It Takes Time to Succeed at Your Small Business

In the world of business, people have all kinds of start-up experiences, paced in as many variations as one can imagine: slow and steady, fits and spurts, two steps forward and one step back, feast and famine, etc. The speed at which they move toward success is not an exact science. It is unpredictable because so many circumstances have an effect on reaching successful milestones, including the business location, the owner’s skills and talents, economic factors, industry saturation, availability of resources, assembling the best team of workers and so on.

It’s not the norm for someone to go into business and stake the future on unknown outcomes, so myths arise to explain the phenomenon. One such myth is that success needs to be realized right away for the venture to work. Granted, there are some noteworthy individuals in many fields who did just that, achieving an extra measure of fame for their immediate rise to the top. Does that mean that the swiftness of success is its own best predictor? Let’s dispel that myth.

New business owners will make mistakes as they design and assemble, redesign and reassemble their chosen business model. Acceptance of the inevitability of mistakes will make this journey a happier one. Making one’s dreams a reality is a time of much learning. Mistakes are signposts, pointing us away from this and toward that. Mistakes are not limited to unwanted outcomes.

Sometimes mistakes, or unintended results, actually become the most successful features of a new business venture. Here’s one famous example: Paul Prudhomme, owner of K-Paul’s Restaurant in New Orleans, inadvertently invented blackened seasonings when he overcooked a Cajun-spiced dish. His blackening spices and recipes have since brought him much fame and fortune, all beginning with a mistake! And Chef Prudhomme’s story is not unique.

Whether in the category of false starts or unexpected successes, mistakes will pave the road to success, especially if we are willing to accept them and continue forward without losing enthusiasm for our goals and dreams. Being open to the possibilities of the many, varied and unusual learning opportunities that present themselves on the self-employment journey will bring unexpected milestones of success. Patience and persistence are good companions for the journey and the habits we cultivate will predict our future. However large or small it may seem, each step into the unknown is both a new start and a new milestone reached.

DemGen Inc. is a Unique Ability team of experts who assist entrepreneurs in growing their businesses. For information on DemGen’s services and resources, email info@demgen.com

images uploaded to Flickr By Guttorm Flatabø