Entrepreneurs yearn for predictability, whether we want to admit it or not. It makes sense we would be this way… when running a business, a predictable environment allows one to carefully mitigate risk, time expansion, marketing, and hiring plans, as well as develop a rainy day fund. Predictability also helps time that family vacation, night out with friends, and enables a social life. Predictability can turn your business into a well-oiled machine that performs, well, predictably.
Daydreaming of overseeing a company that gradually builds momentum and easily navigates its marketplace evokes warm thoughts of sitting in an ivory tower on a big comfy chair as we gaze down upon our established operations, which routinely hum along. However, that’s a fantasy - never before achieved in the history of entrepreneurship. Pursuing that kind of predictability is the source of angst for entrepreneurs. So let go of it.
Entrepreneurship Is Not Predictable, And Never Will Be
If your daily routine as a business owner is predictable, then you’re likely not an entrepreneur, or you’re nearing the sunset of your career and avoiding growth. In short, you’re stagnant.
Entrepreneurship, the true essence of it, is creative chaos. By definition, entrepreneurship means to take on financial risk in hope of profit…
Risk and hope. There’s nothing predictable about those two words. They are precisely what makes entrepreneurship so damn exciting. Risk and hope are inspiring and nerve-racking.
On The Other Side of Uncertainty is What Makes You Interesting
The point of this entry is to remind maturing entrepreneurs that what they struggle with and try to eliminate (the unpredictable nature of being an entrepreneur) is precisely what makes them unique. It’s likely why they got into business for themselves in the first place. They sought the challenge. It’s also why so few people ever start a business. They’re scared frozen of the unpredictability, and never take that step.
So, take pride in the fact that when you started your business, it required bravery. Think about how much you grew (as a human being) in the early days of starting your business, the most volatile and unpredictable time of your life. You learned so much during the most uncertain time. Few people would do what you did, and you’re better off because you embraced the unpredictability of entrepreneurship. You may not realize it, but your friends and family admire what you accomplished because it was unpredictable!
I struggle with it too. As my businesses have grown, I’ve naturally put systems and procedures in place intended to make daily operations predictable. While systems and protocols are necessary as you scale, they don’t eliminate entrepreneurial uncertainty, and that’s just fine. Because the more challenges my team and I solve, the more we grow, the more expertise we garner, and the more prominent we become in our industry. Stop fighting unpredictability and uncertainty. They always present a growth opportunity for entrepreneurs.
Stay hungry,
Aaron
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