143- Stability and challenge for the Entrepreneur holiday season

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In this episode of The Struggling Biz, we discuss the theme of stability and challenge facing the Entrepreneur, especially during the holiday season (in which we are seeking a return to the FORMER NORMAL or an entrance to the NEW NORMAL).

The inspiration for this idea and episode was presented in an email “episode” of The Daily Creative by Todd Henry, who is the author of books and podcaster of The Daily Creative and The Accidental Creative.

In his email “episode” of October, 2021, he gives the dilemma which we face between “challenge” and “stability” as an Entrepreneur.

Now, we all recognize and DESIRE to have stability in our business and our daily personal lives, especially when we start out. And Todd defines these two terms:

“Stability means that you need clarity of process, clarity of expectations, protection of your time and focus, and protection of the runway needed to do your work.

Challenge means that – whether you know it or not – you need and want to be pushed, to take risks, to try new things, and to be operating on the edge of your abilities from time to time.”

Now, for most of us who are new or aspiring entrepreneurs, we can seek the stability of the business world, because it is mainly predictable — and our revenue and fortunes may be planned or dependent on that in the beginning. But then, risk-taking may enter our minds as we strive to grow the business and increase our revenues, delight more customers and deliver more VALUE with a high return on our investment of time, energy, talent and treasure.

However, stability can also play a negative role, if we stagnate or become bored, tired, frustrated with the routine and seek to get a burst of energy, enthusiasm, excitement and eerie delight from wanting to “push the envelope” of business success. For as Todd states in his email episode: “As you are challenged, the environment in which you work often becomes less stable because there is more uncertainty and less clarity about the process that will get the results you need. When you increase stability, you feel less challenged because things are more predictable.”

So the problem we face is a decision we must be ready to address when the time comes and the symptoms, as stated above, appear in our midst for our business. For with challenge, there is also a potential negative side to the stability in the challenge that we may face: “If teams are overly challenged without the corresponding stability needed to support the effort, they grow frustrated and angry. If there is high stability but little challenge, talented people grow bored and begin seeking better horizons.”

So how do we deal with this dilemma in which we have to decide how much stability we need, want, desire and strive for — as opposed to seeking and accepting new challenges that can possibly take our business to a higher level and help us to reach our business objectives faster?

As I have always stated, things for me have always been a lot clearer after I have performed a cost-benefit analysis and look at the good, the bad and the ugly of the results of each choice. I would suggest that this may be a tool for you to use when you recognize that you have a struggle in choosing to go the straight path of stability or take the risk-road of accepting and going forth with the challenge of the day for you.

Whatever your cost-benefit analysis will show, we hope that you choose wisely when you are confronted with this dichotomy — and that you pursue with logic and study the best alternative at each time that you need to engage the aspect of choosing stability or accepting a business challenge.

Thank you for your attention.