Stas Borukhoff here, today we are talking about something that seems so simply, yet it can totally derail your success as an entrepreneur. I’m talking about effort. Whether it is in sports, business or any aspect of your life, you get out in direct proportion to what you put in.
I see so many entrepreneurs out there today that want the big success of everyone the look up to, but they rarely calculate the costs and effort that went into getting those results. It is easy to see millions of downloads for an app and say, “I want that too” but understanding what they did and how much little work led to the success is another thing.
“Timing, perseverance, and ten years will make you look like an overnight success” – Biz Stone C0-Founder of Twitter
Small Thinking, Small Results
Actions are directed by thinking. Before any action ever takes place, thinking has to be right. There are two sizes of thinking, small and big. Small thinking is focused on the present, while big thinking is looking to the future. When building a business, you have to look to the future. As I talked about in my post Small Thinking in a Big World, you have to think of the end game and act on that big thinking today. Since actions won’t exceed your thinking, you need to think big to act big.
Small thinking equals small awareness and that will kill you in a fast-paced business world. You have to keep your eyes open and be able to move fast to win. Small thinking is like having your eyes almost shut and then running. There are many variables in business that can dramatically alter your success and you need to have your eyes wide open expecting issues to pop up. Anything less than that will leave you disrupted and blind-sided.
Success is Hard
Sorry to break it to you, but this isn’t easy. As a matter of fact, it is getting harder every day. As Mark Cuban said, “You have to wake up and work knowing there is someone out there working harder to take it all away from you.” If business is getting harder, then the effort required to win is increasing. Technology and growthhacking can help, but you can’t count on those things any more than you can count that you will make a viral video that will rocket you into absolute success. Businesses are not built on luck and success doesn’t often come from a single right move.
If you want to be like nobody else, you have to work like nobody else. Gary Vaynerchuk is a great example of hard work. When you become obsessed with the success of your project, it won’t guarantee success, but it will raise your chances of success. It takes long nights, huge effort, and quality people to succeed. There is a reason most people don’t succeed, and that is the barrier of effort that makes those willing to do it worthy of their results.
Quality Matters
You can work harder than anyone, but without quality it won’t matter. Look, hard work is one thing, hustle is one thing, but you have to work smart as well. You have to have the right people. Don’t underestimate the value of finding the right people. Many companies have died on the operating table. Working their business and failing along the way looking for success. Your product or service has to be quality.
I remember talking with a founder of another app and I asked him how much he thought I invested in our app so far after he tried it. He said $25,000 because that is about what he spent to have someone in India build their app. I laughed and told him we have invested over $600,000 in the app.” Do you think there is a difference in what we built and what he built? Of course there is. We didn’t limp into the app game with an idea, we developed a game changing app with patent granted technology. Don’t think the companies you look up to or market leaders are there because they dabbled. Don’t think they watched football on the weekends and outsourced development to low skilled strangers. If you want to create something exceptional you have to invest in quality.
What you put in to your company matters, from focus, to investment, to people. Quality resources in usually means quality output. Evaluate your business now. What ingredients went into it and does it match the expectation you have for the results?
I hope you enjoyed this post, for more great content check out my other posts on StasBorukhoff.com and leave your thoughts and comments below. When have you seen above average results based on effort, focus, and investment of resources?