As you embark on your journey toward becoming a successful entrepreneur you are going to need a number of tools to get you through the different seasons. There are plenty of resources to fill your tank with marketing tactics, selling skills, interpersonal skills and so much more. Resources are so plentiful that it makes becoming an Entrepreneur seem easy as pie. Let me say it may not be as easy as baking a pie but the reward sure taste good as pie!
There are some things that entrepreneurs encounter that the latest marketing tactic won’t fix and the new payroll program can’t address; you need a different tool for this one and it is called the “tolerance of ambiguity”. Wiki defines this as “the ability to perceive ambiguity in information and behavior in a neutral and open way”. Let’s translate this to English now… The “tolerance of ambiguity” is a combination of self-belief, gumption, optimism, and stamina. Another way we could put it is “risk tolerance” or handling the unknown. A great example of it in action is a Doctor working in the E.R. Would you agree that the Doctor on duty is working in an environment with a high level of uncertainty for a patient who is rushed in with life threating wounds and has lost over 50% of their blood? Imagine the sort of anxiety one would feel not knowing whether this patient is going to pull through with the added pressure that the decisions you make could save the patient or the opposite kill them. The ability to execute action with limited or conflicting information is ambiguity; it’s not black, it’s not white, it’s not hot, and it’s not cold. The ability or inability to tolerate that uncertainty is one of the biggest things that keep some of the most talented individuals hiding behind that cherry wood corporate desk. How well you handle this phenomenon in life determines some of your success as an entrepreneur.
You will have times of feast and times of famine. How well will you do psychologically in times of famine is an indicator of your tolerance. If you are new to the world of entrepreneurship and have yet to experience a famine and are unsure of your tolerance level a good way to get an idea is to examine your ability to tolerate debt. How unnerving is it for you to pay a bill 1 or 2 days late, how about 1 or 2 months? Are we getting there yet? Payroll or groceries? Liquidate your nest egg or take out a loan? These are some of the trivia’s you may face as an entrepreneur and it’s not just the answer that is important but your ability to not crack under pressure and persevere through the hard times.
Test your “tolerance for ambiguity”
here: http://www.queendom.com/tests/access_page/index.htm?idRegTest=2286
Read her story:
“ Mounting debt and dwindling reserves can definitely put the vise grip on your dream. "We
put a lot of money into this. $30,000. It's still not paying the bills. We feel like we're drowning," says Paige Smith, the Sacramento, Calif.-based owner of Pure Belly, which sells obstetrician-endorsed maternity wraps and bras. A mother of four whose husband was laid off from his job the day her company launched, Smith has been hanging on through a white-knuckle ride.
She would do well to follow Kim Holstein's line of thinking. The co-founder of Chicago-based Kim & Scott's Gourmet Pretzels, Holstein was in the same place not all that long ago. "It was very scary to be in debt," she says. Holstein and her husband started the company on a $25,000 credit card line. Whenever they hit a rough patch, like the eight-month stretch when sales headed south, they kept coming back to the original opportunity: the niche for a great soft pretzel.
"We focused on the possibilities instead of the fear," says Holstein, whose pretzels now pull in $15 million per year.
Entrepreneurs need to practice focusing on what's ahead. They need to compartmentalize, keep their focus steady and shove worries aside. They have to believe in the power of the quantum leap. You may be surrounded by cardboard boxes and subsisting on fast food, but your vision for your company's future must remain clear.”
-Joe Robinson of Entrepreneur.com
Managing the Stress of Starting your Own Business
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