{"id":770,"date":"2013-11-13T12:41:49","date_gmt":"2013-11-13T17:41:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.agilityfeat.com\/?p=770"},"modified":"2013-11-13T12:41:49","modified_gmt":"2013-11-13T17:41:49","slug":"are-you-waiting-for-permission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agilityfeatpanama.com\/en\/blog\/2013\/11\/are-you-waiting-for-permission\/","title":{"rendered":"Are you waiting for permission?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Am I really qualified to do this?<\/em> <\/p>\n

Moments of doubt like that hit all of us occasionally as entrepreneurs. An entrepreneur must have two basic elements in order to go from \u201csomebody with an idea\u201d to an actual entrepreneur. <\/p>\n

First<\/strong>, you must have that idea, preferably one you are passionate<\/strong> about.<\/p>\n

Second<\/strong>, you must be willing to act<\/strong> on that idea.<\/p>\n

But what if your idea is in an area outside your expertise?<\/strong> What if you are about to go head to head with more experienced competitors? What if you’re fresh out of college? Unless you are creating something really revolutionary, you are probably about to enter a marketplace that others are already playing in, and then you may wonder\u2026<\/p>\n

Am I really qualified to do this?<\/em><\/p>\n

\"demotivational-poster-doubt\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Self doubt like that is normal, and can only be overcome in two ways.<\/p>\n

First, someone can tell you that Yes, in fact, you are qualified to do this. They can give you the assurances, or perhaps the \u201cpermission\u201d<\/strong>, to go ahead and try it.<\/p>\n

Or, you can go the second route, and charge ahead into your startup without waiting for anyone\u2019s permission<\/strong> or approval to do so.<\/p>\n

Last week, I had a chance to hear two very successful entrepreneurs speak, and they both reminded me not to wait on anyone\u2019s permission before pursuing my ideas.<\/p>\n

I attended the \u201cStart Up Now\u201d<\/a> entrepreneur conference at the University of Virginia\u2019s<\/a> Darden<\/a> School of Business Batten Institute<\/a> (gotta love those long academic names). One of the sessions was about how to buy someone else\u2019s business and grow it.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not really in the market to buy anybody\u2019s business right now, but maybe in the future I will be, so I thought it would be an interesting talk to check out and expand my horizons a bit.<\/p>\n

The speaker was Charles Lunford, a venture capitalist who had his first big success by buying a flailing candle manufacturer<\/strong>. Over the course of eight challenging years, he turned the company around, built up new successful brands and product lines, took on the biggest competitors in the field, and then sold the business for apparently a big enough profit that he\u2019s now a venture capitalist.<\/p>\n

\"Screen<\/a>Here\u2019s the thing: He doesn\u2019t like candles.<\/strong> He quipped that \u201cI\u2019m practically allergic to scented candles, and we don\u2019t own a single one in our house.\u201d <\/p>\n

He knew nothing about candles or their target demographic when he bought the business. Despite being in completely over his head, he threw himself into understanding his newly purchased business, his customers, his competitors, the finer scientific points of how candles burn with the least smoke, and the slightly less scientific nuances about shades of purple that sell best.<\/p>\n

He did not wait for permission<\/strong>, and he readily acknowledges how unqualified he was to run a candle company. But he saw a business opportunity, accepted the challenge, was open to learning, and made it a very successful venture.<\/p>\n

The second speaker I saw on Friday had a similar message, although you might scoff at me grouping him with a candle maker.<\/p>\n

Alexis Ohanian<\/a> was the co-founder of Reddit<\/a><\/strong>, the \u201cfront page of the internet.\u201d Alexis was also a 2005 graduate of the University of Virginia (Go Hoos!), and he came back to my alma mater to speak at the McIntire School of Commerce<\/a> at UVa<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Alexis visited UVa as part of a 75 college campus tour to promote his new book \u201cWithout Their Permission.\u201d<\/a> Now you see why I was emphasizing \u201cpermission\u201d above.<\/p>\n