Do Not Let Lack of Resources Stop You

Do Not Let Lack of Resources Stop You

Jan 11

Earlier this week, a good friend of mine emailed me an article with an answer to the age-old question “What is an Entrepreneur”? At first, I was skeptical because everyone seems to have an answer to this question and although some of the are very eloquent, I have yet to find one that struck me.

This particular definition comes from Harvard Business School professor Howard Stevenson:

“Entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunity without regard to resources currently controlled.”

Simply put – an Entrepreneur seeks out opportunity and does not allow lack of resources to hinder his/her pursuit of their goal.

This definition struck a chord with me because the very first morning of my career, the day after graduating from the University of Notre Dame, I awoke knowing only one distinct truth: I was a one-person company with a vision of becoming something great, yet, I had absolutely no idea – and no immediate windfall of revenue – to help me get there. The first question that came to my mind? “What the hell am I thinking?”.

Yet, my desire to create opportunities where none existed, forced me out of bed – and I began to work. There were countless things I had to learn and even more mistakes that I made as days became weeks, but each and every day, I worked within my means and made the most out of the resources that I had. Without a doubt, there were days and months when those resources were extremely limited and sales were not meeting projections, but the lack of expected resources never deterred me from believing in the vision I had that morning after graduation.

Years later, I could not be more proud of where my company, CCI Studios (www.ccistudios.com) has come, nor more excited for where we are going. I have been extremely fortunate that I have been able to grow the business and take steps toward making my vision a reality. Yet even after all of this time, I am dedicated to not allowing current resources dictate what can or cannot be done. As CCI Studios evolves from a Marketing Firm focused on Web and Graphic Design to forays in new industries and innovations, I want this perspective on resources to permeate our company’s culture. I want CCI’s employees to find opportunities and not focus on the roadblocks that will halt these opportunities, but rather, focus on the solutions necessary to bring these opportunities to fruition. Our analysis of new business ventures and investments encompasses the same decision making process now, that it did when I was on the first day of the job – create opportunities and do not let resources stop you.

So, if you are starting out as an entrepreneur and have a notion of where you want to go, but are uncertain how to get there, be creative in your problem solving, but do not allow lack of anything get in your way. Making due with what we have available to us and turning that into something more is a large part of what makes entrepreneurs who they are.