Recently I was on the phone with a software entrepreneur who was describing his new product to me. He was so excited about the capabilities of the product that he was practically grabbing me by the shirt through the phone, and at the end of his listing of the product features, he had generated so much enthusiasm in himself that he emphatically shouted, “and it does all of these things in one swell foop!”
I don’t know if he realized that he had transposed the beginning letters of the last two words, or how funny it sounded, especially at maximum volume, but I bit my lip to prevent myself from laughing. I continued the conversation without correcting him or pausing at all. I recognized that his level of passion and energy are required (but not sufficient) to be a successful entrepreneur. It is a crowded, crowded world and marketplace.
To paraphrase Professor Linneman in his textbook, just being average in business is extremely hard and a full-time job. To even get yourself to “average”, you need a real passion for what you do, otherwise you’re toast. There are just too many people out there fighting to win.
What do you think about how absolutely competitive it is in the marketplace, and job market?
