Building a business is more like exercise, and less like sex.
Many new business founders make the mistake of thinking that building a business is like sex, it takes three simple steps.
- Put in some prep work, a bit of entrepreneurial foreplay, court your investors, customers, say all the right things.
- Work really hard for a few short months, maybe years, anticipating excitedly the inevitable reward for your efforts.
- Have a giant orgasmic payday.
That’s about as far from the truth as your sex life is from a great porno film.
Building a business is much more like exercising, and goes something like:
- Look at yourself in the mirror, decide you aren’t where you’d like to be.
- Work really hard for a day. Look in the mirror again, expecting to be stacked, and see absolutely no change.
- Repeat step 2 every day for many years, and discover that you are stronger, faster, and healthier than you ever imagined. Have a giant well-earned payday.
Most people, in exercise and business, don’t get past the initial frustration of step 2.