Aristotle once said that you cannot avoid criticism if you “say nothing, don’t do anything, and be nothing.” To put it another way, you can’t get on the wrong side with the human beings around you if you sit in a box and hope that no one notices.
We can use business terms to change Aristotle’s thinking to describe how to avoid becoming an entrepreneur. Change nothing, challenge nothing and dare to be different. You don’t want your customers to be upset, do you? Do you want to keep your regular sales coming in? You don’t want them to look for a solution.
If you are starting a business, do you not want to follow the lead of everyone else?
Dare to be Different
It all depends on whether you are looking for a great business or one that is just trying to survive, reaching half-hearted goals, and keeping its head above the water. You can tell your friends that you’re still going and still making some money, but it doesn’t mean that the wolf is gone.
True entrepreneurs have a different mindset. You must learn to embrace innovation if you want to be successful in today’s competitive dog-eat-dog world. The world of brilliant ideas. The world of problem-solving. While your intelligent solution might be a bit annoying to half of the world, the other half will love it.
Why you can’t please everyone
You can choose any global brand, such as Nike, MacDonald’s, or Apple; ask for opinions from shoppers in the mall during Black Friday Sale. You’re almost as likely to find someone who loves these brands as someone who hates them.
Why?
Each company has a set defined set of values. These may or may not be in line with your expectations. As necessary, every business is constantly innovating, changing, and bringing new and exciting ideas to the table. Some people are not comfortable with change. Some people won’t like the changes being made. Others will probably love the changes.
Any brand’s success depends on its commitment to its values. It is impossible to be everything to everyone, and you will make a large portion of the population mad if you don’t have a set of values. You won’t attract fan blogs and love letters from vegetarians if you own a fast-food restaurant.
We’re stating that you don’t have to think you can appeal to everyone, from your next-door neighbor to the King Of Siam. Your brand should be bold and distinctive. You must also stay true to your values, and you must quickly get past anyone who says that you are wrong.
Why are pissed-off people actually so good?
Some people see a problem when there is one. Entrepreneurs see the potential. If people were happy with how they get a taxicab, would Uber have been possible? Someone listened to pissed-off people and created the app to solve their problems. They were able to use Wi-Fi and smartphone technology to help them (or else they would have used flares and smoke signals), but the people who created it knew what they wanted and were ready to develop it from their initial idea to the point of development.
Pissed-off people are a sign of a problem. You can become an entrepreneur if there are enough POPS.
Look Ma! I have cured the squeaky door!
Uber ideas are not all marketable. Ask any entrepreneur who is worth their salt, and they will tell you that there are many ideas that were sparked by lightning and never again. You should not believe any entrepreneur who claims that their current business is the first idea.
Before they reach the “big one,” entrepreneurs go through many stages.
* They must find pissed-off people who have a problem.
* They must talk to as many people as possible in order to get a clear picture of the problem.
* When they find a solution, they need to have a lightbulb moment.
* They must test the solution and ensure it works. In truth, this is where many business ideas are born.
* They adapt and rethink, but ultimately bring the real problem into line with the right solution – the product their pissed people will just love.
Any solution will only lead to problems for those who like the status quo, people who don’t want things changed, and who believe they could count on everything staying the same until the day they die.
These people are forever and ever. You could teleport to China in less than a second if you had a method. There would still be many people who laud the benefits of flying and delays. You’d also find people wondering what happened to the conversation if you created a way to allow people to interact and socialize online. You don’t really need them because you will have plenty of people who love your idea.
Entrepreneurs as truth seekers
This may sound like a statement made by entrepreneurs to be prophets of the future, but it is actually quite common. They see the root cause of any problem and come up with a solution. They often step outside of their comfort zones, pushing into areas that aren’t comfortable. Captain Kirk said it best: Boldly going places no man has gone before
There will be brick walls you have to climb over, people who will laugh at you as you drop into the commercial abyss of a product that they don’t understand, and times when you question whether you should give up your entrepreneurial life in order to pursue something more sedate.
There will be times when you can solve the problem, see the hope in customers’ eyes, and there may be rare times of pure gold when your solution is adopted and changed the world.
