The Second Step in Entrepreneurship--Taking the Leap!

By Marcus Oakes

Marcus is from a family of entrepreneurs and currently runs Positively Oakes, a baby clothing and accessories business. He plans on starting a new venture with his brother.

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Too many people play it safe in life. Unfortunately, playing it safe can often be more damaging than taking risks. The quicker you dive into the cold water, the quicker things warm up to your advantage.

As you complete the first step in entrepreneurship, it is time to take a leap of faith and dive into your business.

“A ship is always safe at shore – but that is NOT what it is built for”

–Albert Einstein

Time to get uncomfortable

If you’ve had an idea stirring for awhile and you are sitting comfortably in your cubicle, it’s time to break free and move forward. The big thing about risk taking is it is uncomfortable. It’s scary to think that a business idea might fail, especially when you invest everything you have into it. But taking risks is what being an entrepreneur is all about.

My wife’s business didn’t happen over night. She was working comfortably at a bank for over a year making decent money. After only two months of starting her business while also at the bank, she made the bold move of quitting her job and running her business full time. In all honesty, we weren’t quite in the best place financially but we knew that this is what needed to happen in order for her to be successful.

Find the courage within yourself to get uncomfortable in order to achieve your goals and become even more comfortable in the future.

No office? No problem

When my wife started her business, she used what space was left of our tiny spare bedroom. She had fabric everywhere and eventually everything that was already in the room was moved out to make room for fabric. Currently she occupies two bedrooms, the spare bathroom, the back patio, and the garage with her fabric, merchandise, and tools.

The point here is that you don’t need an office building to start your business. In fact, some of the most prominent businesses started out of garages or dorm rooms: HP, Apple, and Google were all founded in a garage and Facebook was founded in a dorm room.

Slow streams still move small boats

A new business won’t take off over night. Most businesses don’t start off quick at all and you might even have to change your approach. At first, my wife only did ‘bow’ related items–hair bows, bow ties, etc. She found that that wasn’t working too well and grew into more of a headband business (and has since grown from there).

And don’t be afraid if you get rejected at first. Facebook was originally used for Harvard students but was shut down by the school; it is now a billion dollar company.

“Be not afraid of growing slowly. Be only afraid of standing still.”

–Chinese Proverb

Just because you don’t see tremendous growth in your business or even if business slows down along the road, moving slowly is still moving forward. Slow streams still move small boats.

What are you waiting for?

It’s time for you to make your last excuse and move on to creating a successful business. Many people think they need a background in business in order to go into business, but there are other paths to being a successful entrepreneur. My wife studied deaf communications before starting a business and a good friend of mine studied political science before starting his business.

One must learn many skills to be good in business, not just the aspects of business. Communication, marketing, and finance are all important skills to learn as an entrepreneur. If you have a grasp on these aspects of business, then you are ready to dive in headfirst.

More: The First Step in Entrepreneurship — Leadership!

About the author:

Marcus Oakes is part of – and husband to the owner of –Positively Oakes, a Boise, ID based company that makes and sells baby clothing and accessories. He loves writing about almost anything, loves sports and music, and is also in the works of starting an online company with his brother.