Everyone loves an underdog story...

Photo credit: stocksnap.io

    When you are a new entrepreneur, the fact that you have no track record, no "guarantee", (as if there was one of those, because in reality, nothing in business in guaranteed any way) that your big idea will pan out creates this cloud of doubt around your ability to make it happen. It may be a fantastic idea that needs only a "tiny" push to make it successful. When I say tiny, I do not want to make it seem like creating a startup is an easy task by any means, because it isn't, no matter how sound the idea is, it will require a lot of sleepless nights and hundreds, if not thousands of questions answered with cold, hard facts, before you can even have an iota of hope that your wild dreams will come true.

    Some ideas on the other hand, require less justification, because the market is maturing fast and the demand is so well established, that even the most cautious of investors is comfortable with taking a dive into the deep end of the pool with you. On the flipside, creating a product that anticipates customer needs/desires is way more complicated than one might think. The irony of it all is that when people hear about a random sports team that "beat all the odds" to make it to the championship and beat the hands down favorite, the reception is the complete opposite.

    Why is that? Why has America fallen out of love with the corporate underdog? It's simple, when it comes to money, people are way more emotionally attached, than they are to a team that they have no real vested interest in, other than being amused by their performance, or lack thereof.
    How do we as business minded people alleviate the pain of possibly losing large amounts of hard earned money? Well, we can't, at least not 100% of the time. Even the so called "gurus" strikeout, which is one of the reasons, among others, why us "noobs" get such a bad wrap. At least seasoned veterans have the connections, and prior knowledge to draw upon. On the other hand, what do you have to draw upon? The answer to this question is what will either make you or break you.

    One thing you can do is your "homework". Study the niche you want to take advantage of, ask questions of the experts, you'll be surprised at how many people are willing to give out free, and highly useful advice. Exploit your network to the max, but remember to offer your help wherever possible, before asking for favors, it doesn't work well the other way around, in fact you burn bridges real fast by asking for handouts before offering help where you can.

    Another thing that will help build a sure foundation is surrounding yourself with good people, who have more experience than you, in the industry you want to enter. Draw upon their experience, learn from the best, and you will eventually become the best, but more than anything else, put in the work. Being the underdog has many advantages, one, no one sees you coming, two, the element of surprise is yours only once, so use it wisely, and three, when you do make it, many of those naysayers will become believers, and to me, that's what it's all about, the realization of a worthy dream.

Keep working hard and smart people, it's worth it, and you can take that to the bank!

Robert Morton
Co-founder




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