For any of you entrepreneurs out there, youll understand why this article I wrote, titled My 1,000 Ounces of Gold, is a big deal for me. It exposes some of my deepest, hidden fears. Im guessing Im not alone. ---------------------------------- My 1,000 Ounces of Gold or Sleepless in Kentucky ---------------------------------- When it comes to entrepreneurship, there are sometimes small, but important differences between idiots and geniuses. Every entrepreneur has some doubts--you know, the ones that keep you awake at night wondering if that idea you’ve worked on is going to be successful or not. The longer you work on it and the more money you spend, the more sleepless nights you have. As the time approaches for your product to be released to the world, the anxiety increases exponentially. My time has come. If you’re a fan of Discovery Channel’s reality show called Gold Rush and you read the rest of this article, you’ll understand why I’m a terrified entrepreneur. I’ve concluded that I’m going to be like one of the show’s stars--either Todd Hoffman or Parker Schnabel. Both are entrepreneurs. Both worked hard. One was very successful and one was a dismal failure. One is considered an idiot and the other a genius. I started an entrepreneurial initiative along with my son Corey over a year ago with a simple idea. To fund it, I convinced him it was a good idea to use the proceeds from another entrepreneurial initiative (of only modest success) we jointly started nearly 5 years ago. What makes it terrifying is that aside from putting my own time, money and reputation on the line, I’ve used my son’s time, money, and effort too. He’s bought into my dream, so he’s invested in it too. I believed in this idea so much, that I focused much more on the upside than the downside. My friends and family believed in me and my idea too. We invested heavily in this new entrepreneurial initiative. That investment included copious amounts money and sweat equity. Ive personally gone over a year with no income. We’re within a few short weeks now of releasing our “baby” to the world and now that the time has come, I’m sleeping less. A lot less. Why? Because of the fear of failure. So what does this have to do with a reality series called Gold Rush? Well, if you watch the show, you’ll know that Todd Hoffman ended the latest season in total, abject failure. He let down his family, his friends and his co-workers -- and he did it in front of 5 million people. Parker Schnabel, an 18 year old, closed the season with a bang. He exceeded his goal and achieved glory. They both worked hard and they both believed strongly in their ideas. I spent many hours watching this show because I love watching how entrepreneurs work. Despite Todd’s undying positive attitude and enthusiasm, all his hard work and money went down in flames. Hope and hard work are components of success, but never a guarantee. The season ended with Parker’s triumph and Todd’s flaming failure. Coincidentally, the season ended near the time we’re about to launch our new product line. Shortly after the season finale, it occurred to me that I might be Todd. He is famous for saying “I’m going to get 1,000 ounces of gold” with little more than hope to support the notion. Questions like the following are why Im not sleeping so well. Have I been blinded by hope like Todd Hoffman, or was I a smart entrepreneur like Parker Schnabel? Am I an idiot of a genius? Will my sleepless nights be for naught? Am I Todd or am I Parker? Time will tell. There are many ways to define success, but my definition is a quick recovery of the funds we invested followed by a future of recurring revenue capable of supporting my desired lifestyle. I’ve given myself a year to declare this initiative either a success or failure. Hopefully I can report back a year from now that I got my “1,000 ounces of gold.” Either way, my hat’s off to Parker Schnabel and my condolences go to Todd and his crew. #goldrush #entrepreneur
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 17:05:43 +0000
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