The Best Thing For An Entrepreneur To Do...Is To Do

Entrepreneurship isn’t for the faint of heart. Deciding to finally act on that big decision that you’ve been thinking about for the past couple of years is a massive step. Is it worth the time, money and risk to start this really awesome new business idea that I have? Will it succeed? Am I cut out to be be an entrepreneur? These are just a few frightening questions we ask ourselves before taking that leap. Fortunately for us, entrepreneurs are made, not born.

I took Richard Branson’s approach to entrepreneurship. He once said to Inc.’s president and editor in chief Eric Schurenberg during an exclusive sit-down interview, “In the end, you have to say, ‘Screw it. Just do it.’”

I saw a lot of customers coming in to Winning Appliances stores with catalogues, either ours or competitors, saying they just need this product and I thought if they’ve already made their mind up on a catalogue why wouldn’t they be able to do that on the internet? After weighing up the risks versus the rewards, I decided to just do it like Richard Branson (and of course Nike) said.

Becoming an entrepreneur is about wanting to go on a risky but thrilling new adventure. If you have the desire to go on a new journey, give it a shot, but if you're hoping that someone will hand you a step-by-step guide, then you won't be able to take the risks that every entrepreneur needs to be able to take to become successful. No “entrepreneur guide book” will tell you how to decide between hiring person A or person B, which assets are the best investment for your new company, or which suppliers are best to work with.

Taking risks and failing versus taking risks and succeeding cannot happen without taking that risk in the first place. Throughout my entrepreneurial journey, I’ve made many of the wrong decisions that didn’t work out as well as I hoped for. A successful entrepreneur needs to embrace (instead of run from) making decisions on things that might not work or else they will never be able to succeed.

So my advice for anyone thinking about taking that next step and becoming an entrepreneur is that nothing is ever a sure thing, but the best thing for an entrepreneur to do...is to do.