When excuses simply don’t matter anymore…

The odds of success as an entrepreneur are almost nonexistent.

Bloomberg.com did a study in 2013 discovering that 8 out of 10 businesses failed to make it to their 18 month anniversary. From my perspective, I think it is closer to 9 out of 10 businesses.

How many people dabble in business that were not part of the census that Bloomberg used for this study?

How many people thought about being an entrepreneur, but never really applied the necessary action?

How many people started in Network Marketing, gave it 30 days before quitting, and ignorantly proclaimed that the model is flawed?

Although I do not have research to back this statement, I believe that 99% of people who go down the entrepreneurial track give up before they reach their 18 month anniversary.

What do the experts say?

When searching Google on the topic of “why businesses fail,” there are thousands of articles. After sifting through many, here are the most repetitive factors amongst most of the posts:

• Misunderstanding the needs of the customer
• Lack of differentiation in the marketplace
• Struggling to effectively communicate value
• Misguided leadership
• Financial hardships
• Clouded missions
• Lack of capital (BS excuse!)
• Poor planning and execution
• Overexpansion
• Peter Principle
• Absence of innovation

Although every reason from above contributes to the failing entrepreneur, from my experience after working working with and advising thousands of businesses, the root cause of destruction is a lack of resourcefulness.

Too many entrepreneurs “play it safe” by making excuses for their lack of resources versus finding a way.

Eric Thomas, an extremely vocal and high energy motivational speaker, says the following,

“When you find a way, out of no way!
When you find breath that you don’t have!
When you find energy that did not exist!
When you want this thing as bad as you want to breathe!
That’s when you find a way!”

Resources are Never the Problem, but Lack of Resourcefulness IS!

Some of the most successful, EPIC, and impactful entrepreneurs were at a severe disadvantage when it came to resources (time, money, know-how, employees, skills), but this never got in their way from creating monumental and earth-shattering success.

Just take a look at a few of these examples because this proves anything is possible when you become relentlessly resourceful:

Daymond John
Daymond John purchased a van and started a taxi service in Bronx, NY where he drove up and down Amsterdam Avenue for 75 cents. He made a few thousand dollars and sold the van to purchase a handful of sewing machines, hired his mother and grandmother, and the billion dollar FUBU brand was born.

Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs sold his car and Steve Wozniak sold his calculator so they could scrape together enough money to build the prototype of the computer circuit board that would become known as the Apple I.

John Paul DeJoria
John Paul, the Founder of Paul Mitchell (a $1 billion hair care product line), started with absolutely nothing. When placing his first order of products, he did not have enough money to put color on the packaging and needed to negotiate terms with his supplier so he had enough time to sell in order to pay for the inventory. He filled his beat up car with goods and went salon to salon allowing people to try the product. The rest is history.

Kevin Plank
Kevin Plank is the CEO of Under Armour and his early days starting the company were challenging. He was a football coach with very little money and his first run of products was only a handful of shirts that he would reuse with his team until he built enough demand. During this time, he had to score meals from this mom’s house and cut every corner possible to eventually a $500+ million net worth.

Jared Yellin
I started SYNDUIT out of my apartment by myself with no funding and no money. I found a way to grow the company fast enough to build a fairly large team, which eventually led to the development of version 1 of our software platform (we launched version 3 of the SYNDUIT platform on February 1, 2016 for the Network Marketing Profession). As we were building version 1 of our software, we found ourselves in our first cash flow bind because we were unable to sell since the project was 2 months away from completion, payroll was coming up for our team of 17 people, and we had $47 in our business account (nothing in my personal). This was in 2012, so I called my accountant and asked, “What do companies typically do if they run out of money?” His answer was simple, “Fire or Sell.” Since selling was not an option, and firing would be counter-productive since everyone would be needed once the software launched, I needed to be relentlessly RESOURCEFUL. Within 48 hours, I had created and launched an information product for small businesses which was successful enough to create a runway for two months, which allowed our software to launch. The rest is history.  

The commonality with all of the people on this list is a concept that Daymond John discusses in his new book, The Power of Broke, where he writes that being broke is your most significant competitive advantage.

And just so you know, money is not always what it means to be broke.

Maybe you have a ton of money but you have no time.
Maybe you have plenty of time and money but you have no morale support from your loved ones.
Maybe you have all of the above but you don’t believe in yourself.

What if you were to change your dialogue?

Most potential entrepreneurs and business owners operate from a place where they tell themselves that they will “TRY” to do something.

I will try to get clearer on my vision for the company.
I will try to hire more talented people.
I will try to get an investment for expansion.
I will try to negotiate a better rate on my lease.
I will try to build my Network Marketing business.
I will try to setup a meeting with a powerful person in my industry.
I will try to attend an event that will teach me new skills.
I will try to create a replicable sales process for my company.
I will try to improve retention in my business.
I will try to open up a new market this year.
I will try…
I will try…
I will try…

The Most Impactful People Don’t Try

Daymond John, Steve Jobs, John Paul DeJoria, Kevin Plank, and myself DON’T TRY.

We have a different dialogue, a different a way of thinking, and most certainly a different way of taking action.

We operate from a place that I refer to as…

“I MUST!”

I MUST get clearer on my vision for the company.
I MUST hire more talented people.
I MUST get an investment for expansion.
I MUST negotiate a better rate on my lease.
I MUST build my Network Marketing business.
I MUST setup a meeting with a powerful person in my industry.
I MUST attend an event that will teach me new skills.
I MUST improve retention in my business.
I MUST open up a new market this year.
I MUST…
I MUST…
I MUST…

The Difference Between Success and Failure is ONE WORD

The people in the world who really make things happen don’t try, they MUST accomplish their vision.

Like Will Smith says, “There’s no reason to have a Plan B because it’ll distract you from Plan A.”

I can guarantee that none of the examples from above had a “backup” plan. We all had no choice but to make our idea become real.

If you are wondering..

Yes, this is painful.
Yes, this is scary.
Yes, this requires really hard work.
Yes, this might end weak relationships.
Yes, this might lead to exhaustion.
Yes, this is not for the faint of heart.
Yes, this requires being relentlessly resourceful.

I have always believed…

I have always believed that the victor in any endeavour is the person who simply holds on longer than everyone else.

It is the person who sees challenge as opportunity.

It is the person who looks left and right when a door closes so that they can find another door, or simply knocks the door down so they can keep on keepin’ on.

It is the person who has a singular focus for their life and simply will not stop until it is real.

It is the person who operates from MUST instead of TRY.

If you are still with me, and have read every word of this post, and you also feel like I am speaking your language, then become relentlessly resourceful — you MUST!

I will leave you with a quote that I shared earlier from my man, Eric Thomas,

“When you find a way, out of no way!
When you find breath that you don’t have!
When you find energy that did not exist!
When you want this thing as bad as you want to breathe!
That’s when you find a way!”

Scream it Loud and Clear “I MUST!”