Entrepreneurs and Olympic Athletes

I feel blessed for the fact that our great country played host to the world for the 2010 Olympic Games and we were fortunate enough to be able to go and participate in all the festivities.

But while we were there, I couldn’t help but begin to see a variety of parallels between the small business owner and the Olympic athlete.

Here’s what I mean…

1)  Clear Vision / Focus

In order to compete at the highest level of sport (the Olympics), you must have a clear vision of what you want to achieve and the focus to do whatever it takes to get there.  Athletic ability definitely plays a big factor in winning or losing but being “mentally tough” can mean the difference between “just participating” vs being on the podium.

The same goes for business.  How many people do you know have the “skills” to build a successful business but for whatever reason never do?

Vision.

Focus.

These are the things that keep the entrepreneur on course and prevent us from getting the “shiny object distraction syndrome”.

That’s where the next big idea, latest tactic, or new tool pulls you away from your core business.

Hey, we’ve all been there but just like an Olympic athlete, we as small business owners must stay focused and have a clear vision of the business we are trying to build.  At the end of the day, our job as entrepreneurs is to create VALUE.  We do that by creating products and providing services that fulfill the needs of our customers.  As long as you always stay focused on that, you’ll always do well.

2)  Passion

Olympic athletes are passionate.

They are passionate about their sport, representing their country and they are passionate about competing and winning.

Likewise, successful small business owners are passionate about the products they sell and the value they provide.

Do you wake up excited about your day?

If not, that could be a sign that there are some things that need to change.

Often times it might not be the business or the industry that’s draining your passion.

It could be what you are working on inside of your business.

For example, if you’re not a details person (that includes me), then working on detail oriented projects and tasks is probably the thing that’s draining your energy and passion.  So a simple adjustment of hiring someone to handle that for you or outsourcing certain tasks to others can often be all you need to reignite that spark you had when you first started.  It will free up time for you to do more of the things that you love and are passionate about.

At the end of the day, if you aren’t passionate about your business, then it’s going to be a LOOOONNNGG tiring and taxing road if you want to build a successful business.

3)  Perseverance

One thing is for certain – when it comes to building a successful business, you can always bank on the fact that things will not always go according to plan.

There are going to be mishaps, mistakes and failures.

BUT THAT’S OK… it’s normal!

During the 2010 Olympics we were reminded of this when Heather Moyse and Kaillie Humphries won the gold medal in women’s bobsled.

Four years earlier at the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Heather Moyse missed the podium by 0.05 seconds.

Can you imagine?  0.05 seconds.  That was the difference between being on the podium and sitting in 4th place.

Fast forward to the 2010 Games in Vancouver and you could hear Heather talk about how much it hurt to lose by that amount in Turin but that it served as motivation for her to persevere, train hard and do whatever it took to win gold in Vancouver – and that’s exactly what she did with her partner Kaillie Humphries (Canada actually placed 1st and 2nd!).

Another reminder of perseverance was when Joannie Rochette (Canadian figure skater) was put to the ultimate test during the Vancouver Games when days before her second last performance, her mother suddenly died of a heart attack.  Joannie was in the hunt for a medal but the whole country sympathized and understood should she not want to proceed.  She was close to her mother and something like this would be hard enough to deal with, let alone still compete in the Olympics.

But she persevered.

She not only skated her remaining two routines but she went on to win the bronze medal!

Listen, running a business isn’t going to be easy.  You are going to have all kinds of obstacles and challenges that you’ll need to deal with.

Things will go wrong.  You will eventually have an upset customer, an employee who aggravates you, or a product that needs fixing.  How you respond to and persevere through those things is what will determine your success.

Being a small business owner can sometimes be lonely as we bare the responsibility of creating great products, a vibrant work environment as well as putting food on the table for our family and employees.

Most people will eventually give up – just look at the stats of how many small businesses are still operating after 5 years.

So when times are tough, draw some inspiration from our Olympic athletes and remember, half the battle is just persevering through all the ups and downs.

4)  Strong Work Ethic

Olympic athletes aren’t able to compete on the world stage without putting in hundreds and hundreds of hours preparing, practicing and working at mastering their sport.

It takes work… a LOT of work.

Likewise, to build a successful business, it’s going to take work.

As best-selling author Gary Vaynerchuk would say…

“Too many people don’t want to swallow the pill of working every day, every chance they get.  No one makes a million dollars with minimal effort unless they win the lottery.”

If you’re serious about building a successful business then you better be willing to devote yourself to the putting in the effort it takes to get to the top.

That means creating a new promotion when you want to go to bed, sacrificing 30 minutes of TV to write a new blog post or spending Saturday mornings replying to support requests.  It’s the extra effort and strong work ethic that will help you climb to the top of your industry quicker and faster than anyone else.

5)  Perfect Practice

One of my early mentors really helped me to understand the difference between “practice” and “perfect practice”.

He used to say that if you practice the wrong thing over and over, what happens?

ANSWER:  You just become really good at doing things wrong.

So it’s important to practice things perfectly day in and day out.

It’s no surprise that when you watch the Olympics you hear countless stories of all the planning and preparation that goes into a medal winning performance.  Hundreds of practice games.  Thousands of repetitions in the gym.  Countless trips up and down the mountain looking for ways to shave mere seconds off their times.

For several years, their lives are dedicated to practicing not only their sport but also the daily routines that are needed to put them in a position where they are prepared and ready to win.  That includes practicing their sport but it also includes eating the right foods, going to the gym, learning to prepare mentally, studying their competition or course and much more.

So let me ask  you… do you have a daily success routine?

What should YOU be doing every day?

Are you taking the daily steps neccessary to get your business to the next level?

One of the best exercises for small business owners is to look at your daily activities and ask yourself if what you are doing is the highest and best use of your time.

If not, then you’re likely practicing the wrong thing.

Change your activities and start building your “perfect practice” mentality and daily routine.

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There can be a lot learned from our Olympic athletes and as small business owners we can draw many parallels in regards to what it takes to make it to the top of the podium and what it takes to succeed in our own industry.

Focus, Passion, Perseverance, Strong Work Ethic and Perfect Practice are just a few.

Can you think of any others?

Let us know by leaving your comments below.

In the meantime, here are a few pics from our Olympic experience in Vancouver

LEFT:  2 yr old Rylan is a proud Canadian
RIGHT:  Taking a moment to look at my Olympic pics

We start training our young ones early

Olympic Village

Molson’s Hockey House – Scalpers were even selling
tickets for $500 each just to watch the Canada game here!

Amy and the Canadian Mounties.

So many GREAT Canadian fans!

Amy and I waited in line 2 hours just to watch the
Canada hockey game in a bar downtown Vancouver.

A little “pre-Olympic” warm up.

The rings were “golden” as Canada just won Gold!

Standing on the podium with one of my best friends Braden
and his brother Nate.

YAHOO!  The Olympic torch

Time to go home.

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