Lately, a lot of people have been asking me how I started this coworking business. Most times, I can’t string together a coherent timeline of events to keep an audience interested in the story (think extrovert/ADHD/too much coffee girl). “Err, intuition, um, googled coworking, uh, money, oh yeah, community building, erm people, freelancers and oh yeah, passion.” Not very compelling. But what I can do is answer very specific questions. Like the one I got asked today for an interview with the Northern Colorado Business Report.
You’ve talked a lot about passion…what do you mean?
The entrepreneur’s salvation and doom lies in the ability to get passionate about something. Really, really passionate. Picture yourself up at 2 am, then 2:30am, then 3:17am, then for the rest of the night crouched in the second floor bedroom pounding out notes by the dim light of your laptop wondering which of your friends would be most likely to take your phone call at this hour-type passion. This is what spurs entrepreneurs on. Having ideas, great ideas, and making them happen. This passion will sustain them during slow sales, working 22 days straight and epic public relations mishaps.
This passion also cripples some entrepreneurs when it comes to the day to day tedious tasks like tracking money-in/money-out with some lame accounting software that makes them feel like they’ve never used a computer before. Tasks like cleaning the toilet and sweeping the floor don’t possess the allure they once did when they decided NOT to hire a janitorial service. Entrepreneurs fail easily when tasks don’t provide immediate gratification toward the completion of the goal that relates directly to the passion. Unlike the 6 degrees of separation rule, entrepreneurs can only tolerate about 1 degree of separation between the task at hand and world domination.
Unfortunately, the day to day tasks tend to sustain the shiny and passion inducing ones. Alas, the paradox of passion.
What are you passionate about and how do you marry the passion with the day to day necessities?
OMG Angel! This post makes me want to hug you. In fact, next time you see me, expect it. It’s all so spot on true!
Christina,
That is awesome! Your excitement, that is and a pending hug! FTW!
So… can I put you down as a definite maybe on my “Who to Call at 2:00AM” list?
And this is totally true as it is my weakness and main de-motivator, “Entrepreneurs fail easily when tasks don’t provide immediate gratification toward the completion of the goal”
Suzanne, you make me laugh out loud. My answer is “perhaps.” I think we need a Bat Signal or similar for this problem.
The paradox of passion http://bit.ly/cymYW4
Do you have the paradox of passion? http://bit.ly/cymYW4
Love your post…thanks for sharing! This makes me feel so much better and so much *less* of a failure due to constantly being behind on the minutia of running my business… Yes, the passionate, creative, exciting parts stir me big time…the data entry/bookkeeping, etc…not so much. I’ll remember this next time I’m procrastinating on that stuff… (don’t know it’ll make me handle things any differently, but I may just feel a bit better about the whole thing.) 🙂
Inger-at least we can all be honest that we’re not over the top passionate about the mundane details of being entrepreneurs! I outsourced bookkeeping right away and it CHANGED my LIFE. My gal is way talented and knows her stuff at an affordable price. She’s available if you want her. Let me know. Stay passionate, my friend.
Best of Archives: The Paradox of Passion http://bit.ly/dwxkEx