FilesIs it necessary to have a eureka moment before jumping into action?
I propose to banish the imagery of the light bulb often associated with
entrepreneurs. Search “entrepreneur” in the image section of a search
engine and light bulbs will fill the result page. While helpful to
create ambiance in a room, light bulbs put undue pressure on the
entrepreneur who is already charged to identify an idea worthy of
germination.
“Eureka!” is another word on my hit list. It describes the feelings of
elation one experiences on having a new insight or idea. Is this sudden
recognition really what happens before we crown ourselves entrepreneurs
and build business empires?
Is it necessary to have a eureka moment before jumping into action? I
suppose it happens for some entrepreneurs, but I’m not one of them.
I deviated from the conventional path of employment in favour of
embracing the roller-coaster ride of launching a startup; all without
having an idea. To add another dimension of complexity, instead of
staying local where my roots and networks are, I left Canada and crossed
the Atlantic to pursue my entrepreneurial journey. In this blog “From the Desk of a GenY Bootstrapper,” I
will take you with me as I move through the stages of building a
startup, sharing experiences, tips to help you move through challenging
periods, book and article recommendations for learning and inspiration
and anecdotes revealing the less talked about emotional aspect of this
lifestyle.
One year and one month ago from a simple Ikea desk in my home office in Prague, I launched Countlan, a quarterly digital magazine that explores how people around the world entertain at home. There was no jolting insight. Countlan did
not emerge from reading a magazine where I suddenly exclaimed, “that’s
what I am going to do,” nor was it a natural career progression stemming
from years of experience in the publishing or media industry.
The pressure to come up with an idea can be overwhelming, particularly
if you want to put something in motion sooner than later or have watched
one too many episodes of CBC’s Dragons’ Den.
A friend recently confided she has strong entrepreneurial inclinations
but has not acted. I was rather bemused by her concluding remark: “I
just wish I would wake up one day with a eureka moment!” It was as if
having a eureka moment was like the start of a race. Until the buzzer
goes, you must wait behind the starting line on the ball of your feet,
finger tips down.
My friend has spent several months mulling over potential industries and
verticals where she could focus her brain power and make an impact.
Furthermore, she has narrowed her focus to the health and wellness
sector, an area that is both meaningful and stimulating for her. She is
already doing it: she has a direction, and just needs to keep exploring,
and let her ideas marinate a while longer.
When I’m asked how I launched my startup, I feel as if people are
waiting to hear: “It happened on this day, after I saw a moose, ate an
ice cream and had a eureka moment.” What I can say with certainty is the
magazine I spend my days and nights fussing over is the culmination of
many years of thoughts, experiences and character traits that were
marinating subconsciously together; sloshing around my right cerebral hemisphere.
There was no light bulb. The only immediacy was to act.
I echoed a similar message to a group of entrepreneurially curious
undergraduate students who were eager to start something of their own
but did not know what. Thinking about a business idea means you have
taken your first entrepreneurial step and put the wheels in motion.
There will come a time when the idea must evolve from a thought to an
assessment of the marketplace, but taking a critical look at your
environment where you are able to articulate why offering a different
solution may be interesting to pursue is a great start. No light bulb
required.
Sarah Lambersky is the co-founder and editor of Countlan Magazine.
This post was taken from http://wwwbrucemacdonald.blogspot.ca
Check out Bruce MacDonald's new e-book entitled: "Social Media Marketing in Agri-Foods: Endless Profit and Painless Gain"
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