A little over two years ago I came up with the idea of the HuB. At the time - it was more of a philosophy than an idea. I certainly did not have a plan - in fact that was the "plan" - NOT to have one. For years, as an entrepreneur and also as an angel investor it seemed like I spent 80% of my time writing a plan or reviewing a plan. And as much I would like to believe you can plan your way to success... I am almost certain that the time we spend on planning is not just overrated, but completely a waste of time.
Before I go into the basic principles of my argument, let me give you some background into the HuB. Before I started the HuB, I spent a lot of time with entrepreneurs developing their ideas, businesses and eventually watching them succeed or fail. I started to see a trend forming over the years. The trend is not scientific, but it is certainly recognizable (perhaps more in a gut feeling) when working with entrepreneurs. I use the word "momentum" a lot when describing why a venture is successful, but more important than momentum is the creativity of the entrepreneur. It was this aspect that I decided to focus on when starting the HuB - CREATIVITY.
I wanted to build a community that embraced creativity over and above any other aspect to building businesses (or for that matter building communities). In order to do this - I knew we have to embrace the creative process when developing the HuB - which meant embracing these basic principles:
1. GROW ORGANICALLY - This principal is a difficult one to explain to an entrepreneur (and especially an investor). Essentially, what we demand is that a business grow organically without the assistance of unnecessary (manufactured) capital. We realize every venture requires capital to start and grow, but we believe it can destroy a business quicker than any other factor. It is critical for anything to grow at it's own natural pace, and only leverage capital when it is based on demand (e.g. new customers, need new product designs, etc) and NOT on some manufactured plan and spreadsheet projecting growth on no real factual data. Many people call this bootstrapping or starting out of your "garage", which I tend to agree with - but its also speaks to the idea that "plans are useless".
2. BE CREATIVE - This is the core principal of the HuB. Too many entrepreneurs focus on the wrong aspects of their business, and instead of being creative on how they can get a product to market - they tend to find themselves in a holding pattern waiting on an investor or taking too long to develop the perfect version of their product. Anytime we look at a business opportunity, we ask the question - "How can we make this idea happen with the resources we have right now?". If the answer is "We can't" - then it forces us to be creative. We find new paths to make the idea happen. Sometimes we can't and we abandon the idea... but many times we do find alternate paths. Entrepreneurs who are creative will succeed. Unfortunately when we demand entrepreneurs spend countless hours developing a plan - they feel like they can't be creative once the plan is written down - and thus - this typically leads to failure. Don't plan. Be Creative.
3. EVERYONE IS AN ENTREPRENEUR - What makes the HuB different than a tech-incubator, a university or even a start up company - is that we want to create entrepreneurs. We don't want employees. This is a challenge, because most people are programmed to look for a "job" - not to create one. Every person who works at the HuB is an entrepreneur. This is not an easy thing to accept if they have had a job all their life. There is a big difference between having a paycheck and manager - to being 100% responsible for the success of your venture each and every day.
It is these three principles that have been the reason I feel the HuB has been so successful. We embrace the chaos knowing that it is part of the process. Everytime a new creative entrepreneur joins the HuB we expect things to change and we hope it adds another element of energy and excitement for everyone else.
The great thing about NOT having a plan.... is every day is unexpected. And that is the way it should be for an entrepreneur.
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6 comments:
Very nicely stated, Rich. Looking forward to the interview.
Very well said and so true. I feel so blessed to be surrounded each day by such creative minds, positive energy and those who thrive on coming together to grow ideas.
I love the HuB and all the HuB(sters) that go along with it. Thank you all for letting me be a part of it too!
Rich.....Finally, I think I am wrapping my head around what your intention is at the HuB. Thank you. As an investment manager...I have felt so many times that complete obstacle of a 200 page business plan and people getting mired down in all of market and financial projects (which are pie in the sky anyway) , stopping momentun, waiting for funds. Thank you for what you are doing. It is a gift to our community.
It is nice to see someone stand up and take some responsibilty for our future! Creativity, innovation and drive will only help us to evolve. Enough with the time punching. Create a better tomorrow, one day at a time.
- Daemian Mains, co-owner of Definition Fit, LLC
One of my goals is to be able to replace the word "HuB" in this article with "Sybarite5"
Louis
Sybarite5.org
Hello,...just found your site and find it to be very interesting and informative as to building business in Sarasota. I love the idea of finding enterpreneurs in a local community to help grow that community. I am an "Enterpreneur". I've been actively looking in Sarasota/Bradenton to launch my innovative, growth positive business. We will create 30 to 40 new jobs at start-up. One of these areas will be corporate headquarters. One of our objectives is to grow into all major communities in Florida at which time we will employ over 500 people. Our programs are designed to teach positive character building values to our kids in a fun and exciting way...I would welcome partners who have a "heart for kids"
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