Every Entrepreneur Wants More But Just Dreaming About It Is Not Enough

It’s the nature of the beast, every entrepreneur wants more. More gross revenue and more profit. Most entrepreneurs are like addicts–never satisfied, always working harder, always believing the million dollar order is coming soon, always expecting growth and development is on the way. This is fine. There is no reason not to wish for, believe, and anticipate more. In fact, it is necessary, as with no visions there are no fulfilled visions.

Steve Jobs, developer of Apple, said to his Dad when in his garage building his first computer that he was going to do billions in business and change the world. He has done both. Had his vision been “I am going to do millions and have a great life.” that probably would have been the result and someone else would have fulfilled his mission of changing the world. The dream, the vision, is critical to the resulting end conclusion. So please, dream on. Have those visions as they are the fuel that powers the entrepreneur. The dream you hold is the dream that can come true!

So, why do so few reach achieve their dreams? Is it because they have not invented the next world-changing device? No! It is more a result of not having an effective plan to carry them to their visionary conclusion. In order to get there from here we need far more than a dream. We may need to start with one, but to successfully reach it we also need to be experts in the art of doing business. For all of you who want more–and that’s most every business owner–dream on but create a plan. Consciously design your organization with an effective financial plan and a clear sales and marketing plan, and create an effective operation.

Realistically speaking, however, a dream an a plan are not all you need for success. Inadequate funds is one of the obstacles that prevents success. Money can be like gasoline for the engine, it runs on it. Without fuel, a rocket cannot launch. Your plan may be brilliant, your vision clear, but you must have enough cash to fuel the rocket or you ain’t going anywhere. One must solve the dilemma with a capital formation plan, or the rocket will remain grounded. Here is where many part ways with successful thinking and planning. As an entrepreneur you have some choices:

1. Raise adequate capital by refinancing your home, borrowing from friends and family, getting a bank loan, selling stock or using credit cards. However you do it, solve the problem and then get back to implementing your business plan with a full tank of gas.

2. Change the plan to match the cash flow pro forma cash requirements with respect to the amount of cash you have raised. Use what you have to develop your first-stage plan and then step it up as revenues increase. Sometimes accomplishing a smaller first stage sets the tone for acquiring capital for stage two. You are off and running, slower than desired but you are proving the point that your business plan can and does work, and that your organization works and your product or service has a market. It is a reasonable approach to lower your sights and succeed at whatever level you can afford to support before taking it to the next level.

3. Forge full steam ahead, damn the torpedoes. So what if you are under-capitalized and cannot create a successful cash flow pro forma to plot growth and development? The attitude is “I will do it anyway, something good will happen, the big order will come through, profit will build, something will happen to help me satisfy the cash requirement and I will reach my vision anyway. I believe, so off I go.” I call it “onward through the fog”. Without a map and without a flashlight but pressing forward figuring out how to climb over it, around it or through it as you go.

Typically, this is when the entrepreneur ceases taking a weekly pay check, believing that this is his necessary investment, and lives on credit cards until he maxes them out. Then he borrows from family and friends without a clue as to how he will pay them back, begins missing payroll and asking people to be patient, making Friday’s check good by the next Wednesday when a receivable comes through. He begs suppliers to ship just one more load of required materials, then soon defaults on 941 payroll taxes and eventually fights just to keep his phones on.

Far too many of us know this cycle. Few ever experience the breakthrough but onward they go, desperately, with full belief that their vision’s requirements are around the corner and something good will happen to save the day. It’s not the preferred plan, but the most frequently executed plan. It is simply a recipe for personal disaster and business failure, but it is the preferred plan for many, indeed. It’s the one I see most often… damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead, even if you not have adequate capital to fund the plan.

So then, what is the best path, the one most likely to support you reaching your goals? Simple. Yes, have a vision, it is crucial to success, but also have a plan, a cash flow pro forma, a strategy to actually support reaching your goals. Just as important, you must design and organize your business to be profitable. You must review key indicators, financial reports, and other benchmarks to assist in managing the development of the business. One needs adequate business knowledge and capabilities to blend with the entrepreneur’s skill in delivering products or service. Without both, the lights will go out.

Yes, it is a wonderful spirit we nurture in this country, where anybody can dream, open a business and succeed. What they do not tell you is you need a plan and business skills. Wanting more creates a great energy but getting it requires a simple but necessary and realistic process. Achieving more must be based on a workable balanced plan that, while supported by your vision, requires far more than dreaming and hard work. The part the American Dream leaves out is that it’s not just about hard work, it’s about hard work with a plan that will take you where you are going. So yes, want more. You should. But to get it, respect the requirements and most of all, have a good business plan and adequate capital to fuel that plan.