Weekly Business Insights from Top Ten Business Magazines | Week 309 | Entrepreneurship Section | 2

Extractive summaries and key takeaways from the articles curated from TOP TEN BUSINESS MAGAZINES to promote informed business decision-making | Since September 2017 | Week 309 | August 11-17, 2023

3 Ways to See Beyond the Small Steps and Work Toward a Bigger Entrepreneurial Journey

By Seth Casden | Entrepreneur Magazine | August 9, 2023

Listen to the Extractive Summary of the Article

As entrepreneurs, we want to see things happen quickly. Yet, it’s important to remember that what seems small can end up being mighty.  At the risk of tossing out a cliche, consider a tiny apple tree seed. Its physical presence makes it seem relatively insignificant, but given time and the proper conditions, it can make a world of difference to countless people in need of nourishment.  The hard part is waiting for that impact to come.

As leaders, we have to be able to not just see the tree but believe that what we see happening down the road (e.g., the branching out, the blossoming, the harvesting) is real. That’s challenging, particularly when everyone around you is just pointing at a minuscule seed and saying, “That’s never going to turn into anything.” But you have to have faith that something small can turn into something bigger.  Below are some of the author’s suggestions for helping us do that with confidence:

Choose a path that fuels your passions.  As an entrepreneur, you’re going to do a lot of heavy lifting. You’ll be emotionally consumed by whatever it is that you’re invested in. If you don’t have an inherent passion for it, you’ll burn out — much like Thomas Edison’s light bulb.  Contrary to popular belief, he didn’t fail in making a light bulb 10,000 times. Rather, he found endless ways the light bulb couldn’t work.  It’s easy to imagine how hard it would have been for him to keep trying if he hadn’t been passionate about his invention.  You’ll have naysayers. You can’t let them deter you from the valid opportunities you see before you but are hidden from others. The only way to stay on track is to be driven by something that fuels your imagination and fire.

Avoid the instinctual craving for instant results.  We live in a society of instant gratification. Accordingly, when we want something, we want the benefits of it right away. Sometimes, though, the long-term payoff is much better. For instance, when you take antibiotics, you can’t just stop them when you start improving. You have to finish your entire prescription, or else you could forfeit the benefits.  You need to start implementing small changes, pivots, paths, approaches, etc., in your organization. Maybe you do something once per month. It won’t work right away, but it will work eventually.

Trust that what you’re doing has value.  Trust. The. Process. This can be hard to hear as well as do. According to the author he remember being criticized by peers who thought he was making the wrong decisions. “Your revenues are ‘X,’ so your travel budgets need to be ‘Y,’ not ‘Z.'” What they didn’t see was that by traveling and making in-person connections, they were inching their way toward more business. This doesn’t mean they didn’t make corrections over time, but they trusted that they would see progress by doing what seemed reasonable — and it did work.

Will you get pushback? Of course. That’s all part of the journey. What you need is confidence in you and your team’s vision so you can execute thoughtfully and consistently. In doing so, you’ll be able to make small changes that will build on each other (similar to compounding interest).

3 key takeaways from the article

1. As entrepreneurs, we want to see things happen quickly. Yet, it’s important to remember that what seems small can end up being mighty.  At the risk of tossing out a cliche, consider a tiny apple tree seed. Its physical presence makes it seem relatively insignificant, but given time and the proper conditions, it can make a world of difference to countless people in need of nourishment.  The hard part is waiting for that impact to come.
2. As leaders, we have to be able to not just see the tree but believe that what we see happening down the road (e.g., the branching out, the blossoming, the harvesting) is real. That’s challenging but you have to have faith that something small can turn into something bigger.  
3. 3 suggestions for helping us do that with confidence are: choose a path that fuels your passions, avoid the instinctual craving for instant results, and trust that what you’re doing has value.

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Topics: Entrepreneurship, Startups, Consistency, Patience