3A- Entrepreneurism as a sweet spot for a startup

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For those who start a small business as a hobby, or for employment, or even as a professional, we discuss the question of: Is Entrepreneurism a sweet spot for the startup or entrepreneur?

We expanded on the idea delivered to us by Todd Henry, a podcaster of the show called The Accidental Creative, from a recent episode of his weekly podcast show (By the way, his first book (of four published books and now a 5th one on the way) was also called The Accidental Creative).

By the way, Todd also discussed generally the concept of a sweet spot on his other podcast show (now in hiatus, until further notice) called The Daily Creative. And so, we extend the concept that Todd had from not only creative professionals who have to deliver on-demand generation of creative ideas for their clients and employers, but now we look at startups to see if they have considered entrepreneurism as possibly their sweet spot in their lives and creativity. This is extremely important if you are into podcasting and content creation as a business — whether for hire as a consultant or in monetizing your own shows.

Now, in his discussion, Todd states that many creative professionals — and content creators — do not even recognize or know about their own sweet spot. So Todd challenges you to ask yourself questions to see if you can recognize your own sweet spot. To do this, he tries to define what a sweet spot is by analogy and experience and results. For instance, he describes the sweet spot as: “Your “sweet spot” of effectiveness is discovered through active contemplation, not passive reflection. The broader your base of experience, the more patterns you will be able to discern.” And he discusses the topic of HOW to find your sweet spot by asking questions:

Does an entrepreneur know what gives him energy and creativity when he is creating a startup?
Does something OTHER than your job give you the capabilities that allow you to excel — whether they may be enjoyable or not?
Do you act first, then sort later? Do you have “active contemplation” and not passive reflection?
Do you know what your “notables” are? (that is, clues that point you to the direction of your sweet spot)
Where do you excel or items that obsess you to focus more time and energy?
When are you compelled to act within your experience? (this may be an indication about how you are “wired.”
Once you discover your sweet spot, you may be surprised that it may not be what you enjoy or have bliss in your “job” or tasks — you may have to “crank through” things.
What are things that may be difficult, but they may be traits of yours that make it possible for you to ADD VALUE with your “passion” when you are willing to suffer for it?

Todd delivers three key principles for discovering “what you’re wired for, and navigating to a place of effectiveness in life and work.”

(1) What is an outcome that is more important than my temporary comfort?

(2) What is something in which you are really effective, even though you may not enjoy it, because you may be “passionate” about it? and you may be avoiding it now?

(3) What outcome am I committed to, and how do I structure my activity around it?

As someone who has coached teams on how to be more creative and more effective (like his workshops and book, Herding Tigers), Todd delivers a reality point of sweet spots for creative pros like podcasters — you may not discover your own sweet spot right away, because a sweet spot is NOT NECESSARY.

So, now for startups, it may seem to be a bit easier to find their sweet spot for those who are just launching their business because of their passion.

I would suggest that you listen to the podcast episode of Todd’s podcast series that is titled “Finding your sweet spot.” This may give you the active contemplation you need to see what your real creative talent can achieve if you purposefully drive yourself to the outcome of delivering good business results for your small business.

In my case, I have gone through this self-contemplation, and what Todd says is true, in my case. You can discover more about yourself and see your value in the great outcome to which you can maneuver.

So, are you going to put a self-project in place to find your own sweet spot? If so, you may be surprised to discover that being an entrepreneur CAN be a sweet spot for you as a successful startup.