The 'perfect' business

At age 14 I was an up-and-coming entrepreneur. I had just spent several years running a successful video-game company but was ready for a new challenge. My goal was to find the perfect business. This business would be easy to start and manage, highly profitable and encounter no competition.\nI tried many different industries. Among them were the travel, jewelry and vending industry. But something was wrong. Within every industry, different and often unexpected problems arose. No matter how well-thought-out my plan, I was still not able to find the perfect business.\nAfter spending thousands of dollars on failed ventures, I had an epiphany: There is no such thing as a perfect business. Every business has problems and opportunities. The success of the business largely depends on the experience and skills of the entrepreneur. A great entrepreneur can carry a poor business along; a poor entrepreneur can destroy a great opportunity.\nAs one dream died, a new dream was born. I committed to investing the time and effort needed into developing my entrepreneurial skills to become a great entrepreneur.\nI realized that the failure of many of my previous ventures had little to do with the ventures themselves. Although the ideas were good and the market was ready, I simply did not have the skills to tackle the business environments. \nIn 1982, William Deming, a quality guru, introduced the idea of constant improvement. His idea was that a company should constantly improve production, service and planning. Rather than worrying about being perfect, the business should focus on incrementally improving.\nIn Deming’s idea lies the key to becoming successful in business or any aspect of life: constantly improving. The problem with most aspiring entrepreneurs is that they try to come up with a perfect plan or a perfect product. Not only is perfection a mirage, but it keeps most great ideas from reaching the market. \nAll companies run imperfectly. Even FedEx, in my opinion the greatest company in the world, is not perfect. The truth is that imperfect businesses make money. Businesses with large fundamental flaws and imperfect business models make billions of dollars every year.\nThere are millions of reasons why businesses should not work. Many people believe they are original or smart in pointing out flaws in startup businesses. Research by a top professor at Purdue University has shown that even baby chimpanzees can do this successfully (tested on MBA class of ’98). The truth is that no business can ever be started in a perfect environment. What is important is that you start the business. Once you start the business, you will learn to adapt, or you will cease to exist.\nWhile most people believe in “ready, aim, fire,” entrepreneurs are infamous for embracing the “ready, fire, aim” mentality. Whichever mentality you embrace, it is important you are able to pull the trigger at the appropriate time. Though you should do the appropriate research, extra research will not alleviate your fear. Embrace the fear, because it is a natural aspect of entrepreneurship. Let go of your obsession for perfection and you can start making money today.