Every business goes through three stages: start up, throw up and grow up. Right now, with the economy as bad as I’ve seen it, many entrepreneurs in this country are experiencing stage two.
The first stage is exciting: the big idea, the perfect name, the projections of vast wealth. This is a heady time, filled with creativity, ambition, exhilaration and courage. Often, it’s also full of false confidence, ignorance and naï vet.
At some point, things change. Projections aren’t met, costs exceed expectations, cash becomes an endangered species, the perfect employee turns out alcoholic or incompetent or both, the competition is more clued in than you’d thought, and “I’ll make my own hours” turns into all waking hours. This is the throw-up stage, where passion meets math.
Continue Reading: “Entrepreneurs’ Lesson #1: Do The Math”
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