7 Ways Entrepreneurs are like Toddlers

This is for entrepreneurs or those that work with entrepreneurs

You can imagine the excitement and chaos at my house on Christmas morning.  Three little ones all excited to see a sinful amount of presents under a well-lit Christmas tree.  We make them take turns, so they can at least have an opportunity to appreciate what they are opening. 

Also, I have noticed, the younger the child, the more appreciative of the gift they have opened.  As they get older, they are more excited to open the next present.  And the next.  And the next.  When all is said and done, everyone is content and ready to move on to the next event of the day.

This reminds me quite a bit of entrepreneurs, as they start their new business.  

For example:

·         The Toddler - The excitement of seeing the tree

·         The Entrepreneur - The idea of the business

·         The Toddler - Santa came! 

·         The Entrepreneur - The funding came through!

·         The Toddler - Oh, I have to assemble the tricycle?

·         The Entrepreneur - Marketing and selling?

·         The Toddler - Well, let me play with the box a little more

·         The Entrepreneur - Well, we can update our site and Tweet more

·         The Toddler - Eating cookies, watching A Christmas Story, and taking a nap

·         The Entrepreneur - Busy running the business, shuffling papers, and making one more post to Facebook

·         The Toddler - Let’s go to Granny’s to open presents

·         The Entrepreneur - Maybe there will be more customers at the new location!

·         The Toddler - The toy ends up at the bottom of the toy chest and broken into pieces

·         The Entrepreneur - Well this isn’t working, let’s move on to the next thing.

So what can we do as entrepreneurs?  I would suggest treating gifts like a 2 year old, instead of the 6 year old, i.e., focus more on one task at a time, get it working, and appreciate the process.