Business plan, cash flow, legal structure, financing, social media marketing—everything I’ve been taught over the years about starting a new business—it’s all really secondary. That’s what my mentor believes. And she’s walked her talk as a cutting-edge entrepreneur for years.
Over yesterday’s luncheon, this woman of grace, compassion and courage shared a story:
“While driving each year to the retreat I was guiding (and had prepared for at-length), I would say to myself, ‘I have no idea how this is going to be perceived. I’ve given it everything I could. Now, however, it’s no longer mine to control.’”
So it is, she stated, with starting any new endeavor, businesses included. It could be doomed from the start if the progenitor feels the suffocating need to control every aspect. Don’t demand of oneself and others that the business be launched fully-fledged. Instead, guide, nurture and allow it to grow as its own life decrees.
It’s very similar, my dear friend said, to giving birth to a baby. As a parent, you’ve invested heavily in your child’s potential. As you should. Equally, as your offspring mature, you must give them the power to forge their own lives. You provided the healthy, loving environment; now let them flower or falter. Simply said, the acorn has no control over the oak tree.
So it is with new beginnings.