When people think about starting a business, they rarely think of factors in the order that they need to occur. If you attempt to simply found a business without having done these things in order, I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll fail.
To start with, it takes the right motivation. Often this isn’t the case—the motivation can be something like, “I don’t want to work for someone else.” It takes quite a bit more than that.
The Vision
So what is the driving force behind a company?
At the very beginning, it needs a cause or a vision. That vision then translates into your product or service.
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What really goes into a vision? It’s worth examining if you’re going to be a success.
It all begins with a dream. A legendary man, Martin Luther King, Jr., once gave a very famous speech: “I have a dream.” Dr. King articulated his dream so well that his words carried down through the ages and propelled the Civil Rights Movement and the Civil Rights Bill in the US.
This was the action of a dream becoming a wish. While a dream might be inspired, it is the wish that carries the power to carry one into action.
Making a Wish Come True
So back to building a business: you might have formulated that wish, to found a company, to create and sell a product or service. Then the question becomes: Is this wish reachable within reality?
In making a wish come true, you need three things:
- You have to thoroughly analyze its strengths, weaknesses, and dangers.
- It must have a clear benefit for its consumers or users.
- You’re going to need capital—either your own or someone else’s.
Another part of evaluating your wish is: Is there a market for it? It can happen that your wish includes the creation of a market, as in the case of legendary diver Jacques Cousteau.
During World War II, he dove for the French resistance. In those days sea diving was still being formulated, and he was constantly learning, constantly improving his scuba diving gear and vessels.
When the war was over, Cousteau wished to conduct expeditions. Cousteau managed to borrow enough capital to create his famous ship, the Calypso, and so began. In doing so, he inadvertently created the diving industry, one of today’s biggest industries. So. it is possible to have a wish that ends up creating an entirely new industry.
Dream Big
Once you have the idea of your product or service, there comes a very important step—you’ve got to dream big. It can happen that, in the beginning, some people around you attempt to push you down to make you not think big. They might even say to your face, “Wow, that would be great!” But behind your back, they’re saying, “Oh, this person is just crazy. They’ll never make it!”
Learn to listen to yourself. Deep inside, believe in that vision, in that calling you have, that cause. That’s what gives you the inner power that makes it seem like anything is possible—and now it’s time to get down to work.
My Own Experience
My own dream began when I was very young, about five years old, in Vienna, Austria. I was out selling lottery tickets on the street so that I could buy my mother a beer when she came home from a hard day’s work (it was indeed a different time!). Throughout the entire time I was growing up, I was always selling something.
Despite all that, I never thought of myself as a salesperson, because salespeople—especially in Austria and throughout Europe—had a very bad reputation.
My urge to help salespeople came about through truly observing their skills. My dream then became a wish. Today, my product Pipeliner CRM and my company are driven by the vision to change sales.
People would say that I’m totally crazy, because I want to once again make the world see that sales is actually an honorable profession. For the truth is, they have extreme value. They create wealth and produce peace.
So we have this contribution to the world, to make it a better place. That was my dream. It then became a wish, and it’s now a reality!
Next week: the continuing story of creating a business.
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This content is sponsored by Pipeliner CRM.
