Entrepreneurs need to think big
Friday, June 12th, 2009It is important for entrepreneurs to keep a vision of the bigger picture as they progress with growing a business they have bought or started up.
That’s not to say they need grand designs on hitting £100 million turnover after two years, rather having realistic goals and a plan to achieve those goals.
Think big, but start small and move like the wind when you need to.
Once you have a plan in place, clearly demarcate the milestones along the way, and work ceaselessly towards each, one at a time.
My karate instructor was once in the SAS and was a lead member of the elite anti-terrorist squad that rescued the 26 Iranian Embassy hostages from gunmen in 1980. He was talking to me the other day about the tough SAS selection criteria. One test was to spend a week crossing the Brecon Beacons in Wales with very little equipment or supplies. The most valuable advice he received beforehand was ‘just concentrate on getting to the next ridge’.
So long as you have a clear goal, you can always break the journey into milestones and focus your attention wholly on getting to each one in turn. Otherwise, it can be dispiriting and daunting, and the chances of business failure will rise.
Julie Meyer, of Ariadne Capital, says that along this journey an entrepreneur ‘must demonstrate confidence yet remain humble for those mistakes you will make, and for what you don’t know yet’.
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