You’ve probably seen those entrepreneurs that come out of nowhere within 2 years and are instant multi-millionaires and we stupidly say to ourselves: “Wow another lucky person just got lucky”. But there are several other factors you are forgetting to take into account.
Yes the business he just sold may have made him successful, rich and at peace with the world, but how about the past 15 businesses that he created which failed, are they not a sign of being purely unlucky.
When talking about whether luck plays a role in how successful we become as entrepreneurs, we must take into consideration certain factors which make certain people ‘lucky’.
#1 Past Events and Failures
When looking at a successful entrepreneur there is always going to be something more there than meets the eye for several reasons. For example have you ever heard the phrase: “To be successful in business you have to know something which someone does not.” Well that is exactly what I am getting at. These entrepreneurs have either failed before or have somehow gathered the knowledge through watching people fail to the extreme, that they have made their own business a success.
Now of course there are exceptions, there are always going to be individuals that have just winged it and learnt on the way and have somehow managed to succeed, this is what I call ‘pure luck’. However you can’t expect these people to become successful a second time round, so never invest in someone for their past successes unless you see a pattern, as this happens often and this also leads to a lot of money going to waste. Just because you have succeeded once does not mean you will instantly succeed on your next idea.
#2 Dedication and Risk
An entrepreneur which is more dedicated/motivated than the other will always strive to succeed no matter how many times they fail, they always learn and learn until that success that they have been preparing for comes along and then they exploit it, and most people call them lucky.
It’s so easy to call someone lucky, he got lucky somehow because he got an A in the exam, she got lucky because she somehow managed to open up her own business in a niche which was apparently so obvious that anyone could have thought off, but they didn’t. You know why? because that’s what makes an entrepreneur, knowing when to take a ‘calculated risk’ and running with it, visualising that particular idea and how it can be created and if you call that lucky then you are never going to succeed waiting for this so called ‘luck’.
#3 A Bit Of Luck?
Now i’m not going to base everything on the individual being super smart because ‘luck’ has a part to play depending on how you define it. I define luck as opportunity. If you never put your head in the water then your never going to know how cold it is right? So it’s the same for business and different types of startups. You have to experience it for yourself before you simply say he sold a company for a few million dollars within 2 years, therefore it must have been easy. You do not know how many nights awake that individual has spent worrying about their business and even worked hard to achieve that concept that has now been completed.
So where does luck come in? Well we have established that we make our own luck based on hard work, dedication and past failures. However I call it lucky if you have a very good mentor or your working with someone that has been through it all before because that way you will not make stupid mistakes and waste time and money.
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Remember that just because someone has been successful before does not make them super-smart individuals, it just means that they have been through it before and know what they are doing, however it does not mean they will succeed on every idea they have.
Now in terms of luck, you have to find it and act on it, you have to know when it’s the right time to act. For example in 2008 when a lot of companies went bust, some people new when to sell and made a lot of money, some chose to stay in and lost a lot of money in the process. I don’t call the people that sold lucky as most people do, I believe they saw what was coming and made the right decision based on facts and instinct.
Let us know what you think, are Entrepreneurs lucky? by commenting below and subscribing to our posts on the right hand corner.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Lee…
Great topic and you’ve given me the idea for a new post of my own. thanks!
Luck is a very interesting topic. Too often the less successful use it as a tool of their envy. It allows them to be content with their position while demising the achievements of others.
My experience, is that less successful people attribute a large part of their situation to (bad) luck.
So, too, the successful tend to focus on their own blood, sweat and tears in their own achievements while failing to give the blessing of luck its due.
If you play poker you know it is a game of skill. But you’ve also learned some nights the cards are with you and some nights they run bad.
I can remember playing one long night with Johnny and for all his skill he couldn’t catch a break. Around 3am he pull a hand with 4 Fours. I’ve played a lot of poker over the year and I can likely count the number of times I’ve seen four of a kind on one hand. He lost to 4 Queens.
He turned to me and said, “Ya know, when you can’t win with four of a kind it’s time to go home and wait for a new day.”
I’m glad I could help! Thanks for commenting.
Your right, It goes something like this: If they don’t make it, they have to put other people down as it makes themselves feel better. I do not know why. But those that do not listen to the negativity will always surpass those comments and go ahead to achieve great things.
That story is very true. When aiming it towards business, that’s why I believe you should plant your seeds and let them grow, of course some ideas are going to fail, but there might be one which gets lucky.
Thanks again.