A by-product of being an entrepreneur, is a deep-rooted belief that anything is possible.
On account of this relentlessly positive 'can-do' attitude, we light up when people suggest that something can't be done.
We kick into a higher gear of resourcefulness and creativity, in order to prove the naysayers wrong.
The desire to say YES when everyone else is saying NO, is almost hardcoded into our DNA.
On the one hand, this attitude allows us to recognise opportunity, where the vast majority of people only see risk.
This, in effect, is what sets us apart and ensures that we carve our own path, rather than blindly following the crowd.
Yet, by a strange quirk of paradox, if unchecked, our greatest strength, indeed our very identity, can quickly become our greatest weakness and exponentially increase our likelihood of failure.
Whilst we are hardwired to believe that anything is possible, as entrepreneurs, we must accept that the odds of success, when starting any new venture, are stacked very firmly against us.
To put this into context, take a moment to absorb the following statistic from Investopedia:
"Data from the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics in the USA) shows that approximately 20% of new businesses fail during the first two years of being open, 45% during the first five years, and 65% during the first 10 years. Only 25% of new businesses make it to 15 years or more."
So, at best, we have a 25% chance of starting a company, which still exist 15 years down the road. NB: This says nothing about the relative profitability of these companies, nor whether they are active or dormant.
Based on my intuition, I suspect the likelihood of starting a company, which turns a profit, every year, for at least 15 years, is less than 5%.
Based on these odds, it is imperative that we take all available steps, to increase our chances of successfully breaking through the atmosphere and entering orbit.
Naturally, there are plenty of things we can do, to increase our chances of success. From reading the right books, to knowing the right people and consistently moving the needle.
There is one simple thing we can do though, which is routinely underestimated and ignored. Based on the title of this article, you will likely have deduced that our secret weapon is the word "NO".
As a measure of how often you should be saying NO, we can benchmark against our odds of success and failure.
If we take things to the extreme and assume that we have a 1% chance of success and a 99% chance of failure, we will be well served, if, 99 times out of 100, we say NO, instead of YES.
We should be crystal clear on the atomic habits, we intend to form, in order to consistently move the needle. These daily habits will provide us with a safe and robust framework, which can inform all our decisions and provide us with a focussed environment, in which to operate.
If something falls outside of this framework, we should pay it ZERO attention. Given our extremely low chances of succeeding, we must stay ruthlessly focussed, at all times and ignore everything, which doesn't serve our mission.
Question: Are you available for a 30 minute Zoom call, to discuss something, which is either not relevant or can be dealt with, in writing, in less than 30 seconds?
Answer: No
Question: Do you want to grab a coffee and discuss something, which has a less than 1% chance of moving the needle today?
Answer: No
I appreciate that this approach may seem rather mercenary in nature, so I want to address this objection pro-actively.
Firstly, I'm advocating for this approach, purely in the context of launching and growing a company, which is confronted with fearful odds. As to whether you take this approach, in other areas of your life, is entirely up to you. Naturally, in the context of family, close friends and loved ones, the rules of the game are completely different.
Secondly, it is absolutely possible to combine a ruthless and necessarily disciplined approach, with an unshakeable code of ethics and integrity. I personally adhere to the highest possible standards of professionalism, kindness, honesty, transparency, decency and manners.
Thirdly, whilst NO should definitely be your default response, there are occasions on which it absolutely makes sense to say YES. By developing a higher sense of awareness and being more selective about when you say YES, you will benefit from a compounding rate of forward momentum.
Lastly, if, as is entirely understandable, you feel uncomfortable saying NO to people, I would encourage you to pause and reflect, on how much more you will be able to do, for the people you care about, if you have a profitable enterprise on your hands.
Take comfort in the sure knowledge, that saying NO now, will exponentially increase your ability to say YES in the future.
On account of this relentlessly positive 'can-do' attitude, we light up when people suggest that something can't be done.
We kick into a higher gear of resourcefulness and creativity, in order to prove the naysayers wrong.
The desire to say YES when everyone else is saying NO, is almost hardcoded into our DNA.
On the one hand, this attitude allows us to recognise opportunity, where the vast majority of people only see risk.
This, in effect, is what sets us apart and ensures that we carve our own path, rather than blindly following the crowd.
Yet, by a strange quirk of paradox, if unchecked, our greatest strength, indeed our very identity, can quickly become our greatest weakness and exponentially increase our likelihood of failure.
Whilst we are hardwired to believe that anything is possible, as entrepreneurs, we must accept that the odds of success, when starting any new venture, are stacked very firmly against us.
To put this into context, take a moment to absorb the following statistic from Investopedia:
"Data from the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics in the USA) shows that approximately 20% of new businesses fail during the first two years of being open, 45% during the first five years, and 65% during the first 10 years. Only 25% of new businesses make it to 15 years or more."
So, at best, we have a 25% chance of starting a company, which still exist 15 years down the road. NB: This says nothing about the relative profitability of these companies, nor whether they are active or dormant.
Based on my intuition, I suspect the likelihood of starting a company, which turns a profit, every year, for at least 15 years, is less than 5%.
Based on these odds, it is imperative that we take all available steps, to increase our chances of successfully breaking through the atmosphere and entering orbit.
Naturally, there are plenty of things we can do, to increase our chances of success. From reading the right books, to knowing the right people and consistently moving the needle.
There is one simple thing we can do though, which is routinely underestimated and ignored. Based on the title of this article, you will likely have deduced that our secret weapon is the word "NO".
As a measure of how often you should be saying NO, we can benchmark against our odds of success and failure.
If we take things to the extreme and assume that we have a 1% chance of success and a 99% chance of failure, we will be well served, if, 99 times out of 100, we say NO, instead of YES.
We should be crystal clear on the atomic habits, we intend to form, in order to consistently move the needle. These daily habits will provide us with a safe and robust framework, which can inform all our decisions and provide us with a focussed environment, in which to operate.
If something falls outside of this framework, we should pay it ZERO attention. Given our extremely low chances of succeeding, we must stay ruthlessly focussed, at all times and ignore everything, which doesn't serve our mission.
Question: Are you available for a 30 minute Zoom call, to discuss something, which is either not relevant or can be dealt with, in writing, in less than 30 seconds?
Answer: No
Question: Do you want to grab a coffee and discuss something, which has a less than 1% chance of moving the needle today?
Answer: No
I appreciate that this approach may seem rather mercenary in nature, so I want to address this objection pro-actively.
Firstly, I'm advocating for this approach, purely in the context of launching and growing a company, which is confronted with fearful odds. As to whether you take this approach, in other areas of your life, is entirely up to you. Naturally, in the context of family, close friends and loved ones, the rules of the game are completely different.
Secondly, it is absolutely possible to combine a ruthless and necessarily disciplined approach, with an unshakeable code of ethics and integrity. I personally adhere to the highest possible standards of professionalism, kindness, honesty, transparency, decency and manners.
Thirdly, whilst NO should definitely be your default response, there are occasions on which it absolutely makes sense to say YES. By developing a higher sense of awareness and being more selective about when you say YES, you will benefit from a compounding rate of forward momentum.
Lastly, if, as is entirely understandable, you feel uncomfortable saying NO to people, I would encourage you to pause and reflect, on how much more you will be able to do, for the people you care about, if you have a profitable enterprise on your hands.
Take comfort in the sure knowledge, that saying NO now, will exponentially increase your ability to say YES in the future.