An Honest Appraisal.

Welcome to the Brewing4Business Blog! I'm Will, and I'll be your gracious host for the next weeks, months and (possibly) years. I normally don't write blogs and am not very familiar with the practice, though I am eager to learn. Blogs can be so impersonal--so I'm going to begin post 1 with a personal reflection on one of my main pillars of content, entrepreneurship.

Jo Ann and Jim Carland's Catching the American Dream series reminds budding entrepreneurs like myself to establish an "honest appraisal of one's abilities." As I see it, this is the most fundamental requirements of starting a business--objectivism. An entrepreneur must be able to "see what is yet to be;" to position themselves at the crossroads of invention and market forces and turn public "wants" into public "needs." An entrepreneur must be able to self-analyze, set goals, balance idealism with realism and self-motivate in structureless environments fraught with risk. Add the current perilous economic situation to the mix, and the possibility of success becomes even hazier. Most importantly, an entrepreneur needs to be able to accept a failing road and make decisions from logical reasoning rather than emotional impulses like pride, greed, etc...

In short, objectivism is hard, nigh impossible to achieve, but an attempt at this level of consciousness is critical for success. If a mouse were to suddenly achieve the level of consciousness required to realize that he was in fact a mouse--what changes could he make in his life and what goals could he achieve? By the same token, if an entrepreneur could make an honest and objective appraisal of his psychology, upbringing and current business plan, many more doors would open up and success (or a painless and educational failure) would be a little easier to achieve.

So what's my honest self-appraisal? I want to start a business. Why? Because I like the idea of working for myself. What else? Let's dig a little deeper.

Some studies have shown that entrepreneurs are driven by a deep need for acheivement. I can see that. As a musician, the need to create a physical demonstration of my work (a CD, a live performance, etc.) is a compelling force. As a homebrewer with aspirations of starting a brewery, the achievement of a delicious beer is a tremendously rewarding thing.

I can also understand the logic of the "Locus of Control" theory, whereby enterpreneurs posess a high level of belief in their own abilities to alter their situations and destinies. I may be weak here; I love working with others and enjoying the support of other, more talented individuals. I believe that an external locus of control does not necessarily imply a defeatest attitude ("I can't control my own destiny") but rather an admittance that a reliance on friends, co-workers and family is important in life--and perhaps in business, though I doubt the Carlands would agree.

If the last two paragraphs talked about individual pshychology of the entrepreneur, the next couple dig down into outside factors which may or may not have an influence on an entrepreneur's aptitude for success. First, does parental influence have anything to do with my entrepreneurial cravings? Absolutely. As a 25 year old whose life under the parental wing is far from forgotten--I see this correlation clearly and directly. My dad started his own business. I now work for my dad, but would rather start my own business than follow in his footsteps. Some may say this is foolish--passing up guaranteed wealth for a life of great risk--all I can say is (with a shrug); "like father like son!"

Finally, I see education as a life-long benefit toward continuing on that entrepreneurial path. More so now than ever, a lack of education (be it formal or informal education) will be devastating to the aspiring entrepreneur. Even worse than a lack of education--the inability to motivate one's self to seek education, or worse still, believing that one knows it all and not realizing or admitting how much one does not really know!

Objective thinking goes well beyond the broad strokes that I've just outlined. Entrepreneurs need to honestly self-appraise multiple times daily about every business decision made, from company philosophy to purchasing to marketing to sales to hiring and so on. Don't rely on emotion, make smart decision, plan your work, and work your plan with your head up and your eyes on the prize.