The four P's

One of things I love doing is sharing stories from my experiences. In fact I once wanted my job profile to read "story teller". Stories make really interesting hear during my presentations. Needless to say it also adds humor to the talks.

So today I was having a talk or just sharing some stories with one of my friend about entrepreneurship and what it takes to get into it. I was again sharing my experiences. I do also agree and believe that everyone need not go through the same process, but still it helps to know.

In my opinion entrepreneurship is based on four P's. The four pillars if you may call it. And if even one of these things is shaky, I think it impacts the whole entrepreneurship idea in a big way.

Passion
So I agree that it all starts with an idea. But in my opinion, what's more important is how passionate you are about the idea. In dire straits, it is only this passion that keeps the dream alive. What one is interested in, is hard to find or define, but its very easy to just let go of that passion. There are a zillion things which seek your attention, and hence the passion could change from time to time. One other way of looking at it is, to see how all things revolve around that passion. Passions is even more important, when your idea is one of a kind.

Patience
Oh do I really need to write about this? Lose the patience, lose everything. The dreaded D's come haunting. Moments of Despair, Depression, Dejection are just round the corner. The mind starts to play games and always tries to gives you options that would a) make you change the passion that got you started on the idea and b) always tease you by showing an easy way out. What you decide ultimately is a severe test of patience.

Perseverance
If you are passionate, and have a lot of patience, I am sure you will be high on perseverance. However, its easier said than done. Day in an day out you have to be at it with the self belief. There are numerous days when one is forced to think of giving up and just taking the easy way out. Not many are ready to face the reality when it comes to the likely days that one may get as an entrepreneur. So be prepared to face the storms happily. The storms could come in the form of a lack of motivation, the non commitment of the partner or others working with you, or financial situations.

People
So you have an idea, a lot of patience and perseverance and are willing to take the plunge. However there is one other thing that is extremely important. It's the people. Yes, the people whom you have met in the past and discussed the idea, will meet and will present the idea to, or could even be the people whom you are going to work with. In lieu of this last point, I should mention that the previous three P's are applicable to all the people who are going to start out with you. People (the one outside your company) are an interesting lot. If you succeed, their opinions about you are all rosy. But if you fail, their opinions are harsh. Instead of cribbing about a failure, simply learn from it and move on and do not worry much about what the other people will say.

In conclusion, I agree that entrepreneurship is not a easy game. Apart from these four P's there are a lot of other things that would be responsible. However if one is willing to take all these into consideration, and start out as an entrepreneur, I can say one thing. The satisfaction level that one gains out of this is way beyond anything else.

Would like to end with this favorite quote of mine.
"It's better to have tried and failed, than not to have tried at all!"

Cheers!
:)

More on this series to follow.