Entrepreneurship / Don’t Die a Photocopy

Carlo Acutis, the recently canonized saint, famously said,” We are all born unique. Sadly, many die a photocopy.” Quite wise for a fifteen-year-old and an admonition that should be thoughtfully considered both in our faith and our work lives.

If you follow Full Sail and my “Linked In” page, I am presently an adjunct professor in the Entrepreneurial Program at Franciscan University and class discussion often revolves around the skills needed to be an entrepreneur. There are many qualities that make for a successful entrepreneur like:

1)      Resilience…you must be able to get back on your feet when you inevitably fail initially

2)      Curiosity…you have to be a “noticer” and ask questions

3)      Vision…you must be able visualize what others can’t and communicate that clearly and powerfully to your partners and staff

4)      Chutzpa…. Walking the tightrope without a net is not for the faint hearted

5)      Charisma…you have enough personability to lead, attract followers and obtain financial backing

6)      Financial Savvy…A good idea isn’t good enough. You have to have to ability to envision and execute on making it operational in a monetarily beneficial way

And there are others. But the most important of these is passion. Why? Because if you are not passionate, all in passionate, it makes it much harder to be resilient, a risk-taker, a visionary, fearless, etc. You end-up a photocopy. Successful entrepreneurs might not be batting a thousand on all the key traits but, driven by their passion, will make the effort and take the time to master them as necessary—even if it is not a natural proclivity—to be successful.

Three examples.

In my Entrepreneurial Lab class, the students are broken up in groups and must select an enterprise to develop and operate. In one of the three groups, there is a woman who seems shy and quiet but has a passion for baking fantastic cookies. Of all the students in my class, she seems the most passionate about her idea. Because of her quiet and gentle nature, I was not sure that she would speak up enough or argue firmly enough to get her group to go along with the idea of opening a bakery. Well, passion prevailed and they are looking into cookies. Her passion for baking won the day. Not a photocopy, for sure, and being true to her unique self despite my concerns.

When I was running a bank in California, we had a customer, Jim, who owned McDonald’s franchises. Very successful. He tells the story about his passion for trying to be in business for himself. It was a tough call to leave a stable job working for someone else because he had a young family, a mortgage, etc. It was risky and, if it did not work out, he could lose his home and have difficulty supporting his family.  He could not bear to discuss this with his wife until he had all the I’s dotted and the T’s crossed.

So, every Thursday evening, unbeknownst to her, he would attend the requisite seminars and training courses to learn how to become a franchisee. He was coming home late and his wife started wondering what was going on. Getting a little suspicious of his late hours every Thursday. Finally, it was time to decide; the money was due. So, very scared, perplexed, confused and undecided, Jim stopped at a bar to talk to the bartender, a friend of his, and hash-out the pros and cons. After a beer or two, Jim was resolute. He is doing this. By now, his wife had had it. He comes home from the bar resolved to follow his passion. Now, the smell of beer is hard to hide even in moderation. He’s late again, smells like beer, his wife starts crying, and accuses Jim of having an affair, drinking, and carousing these past Thursdays. “No. No.” Jim says. “It’s not what you think.” And he explains what was going on. He and his wife became very successful entrepreneurs because Jim followed his passion to be his own boss, despite the obstacles. Born unique. Not a photocopy.  (And maybe he could have come up with a better communication plan. )

Finally, my story. I went to Penn State for agriculture, wanting to start a landscape business or a nursery or something like that. I got to my junior year and I thought “How am I ever going to make money doing this.” So, I switched majors and, after some other educational contortions, got an MBA and became a banker. At the time, I thought horticulture was a passion of mine but I could not overcome my fear, unlike Jim, to pursue it. (Perhaps if I had “showed a little faith” I might have!!!) It worked out because I became passionate about helping my banking clients. But, today, I am 100% convinced that I could have done equally as well financially had I had the passion to pursue owning a landscape center.

As I said, Carlo’s quote applies to business but more importantly to faith and striving to find God’s unique plan for you. Not the photocopy version. It’s out there to find. But that’s a lengthier subject for another blog (or book chapter). For now, take the new Catholic saint’s advice to heart. Be your unique self. In business, school, your marriage or whatever. Photocopies have little valueit is easy to make more of them.  Follow your passion and be unique. That’s the best path to becoming a successful entrepreneur whether it’s cookies, burgers or azaleas.

Show A Little Faith.