They say 9 out of 10 entrepreneurs fail. For those that are risk-averse, starting a business shouldn’t be something you do regardless of all the benefits. Right? It’s not a promising statistic when it comes to the reality of starting and running a business.
Maybe not.
I originally wrote this article in 2016, because I used this video in class in the Introduction to Business college course. Check it out if you haven’t seen it.
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Circa 2016…
For me, the video never gets old.
Bill Gross’ Answer
It’s that simple. However, who wants to wait?! No one.
It makes so much sense why timing can mean everything. I thought the single biggest reason entrepreneurs fail was money. If you were thinking like me, watch the video from Bill Gross down below.
Personal Experience
It’s so simple to understand but also easy to miss too. In my experience, running a start-up grassroots non-profit for 10+ years was no joke. My journey has been good and bad, but if I’m honest- it was painful.
Knowing that my community center isn’t built up and running by now wasn’t in my plans. But I know timing had a lot to do with it.
Dream Big’s sign was supposed to be high in the sky. Schools were supposed to be dropping off droves of kids at my facility accessing state-of-the-art technology, education, and resources. Community meetings were supposed to be overflowing our conference rooms. Non-profit and faith-based groups would be on a waiting list to lease our incubator space. Our building was to be a safe place for kids that felt out of place like myself when I was in high school.
Ultimately, that was not in my destiny. I had to move on. My non-profit, Dream Big Community Center, is no more. However, the work continues.
Don’t Give Up
This TED Talk is a really powerful one for me because it emphasizes one key thing. If you haven’t already picked it up, don’t worry. Even though my designed milestones are lagging, I’m not giving up on my ultimate goal of helping others.
The race is still going and I’m not stopping.
And that’s life. As Mr. Gross talks about the most important ingredient to his success, take the time to find out your key ingredient. More importantly, don’t give up.
Nathan A. Webster, MBA
