HOW ARE YOU WIRED?

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is in my blood. I think it partially emulates from my father. My dad owned several different businesses and partnered in a few others, so his spirit in that regard may have rubbed off on me.

When I was in the sixth grade attending a parochial school in Michigan, I was a chubby child. Like most children, I loved candy and always had some on me. Everyday someone would say, "Aaron can I have some candy?" You must understand that, back then, vending machines were not in schools.

Being a fat kid, I admit I didn't like to share. (As I think about it now, I'm in super shape. I work out five days a week. And I still don't like to share my food. Maybe my weight had nothing to do with it.) Rather than giving my candy away, I came up with an idea. I used to buy my candy for a penny a piece. I bought a bunch of candy and started selling it for a dime a piece. What a margin! I was selling just to my own class and selling out every day. Then I decided to get a rep in every grade from fourth to ninth, and I was making bank!

I found a need, filled it, and made a profit! T. Harv Eker, in Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, said, "Do you know the definition of an entrepreneur? ... A person who solves problems for people at a profit."

I love to create! Making something from nothing and watching it grow gives me a thrill like nothing else. Some people think working for an employer is safe; but I don't view it that way. Employers can fire you at any time, so I've never understood this mentality. Safety to me is being able to create something where I can determine my own financial outcomes, and nobody can fire or lay me off.

I've been a protestant pastor for twenty-eight years. Don't worry. I'm not about to give you a sermon or pass an offering plate. The church I've pastored for the last eighteen years I literally started under a tree. I've heard pastors say they started in a storefront. Well I started in a no-front! We couldn't afford anything, and the tree was free. Within a week, we had a church building with a gymnasium. But that's another book. My point is, when working on anything, whether religious or secular, I've always been wired to create.

The all-important question is, "How are you wired?" At the end of the chapter I will give you some action points that will help you determine your wiring.

Leader or manager

When you are evaluating how you are wired, one of the important subquestions you will have to answer is, "Am I a leader or a manager?" I used to think that, if you were one, you were automatically the other. I was totally wrong. Leaders and managers have very different characteristics. Leaders are great at casting the vision. They can spell out the big picture and get everyone excited about the end result. Managers, on the other hand, are great at catching the vision and putting the skeleton together and then the flesh on the bones. Leaders are great at big picture. Managers are great at the details and the right now.

I am a leader. Can I manage? Yes, I can manage. When my business was small or when I lost a vital key position, I've stepped in and managed that division. Do I like managing? Absolutely not! Am I good at managing? No. I am very average at managing. However, when you are small in the beginning, a lot of times you have to do a bit of everything. As Tony Robbins said, "You are the cheapest employee you can hire, but it doesn't mean you are the best."

There are some people who advocate you need to spend time and work on strengthening your weaknesses. I couldn't disagree more. Time is a commodity that is being spent at a rapid rate and one you cannot redeem. Therefore, I believe in focusing on my strengths and hiring people to do what I am weak at or just plain don't like to do.

To franchise or not to franchise

There are some people who believe franchising is entrepreneurship and others who don't. I'll leave that for Paul Brown, who ignites this debate. Yet it is very important for you to decide which path you choose to go down to achieve your childcare center dream.

Jeff Elgin wrote, "One of the misconceptions many people have is that franchise companies are looking for true entrepreneurs. Most franchise companies have a set plan that they have spent years of trial and error on and make their franchisers adhere to explicitly. If the truth be told most of us true entrepreneurs don't want to be told what to do." Personally, I don't want to be told where I can advertise or that I can't implement a new idea I've come up with that I think would work in my market. So, franchising wasn't a good fit for me. In my opinion, franchising is more for those who are managers and are averse to large doses of risk.

ACTION STEPS

Answer the following questions:

a. Do you structure your time well without someone else managing your schedule?

b. Are you a disciplined person?

c. Do you need a steady paycheck to feel safe, or do you enjoy working on commission?

d. Is your desk messy or always organized?

e. Do you find joy in making sure every detail is done to perfection?

f. After conceptualizing, are you comfortable delegating and allowing others to evolve your ideas?

g. Are you often accused of thinking months or years ahead of where you are at the time?

If you are self-motivated, well structured, disciplined, and don't need a steady paycheck to feel safe, then, you most likely have an entrepreneurial spirit.

If your desk is always neat and you thrive by paying attention to detail, you are most likely a manager.

Are you too busy for details? Is it about getting to the destination? If you are always accused of thinking beyond your means, these are usually signs you are a leader.

DESIGNING THE DREAM

Imagination

I wonder if you were like me as a child. Did you have such a great imagination that you could pick up anything and transform it into reality with your mind? I was a huge Star Trek fan. Captain James Tiberius Kirk was the man! I would pick up a pear, and instantaneously it would become a communicator, and I would be hollering, "Scotty, get us out of here! Beam us up, Scotty!" You couldn't tell me that I wasn't the captain of the USS Enterprise.

I could go on and on, telling you stories of how I was Johnny Soko, and my wrist was the watch that made Giant Robot launch or my Lego was the device that turned me into Ultraman. My imagination gave me the freedom to be anyone I wanted to be and do anything I wanted to do.

Then something happened. I grew up. When I was a child, I was encouraged to dream, fantasize, and believe in the impossible. Yet the older I got, the more teachers and other adults discouraged me from dreaming. They told me to be practical and...