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There are numerous concerns an entrepreneur has to take care of, when starting a new business. To list a few:
The idea: This is about what concern(s) in the marketplace the business will take care of.
Organizing: This is about organizing around specific concerns the business will take care of.
Business Planning: This deals with answering the Why, When, What and How for the business.
Establishing a Structure: This is where entrepreneurs putt the ‘real’ parameters in place based on what resources are available and organizing them in the best possible way so that they produce effective results, in a low-cost manner.
The Investment: This answers the questions – how much is needed? How much do we have? Where will the rest come from? (assuming there is a gap in available funding)
The technology: Assuming the entrepreneurial venture needs to deal with technology, entrepreneurs need to choose the best technology available within the limitations imposed by investment, demographics and other factors that might affect the availability, procurement and usability of technology.
The market: This pertains to studying the market for the product or the service the business is coming up with.
… and then there are more that I will not list here, in the interest of keeping this post readable in the limited time you have.
The question is: During what stage of this journey do entrepreneurs feel totally committed to the cause… is it at the idea stage… or is it after they are done with a business plan… or is it once they assess the technology or the marketplace… or is it at some other point in the execution of the project?
By observing a few entrepreneurs in action, what I have discovered is that the answer to this question lies wherever entrepreneurs put their ‘skin-in-the-game‘! Once entrepreneurs invest something that they consider valuable to part with, they become committed to the cause ‘for real’. This ‘something’ can be anything and in most cases it is their investment because that is the most limited commodity entrepreneurs work with and that is what they need the most while building the business.
This investment is the ‘real’ cost they incur. This is the point where they ‘stop’ entertaining the thought of quitting. This is the point where they start holding themselves and others around them accountable for the execution of the venture, this is where…
The rubber meets the road!
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This article was contributed by Himanshu Jhamb, co-founder of Active Garage. You can follow Himanshu on Twitter at himjhamb.