(TSE #028) - The Ride to Victory – Innovative Lessons from a Simple Hobby

Why Running a Business is Like Riding a Bike

I went for a ride on my bike one morning last week and it got me thinking about how running a business is very much like riding a bike.

As I weaved between cars and pushed hard against headwinds, it reminded me of how?important perseverance had been in overcoming?various challenges?I had faced over?the years?as a business owner and solopreneur.

Equally, as I glided downhill and enjoyed the ease of riding on flat roads, it reminded me of those times when business seemed effortless and enjoyable.

Thinking about becoming a Solopreneur? Then do this …

I’d like to get this out of the way upfront – I am not a weekend Lycra Warrior.

I ride my bike occasionally, usually during the week, as a form of exercise and to take a break from being chair-bound at work.

I find bike riding to be very cathartic and it gets my “thinking juices” flowing.

As I cycled down Beach Road in Melbourne last week, it occurred to me that riding a bike is like running a solopreneur business for these reasons:

1) You need a plan – but you need to adapt as needed

When I start out for a ride, I have a plan of where I’m heading or how long I will ride before turning around to head home.

Most of the time, the ride goes according to plan. But sometimes it doesn’t – a road might be closed; I might get a flat tyre; the winds might be more challenging than anticipated; my calf might begin to cramp.

Whatever the issue, I need to be able to adapt to reach my main goal – getting home in one piece.

So, it is in business.

As a well-known saying states “An idea or plan never survives first contact with the market”.

You can plan all you want when you launch a business, but the reality is the market will throw unexpected curve balls at you and you must adapt or die.

In business, learning from experience and adapting to market changes and customer needs is vital for success.

2) There will always be headwinds – it’s how you react that counts

When I get on my bike, everything seems easy. But that can change very quickly.

Head or side winds can pick up unexpectedly and suddenly it feels like I’m trying to cycle through mud. Each pedal stroke is painful and challenging. My balance can be affected as I try to put more power into each stroke. But I must keep pedalling to move forward.

In the same way, running your own business requires consistent effort and hard work to progress. Headwinds and challenges will come at you from all directions – customers, suppliers, staff, regulations, economic conditions, and so on.

Perseverance and focus are crucial to success, whether on the road or building a business.

3) Anticipate that bad things may likely happen

For those readers who know Beach Road in Melbourne, you will know that riding a bike along it can be fraught with danger.

For most of the journey from Elwood outbound, there is no bicycle lane on the road and the two outbound car lanes are pretty ‘tight’. There is a pedestrian path on one side of the road which cyclists can use but it comes with its own hazards, being pedestrians who are oblivious to cyclists.

So, I use the road when I ride outbound. This creates enormous risk in the forms of being hit by a car as drivers can be unaware of your presence, or the door of a parked car being opened unexpectedly.

When riding, as when running your own business, you need to be ready for bad things to happen. You need to use the Stoic practice of Premeditatio Malorum which is the conscious act of anticipating potential adversities and mentally preparing yourself for them to lessen their impact.

When I’m riding I am constantly anticipating a driver making a mistake and not seeing me, or a pedestrian walking across my path, or a tradie opening their car door without realising I’m coming past.

Premeditatio Malorum is the act of mentally visualizing future hardships or adversities in advance so you can rehearse and prepare yourself to meet them with perspective, courage, and calmness when they arrive.

This act of negative visualisation is designed to positively impact my life by anticipating what might go wrong, so I can be prepared to take evasive or corrective action.

4) Self-directed but work as a team

When I’m on my bike, I am completely responsible for how I use it – the direction I choose, the speed, the gears, etc.

However, I am cognisant that I am in an environment in which there are many things that are beyond my control – cars, pedestrians, weather, bike malfunction, road conditions, etc.

When riding, I’m working as an individual, but my “team” is the environment around me. I am constantly making informed judgements about my environment, the choices others are making, and how it impacts my decision-making.

In business, whether as a solopreneur or part of a traditional multi-employee company, you need to be aware of those around you and work with each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

Collaboration and teamwork are essential for achieving goals and creating innovation.

In cycling, working with your “team” means you will likely get home alive. In business, working with your team means your business will likely survive and thrive.

5) Exhilaration and a sense of accomplishment

As I set off on my bike, I often think about the sense of accomplishment I’ll feel when I finish. I look forward to riding for an hour or so and getting 25 or 30 kilometres under my belt.

My motivations are to improve my physical well-being, to have time to think, and to enjoy the beauty of my surrounds as I ride along the bayside in Melbourne.

My motivation is created through self-discipline and a focus on the goals I aspire to achieve.

In business, having a vision of what you are trying to achieve and the self-discipline to act to bring the vision to reality are key drivers of momentum. These fuel motivation and commitment, which are crucial for long-term success.

There will be stumbles, challenges, hard times, and moments when you will likely want to give up. But it is these times that test our character and make the journey so rewarding.

The Importance of Getting Back Up

Cycling and running a business both require continual adjustment and control.

You have to constantly make minor tweaks and corrections to maintain your direction and avoid obstacles in your path.

Not all journeys run smoothly, and there are often stumbles at the start. Falling off can happen when you’re learning to ride a road bike, but it’s part of the process.

For example, when I first started riding with clipped-in shoes, I fell onto the road (my feet still clipped into the pedals) when I came to a set of traffic lights because I couldn’t get my feet unclipped in time.

On another occasion, I was in the city and my front tyre got stuck in a tram track because I wasn’t used to the width of my tyres being so narrow. Once again, I fell onto the tram tracks because I couldn’t unclip my shoes in time.

I learned from both incidents the importance of unclipping my shoes quickly when needed and have never had an issue since.

Failure in business is inevitable; not everything runs smoothly all the time. But each setback provides lessons and an experience that can be used to get back up and ride on.

Riding a bike becomes easier with practice and so too does running a business.

After stumbling in the early days, experience helps entrepreneurs develop business acumen and leadership instincts. Once the fundamentals are engrained, it becomes much easier to pick up speed, ride smoothly, and keep your balance no matter the commercial headwinds you face.

The most important part, whether riding a bike or building a business, is to start.

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