Stop Making Excuses and Be a Starter _ Robert Herjavec

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In this series, professionals share how they embrace the entrepreneurial

mindset. See the stories here, then write your own (use #BetheBoss in the post).

I’m not embarrassed to admit that I started my first business out of necessity – I

was fired, and had a mortgage payment to make. Even though it was out of

necessity – I still had to find the courage to be my own boss.

When you’re out today, think about how many small businesses you see and

interact with. For each small business you see, someone made a courageous

decision for it to exist. Whether it was to prove a point, to satisfy an itch, to beat

the odds, to pursue a dream, or even to make ends meet, the courage to strike

out on your own is worth celebrating.

I was like most people, afraid to fail and with very little guidance and NO

experience as an entrepreneur. There are plenty of reasons why people make

excuses not to start their own business — I’ve heard them all. When you fall into

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the trap of making excuses, you limit yourself from going after your dreams. “I

can’t” is the lie you tell yourself so that you don’t have to try. In honor of Global

Entrepreneurship Week (Nov. 16-22) and Small Business Saturday (Nov. 28), I

wanted to share with you the top three excuses that I hear from would-be

entrepreneurs, in the hopes that you might recognize your fear and find the

courage to face it.

Mark Zuckerberg didn’t create the

concept of social media, but is now

among the top 100 wealthiest and most

influential people in the world. You

don’t have to be first to the table.

Sometimes when you put something

off, “later” becomes “never.” It will

never feel like the “right” time. Nothing

is ever perfect, and you’ll always feel

like you’re too busy and you don’t have the time. The bottom line? We all have

24 hours in a day; it’s up to you what you do with it.

You don’t know the right people, you don’t have the money, and you don’t have

the right skills. I know all too well that these are legitimate concerns for

someone who wants to start a business, but to achieve the skills, connections and

cash to start your business, you will have to earn them. Shadow a mentor, get a

part-time job or volunteer, read books, search the web, reach out on social

media, talk to friends and family, speak with a financial advisor and look into

loans. Our connected world is at your fingertips.

Everyone has advice, but no one knows what you have to go through to start,

grow, and scale a business until they live it. I’ve lived it, and I know that the fear

of failure is very real. Business, as in life, is a series of trial and errors — failure

and success. If you suppress your fear of failure and are open to the lessons, you

can learn each time you make a mistake you will be stronger for it. Failure can be

embarrassing, but if you never try, all you will end up with is regret.

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You may already know that I have been working with Deluxe Corporation to



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Written by

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elevate the stories of small businesses through The Small Business Revolution.

To celebrate their 100th anniversary, Deluxe launched this movement to

celebrate small business across America and will honour 100 businesses through

documentary style photo essays and the short documentary film below which I

play a small part in. I’m so proud of this documentary so please check it out

here:

Short Trailer: Small BusinessRevolution Documentaryfrom The Small Business Revolution PRO

Learn more at http://smallbusinessrevolution.org.

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Charmainne HollanndCharmainne HollanndPresident

What a great reminder, of why I became a Entrepreneur and why I can't stopWhat a great reminder, of why I became a Entrepreneur and why I can't stopnow! Thanks for sharing article Robert Herjavec.now! Thanks for sharing article Robert Herjavec.

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We got a call from Dennis, who was discouraged about his relationship with his

manager Danielle.

"What's the problem, Dennis?" we asked. "What is the communication

breakdown between you and Danielle?"

"I can't even tell you, really," said Dennis. "It came out of the blue."

"I started this job fourteen months ago, and

Danielle and I got into mind-meld mode right

away. She told me about her biggest goals for

2015 and I dug into them. I got two big projects

completed in my first quarter here. Danielle was

ecstatic.

"We brainstormed over email all the time and

generated a ton of great ideas. She kept our CEO

up to date on the projects and he was very

supportive of our work, too.

"I don't know what changed, or why. Starting around Labor Day Danielle really

cooled towards me. She told me to put one of my biggest projects on hold until

2016 and now she won't even talk to me about it.

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"She doesn't keep me in the loop anymore. I have to scrounge up projects to do,

even though I know every one of our other VPs' priorities and I could help them

all if Danielle would only lengthen my leash!"

"Has Danielle shared any concerns with you, or any unhappiness about your

results?" we asked.

"Not at all, until just recently," said

Dennis. "In September Danielle told

me that she wasn't happy with my

follow-through. That comment took

me completely by surprise.

"I asked her for examples -- not in a

defensive way, but just so that I

could understand -- and she said she

couldn't think of anything specific

but that she had given me several

action items that I had let slip. I'm telling you, that isn't true.

"There are several people I take care of things for, but Danielle's requests come

first. I don't know what action items she was referring to, but now she won't talk

about that topic either."

"What about your other relationships in the company?" asked Molly. "Do you

still interact with your CEO?"

"All the time," said Dennis. "He even told me that Danielle had told him I was

slacking off. Slacking off - can you imagine? I told the CEO that I'm confused by

Danielle's recent change of attitude towards me.

"I'm working as hard as I ever did and getting so much affirmation from the rest

of the company. The CEO told me to ride it out. He said 'Danielle will come

around. She's just stressed out.'"

"I don't like it," I said. "Me neither," said

Molly.

"He's the CEO!" I protested. "If his VP,

Danielle, shares concerns with him about a



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direct report, it's up to him to dig in and ask

her what she's concerned about. Why would

he tell you to ride it out? He should help you two clear the air."

"He's afraid of her, quite honestly," said Dennis. "I don't mean 'afraid' in the

sense that she's volatile or that she has nearly as much influence as he does, of

course. It's more than she is the darling of the executive team.

"Nobody else understands her job, so she's had the run of the place and now, I

guess, the other VPs have seen that I know a lot about how our department

works. If they want something and they can't get it from Danielle, they can often

get it from me. The CEO is probably just reluctant to upset her. She's a bit of a

prima donna."

"Well, there you go!" said Molly. "Now you

are a political threat to Danielle. She may not

like having somebody around who makes her

seem less indispensable than she used to be."

"That's what I fear," said Dennis. "I have no

desire to create any friction with my boss,

naturally. I want us to be a team. Danielle

wanted to hire someone competent, but she

wanted to hire someone she could keep

under her thumb. A year into this job I have my own relationships with our CEO

and the other VPs, who are all Danielle's peers.

"I agree with your assessment, Molly. I don't want Danielle's job, but I think she

feels she's created a Frankenstein's monster. She doesn't want me to work

directly with any senior-level leader except for her."

"Apart from her comment about your follow-through," I asked, "has Danielle

said anything else to give you a clue as to how she's feeling?"

"Just one thing," said Dennis. "We flew to

Tampa together to see a big customer. In the

rental car she said 'You drive. I'm your boss,

and every once in a while I get to call the shots."

"Ouch!" said Molly. "Talk about confessing



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yourself!"

"It was awkward," said Dennis. "I actually

jumped on her comment because I thought that we might as well use some of

our alone time in the rental car to clear things up between us. I said 'Danielle, if

there's anything I'm doing that offends you or makes you feel uncomfortable, I

want to know about it and I want to stop doing it. I value our relationship and I

want you to be happy you hired me.'"

"Wow," I said. "Good for you, Dennis! Name that elephant!"

"I tried," said Dennis. "It didn't work. Danielle

sat silently for the entire drive, the most

awkward forty minutes I can remember. At the

client meeting she did all the talking and I sat

there like a lump. I happened to hit the mens

room at one point and our client, Pierre, was in

there too."

"Oh no!" I said. "You had a heart-to-heart in

the men's room?"

"I had no choice," said Dennis. "Pierre told me

"You're my chief advisor when you're back in

your office, Dennis. I guess when you're on the road you've got to play it cool so

Danielle doesn't get her nose out of joint."

"More naming the elephant!" said Molly. "It sounds like there's too much truth-

telling going on for Danielle's taste right now."

"I'm at my wit's end," said Dennis. "Our CEO

isn't going to intervene. Danielle isn't going to

talk about her feelings of insecurity or whatever

is going on with her. I may have to start a job

search. I can't work this way.

"I know what needs to be done in our

department and the VPs certainly know, too. I'm

hamstrung by my own manager, who also won't

talk to me. It's a bad situation."



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"Danielle is afraid of your growing flame," said Molly. "Like you said, she fears

she's created a Frankenstein's monster. She fears that you might outshine her.

She doesn't see a job for herself at a higher altitude.

"The more competent and credible you

prove yourself to be, the more she

worries. I agree that you may have to

move on, especially since your CEO isn't

showing any indication that he can rise

to the occasion and mentor Danielle out

of her anxious state."

"That's what I think, too," said Dennis.

"Ironically, the same client, Pierre, has a

VP position he's trying to fill. Do you

think I should move to Tampa?"

"We love Tampa!" we said.

"Pierre's opportunity is certainly worth a look, and there are opportunities worth

exploring with other companies, too.

"People get fearful easily, and executives get more fearful than most. Danielle

never expected you to do as great a job as you've done in your first year. First she

was happy she hired you, and now she's not so sure."

"I'm going to talk to Pierre and learn more

about his VP opportunity," said Dennis. "I

would rather move on than keep pushing a

rock uphill the way I'm doing now."

"Fear at work is the topic no one wants to talk

about," I said.

"Fear in the executive suite is rampant, but

generally executives pretend not to notice it.

Danielle should be basking in her success at hiring as capable a Number Two as

yourself, but she doesn't have the confidence to do that.

"Your CEO should be all over this problem, but instead he tells you to ride it out



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and hope for the best. That's not very impressive."

"You're right," said Dennis. "I guess I've been deluding myself that somehow this

situation might correct itself on its own. I know from experience that once a

manager decides someone is persona non grata, things aren't going to change -

especially since Danielle would rather cut her tongue out than acknowledge that

she's uncomfortable with my - what did you call it? My growing flame."

"It's a good analogy -- your growing flame,"

said Molly. "You don't need Danielle

anymore, and it kills her that you don't. There

are so many CEOs who could use your help,

Dennis. You can run your own department the

next time!"

"Is every company as full of drama and soap

opera as mine is?" asked Dennis.

"There are always waves swelling and

crashing," I said.

"The healthy companies talk about the waves, and the unhealthy ones don't.

They pretend there are no waves of good and bad energy swirling around them.

They stick their fingers in their ears and talk about KPIs and made-up business

jargon. They don't talk about what's happening right under their noses - the

positive and negative momentum that everybody in the place can feel, from the

C-suite to the mailroom."

"They are dinosaurs," said Molly. "There are

more truth-telling people like you speaking up

all the time and more Human Workplaces every

day. There are more job-seekers who know their

value.

"We are moving out of the mechanical

workplace and into the Human Workplace, step

by step and person by person. You wouldn't

settle for a fearful boss like Danielle in your

next job, and lots of other people wouldn't,

either."



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"It's about time for work to become a human place, isn't it?" asked Dennis.

"Not a moment too soon!" we agreed.

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