Driving downtown Toronto on my honeymoon, I got lost. I am from the country and the big city scared me a bit. More importantly, as I was driving, my newest and lovely co-pilot couldn't navigate me out of the labyrinth of greasy streets and wall-to-wall cars. Before GPS, the ancient travellers used paper maps bought at a corner store for $3.99. This piece of paper was integral to navigate our lost souls back onto our chosen path.
That one dark afternoon on our honeymoon reminded me of the usefulness of a business map.
What do entrepreneurs use to map their business?
Unless she's a pioneer, someone has already been there.
If a person was driving a car, she''d pull out a map, phone or GPS. Someone has already been there and tracked the route for everyone to follow them in the future, like my wife and I had done.
The pioneers created the maps.
Everyone else improves on them.
Business is the same way.
Someone has already drawn out the map.
So why would anyone try to do it alone?
American pioneers who didn't learn from other pioneers got killed.
Business people who don't learn from other business people get ideas and dreams executed.
85% of businesses fail in the first five years.
Maybe part of the problem has to do with the inability to ask for help.
The best entrepreneurs attribute their success to some other person.
Doing it alone is... well, lonely. And riskier than jumping off a bridge without checking the level of the water below.
The best entrepreneurs find the roadmap, find others who've already been there. They ask for advice and build upon the known path making the road a little more travelled.
No one can do it alone.
Which begs the question why anyone would try?
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