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The XXIX Olympiad has finished and it has left many of us with new names of great individual athletic competitors. The eight swimming races won by Michael Phelps offered unbelievable drama, while giving the audience an appreciation of the focus necessary for the individual competitor to achieve success. As commentators described the lifestyle of the Olympic athletes, the sacrifices they made for four years or more, and the personal traits that separated them from their rivals, one who has experienced entrepreneurship may feel a kinship with them.
The common rule of thumb for a business startup to survive is five years, while Olympian commitment is counted in the four year period between each Olympiad. Both pursuits require comparable time periods during which the Entrepreneur or Olympian must place their personal life aside and take on a commitment that once started can not easily be abandoned. This deferral of a balanced life is rarely understood by outsiders.
Each one's declaration of their dream, gold in nature for both, often isolates the individual from their peers and family, while demanding a best personal performance under stressful of conditions that others can not comprehend or imagine.
What are those challenges taken on by the entrepreneur that are so great that they may be considered Olympian in scale? Here are a few examples:
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Mortgaging your house to finance a high risk start up business that possibly may forever change one's future, for better or for worse
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Meeting payroll obligations week in and week out regardless of economic conditions or one's own personal financial needs
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Taking years to develop a totally new product for trial in an unproven market
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Risking relationships with friends and family who provide support or seek financial involvement in an unproven business
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Putting one's personal pride and reputation front and center for something that has very very high risk of failure---and doing it anyway
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Working sixteen hours per day, seven days per week for five years, no vacation
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Eating a lean diet because all of your money is covering your rent
Those are just a few of the challenges that an entrepreneur routinely takes on day in and day out to reach their dream of a successful business. It is only with unwavering focus that the entrepreneur is able to create the discipline to shoulder those challenges and continually move forward against the odds.
And finally, following those challenges, stresses and sacrifices by both the entrepreneur and Olympian, it is all about performance. Has the venture made it? Is it profitable? Has the Olympian won a medal? In the end, the reality of having taken such high risk can be very black and white. Success or Failure.
Jeanne Gray is founder of NJEntrepreneur.com and has been an entrepreneur for most of her career. She now works with small business owners to create strategies for growth. This includes small business advice on establishing their business goals and prioritizing their activities to achieve the greatest success. She may be reached at 908-917-9900 or
jgray@njentrepreneur.com
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Entrepreneurship 
