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Today, we have a question from Rachel in Georgia. Let's get into it.
"Hey Nick. Thanks for all your videos and guides. I really love the Referral Engine
and I've implemented it in my freelancing writing business and I've already recommended
it to a few friends. They love it."
Thanks Rachel.
"Anyways, I have a new business idea that I really want to start, but I'm not 100 percent
sure it's going to be successful. I'm stuck in research mode and really want to move forward
but don't know how. How do I ensure my business' success when no one else has done what I want
to do? Thanks."
Rachel, this question is probably the most common question I get from all sorts of aspiring
entrepreneurs, aspiring freelancers, or anyone trying to transition out of their job. Almost
everyone wants assurance that they're going to be successful and while I wish I could
say that, guaranteed, you're going to be successful, there's really two skills that every entrepreneur
has to learn to develop in order to ensure their success. If you master these two skills,
there's nothing that's going to stop you from being successful so I think it's time to have
an honest conversation because no one else is talking about this. So, let's get into
it.
The first skill you have to master as an entrepreneur is resilience. At the end of the day, are
you willing to get up one more time than you fall down? I know that's super cliché, but
it really comes down to that.
When I first started my first business, I had a pretty successful t-shirt company. I
was selling the best University of Central Florida t-shirts and I wasn't violating trademark,
but suddenly, my college that I was attending wanted to change their name and how they were
marketing it. They went from the UCF Golden Knights to UCF Knights, and some of my apparel
had knights on it and they were similar colors, and the college shut me down. I basically
got a cease and desist notice when I was in college from the college I was attending and
I remember going into student legal services being like, "What does this mean?" and they're
like, "We can't help you with this."
And so, I found out that I had to choose between getting kicked out of college, or shutting
down my business, and I was faced with this interesting situation. I mean, I'd spent nine
months of my life in Photoshop, building templates, learning about t-shirt printing, and suddenly,
I had to have my baby taken away from me or I had to find a different college to go to.
It was a tough choice. At that point in time, I decided I would shut down my business, give
up my inventory, and just cut it as a loss. I didn't know what I was going to do next,
but I knew that I was willing to keep trying. I wanted to be an entrepreneur.
So, the next project I started, I did four months of research and had over $1,000 in
legal fees when I was in college and it still never even launched. And what's interesting
is I look back at those times and said, "Yeah, I could have given up," and I was going to
actually get a job at Subway -- $10.00 an hour -- when I stumbled upon an opportunity
that would allow me to use the two skills that I had just developed in both of those
two opportunities to the best. It was perfect for me. Like, those two skills were made for
that job.
And so, whether you're going to be successful in this business, I can't tell you. But what
I can tell you is that, if you do fall down and you get scraped and it might hurt and
it might suck in the moment, that skin is going to grow back firmer and it' s building
up your skills and your endurance as an entrepreneur, and it's that skill of resilience and the
willingness to go out there, fall down, and get back up -- that's going to determine your
success.
Second is resourcefulness. When I talk with entrepreneurs -- I've talked with thousands
and I've mentored over a hundred one-on-one -- I can tell if someone's going to be successful
based on their level of resourcefulness.
Resourcefulness is your ability to see where you're at now versus where you want to go,
and your ability to take your first step after that on that journey. Yeah, sure, your path
might look like, "I want to go this direction," and you start heading this way, and then you
head this way, and then you head this way. But your ability to see where you want to
go and ultimately end up at your destination knowing that the only way you're going to
get there is taking that first step -- that is the key to long-term success.
So, whether you're going to be an entrepreneur or be successful at anything, if you're resourceful
and resilient, at the end of the day, nothing's going to stop you. And the interesting piece
of advice that I always reference is, I remember in college, the first time I uploaded a photo
to Facebook. Facebook was this new thing back then. It was like, "Oh, cool! Find a couple
of girls in class. Find out who my roommates are. This is fun." And I signed up, uploaded
my first picture, and I was like, "Wow! I don't know if this is going to be around in
a few months, but hey, let's try it out." It was fun. Nine years later, they're still
doing the same thing. Yeah, sure, they've fallen down and they've gotten a few road
burns and road rashes. If you're into marketing, you might remember their flyer software. It
was the worst marketing tool out there, and now Facebook has some of the best online advertising
available. They just kept going.
Really focus on being resourceful and resilient, and nothing can stop you because, at the end
of the day, you determine whether your project is going to be successful. Yeah, you need
to make sure that the financing works and that you have a marketing strategy and that
you've thought things through. But, at the end of the day, focus on being resourceful
and resilient, and nothing can stop you.
So, I hope you've enjoyed this video, but I know that the entrepreneurial journey can
be hard so we have a community over at NicholasReese.com and I specifically think, if you enjoyed this
video, you'll like the Cold Shower Challenge. There's a group of people that are taking
cold showers every day for a month. It's a great metaphor to understand how you act in
uncomfortable situations such as making tough decisions when you're an entrepreneur.
I'm Nick Reese and I'll talk to you soon.