Shiny Objects will KILL your Business… They’re certainly trying to kill mine… Of course, I’m talking about “Shiny Object Syndrome”. It’s a near fatal disease that affects all business owners. The more entrepreneurial an owner is, the more susceptible they are to contracting it.
Does this sound familiar? Business is great, things are moving along nicely. You’ve finally broken through that terrifying initial stage where you could run out of money at any second. Things have finally settled down…
This is a dangerous time for a business owner. As soon as the stress levels have lowered we start to get bored. We start to look around for other things to do.
We try to recreate the high that comes with starting something from scratch. We’re addicted to it.
Anything that looks shiny and new grabs our attention and pulls us toward it with the power of a black hole. We’re powerless to resist even if it means potentially abandoning our current business and everything we’ve built.
Just like a dog who abandons a perfectly good game of fetch to chase a squirrel. Things are going great, his owner has finally come outside to play. The dog’s the happiest he’s ever been and then out of nowhere…SQUIRREL…!
I’m no different. Our Marketing Business is doing really well. We’ve almost doubled our revenue in the last 12 months and we’ve found a way to serve our clients that not is not only profitable but satisfying. It’s not even as if things have gotten boring…we’re GROWING…every month!
But I have a disease…shiny object syndrome is something I have to live with everyday.
So what do I do? Two things.
First I make a list of all the shiny things that cross my path. Some are of my own creation and some come from seeing something cool a person is doing in another city (“that would do great here…!!”). My list is as extensive as it is ridiculous. I’ll share it one day and I’ll die of embarrassment at some of the crazy things that I thought would make a great business idea. My list is like a sponsor in AA, it gives me perspective.
Second, I play a game with myself. If I find an idea that is related to our current business and I just can’t let it go, I lock myself in the office and work on it for a full day. I pretend that “WE’RE DOING THIS” and I make plans, price things out and generally play “Entrepreneur”.
Sometimes by the end of the day I’ve realized that it’s a terrible idea and the next day I get back to regular business. Sometimes I’m still all jazzed up but my rule is that I put the shiny new toy away until the following Monday. If I’m still jazzed by then maybe I’ll it explore further.
As Entrepreneurs we’re all cursed. I have more businesses that are no longer running than most people will ever start. From Soccer Programs to Vending Machines to an Inflatable Business. I used to be embarrassed by these failures but I’m not anymore. I’m a very sick man and I’m only now starting to understand my condition…
Those entrepreneurial seizures can be detrimental to your life and business but they can also bring sparks of brilliance…However you choose to deal with them, I hope that at least now you’re aware of the fact that you’re not alone!
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