It’s not nearly as sexy as they make it out to be on Instagram.
“However long you think it’s going to take, double it.
However much you think it’s going to cost, triple it.
And then plan for unforeseen time delays & additional expenses you’re not even thinking about.
Not understanding this is why most fail or quit within 2 years.”
-Ray Zingler on X
If you think it’s going to take 5 years, plan on 10.
If you think it’s going to cost 100 grand, plan on 300.
Think before you start, be self-aware enough to understand the world doesn’t care about you. There are skills you don’t have (yet) and someone unseen is actively working to destroy what you’re trying to build every single day.
And then factor in additional expenses for taxes, insurance, flooring, gutters, drainage systems, thrown away materials from flood damages, and then the accruing onslaught of f*ck you fees for trying to operate a business in the good ol US of A.
Thanks for coming to my encouraging Ted Talk about Entrepreneurship in America!
But seriously, Phil Knight calls business, “War without bullets” and he’s 100% right.
And I don’t care what you do, or about the size of your business, either.
It’s a grind and a half, all day, every day.
Slip for 4 hours on Christmas day, and guess what, somebody or something else is whipping your ass for it.
I understand it sounds dramatic, but it’s how it is. People just won’t tell you that.
Usually because most people fail or quit in the first two years. (Just look up basic small business success statistics, if you really want to see how daunting they are.)
Why do they fail and/or quit?
Well, it’s because most people are rational.
They (eventually) see just how hard it is and the rational mind (or the deprived bank account) tells them to wave the white flag. To submit. To go work on or for somebody else with less stress and less risk.
You can be the smartest, most calculated person on earth, but in order to excel in the realm of entrepreneurship, you must have a few loose screws.
And by a few loose screws, I really mean “be f*cking crazy”.
You have be crazy to endure what it actually takes to make it.
You must be not only savvy, but determined, bullish, and flat out relentless in a world that wants to tie one hand behind your back before the biggest fight of your life.
But guess what..
If you learn to endure and develop a strong chin in the process..
You’ll win.
