This past Friday I gave up a killer Central Florida afternoon (78 degrees and blue skies) of riding to judge 11 business plans at Rollins College. That said, I still rode the bike over and got at least some wind in my face. This was also a day filled with blue skies for the economy because according to the New York Times the ‘not so bad news’ of the day allowed the stock market to go up and we now had a reason to be optimistic.

What I want to know is why in hell is the stock market the barometer of progress in this country? Isn’t that the same as waiting outside of the casinos in Vegas and gauging the mood of America on how many people won or lost that night? Let’s call it for what it is…a sports book for business where everybody is betting on their favorite horse.  But it ain’t real business!

 No – real business is what I judged all afternoon.  Eleven former students of the University’s business school brought out plans that ranged from a start-up airline to web based companies to the more traditional software launches. None were scared or worried about the economy or its prospects – instead each expects a future filled with opportunity.

All with the exception of one team that is.  They presented their plan and in the middle of it announced that due to the economy were shelving it for a year or so.  OK, I get that – maybe this isn’t the right time or perhaps you simply don’t have the balls to go for it now.  No big deal other than the fact that you’ve just taken up 30 minutes of time that a real entrepreneur could have used to test their idea out! 

To me this was a very real example of the difference between a business ‘want to be’ and a ‘wanna be’.  That team was made up of three individuals currently working for major corporations who presented nothing more than an idea on making money to which the judges made it painfully obvious they’d better not quit their day job because they’ll not make it out there in the real world of entrepreneurship. They were MBAs applying science to a decision that must come from the heart and gut rather than the head…when to launch.  

            Rarely is there a perfect time to launch a new venture or tactic and at no time in history has every sector of the economy been in a growth mode and vice versa. To be sure, there is more of our economy slowing down than not, but that doesn’t equate to NO opportunity out there.  Much like the fool a hundred or so years ago who proposed we close down the patent office because everything had been invented, many so called entrepreneurs out there are thinking that their economic blue skies are behind them.

            Those who feel this way are, in my opinion, run of the mill business people. They don’t make a move unless the signs are clearly there and their charts and graphs agree.  Real entrepreneurs on the other hand follow their instincts and go for it…damn the torpedoes! Tom Peters once said that the biggest sin in business today it ‘not trying stuff’ and I totally agree. But that ‘go for it’ attitude doesn’t come from a book; instead it comes from a mentality that refuses to fail. 

            Seth Godin, in his excellent book Tribes wrote that people do not necessarily fear failure as much as they fear what people will say and think about them if they do. Real entrepreneurs don’t give a damn about what other people think because if we did, we’d be just like that group, waiting for the sun, moon and stars to align. No, instead we turn our face into the wind and make stuff happen.

What America needs now are more entrepreneurs and fewer business people. Which are you?

Dwain

The Biker Guy

March 09

As always – This is just my opinion, I could be wrong.  So, if you disagree or simply want to pile on, please do so either here on the BLOG or email me directly at Navigator@BikersGuidetoBusiness.Com  I look forward to hearing from you.

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