that my name is on the sign, that he never would have started his own company. Yet he mitigates my rainbow chasing, eases me out of hyper-focus when necessary, and makes sure our staff have what they need now while I’m looking for our next horizon. We’ve been exponentially more successful ever since.

I still don’t feel very brave, but I’ve noticed it’s easier to seem fearless when I don’t have to do it alone.