Launching a business is like going all in with Texas Hold ‘Em – you do it only when you know for sure you’ll win the hand. If you’re not sure, if you’re worried you might lose, you can call to see what happens for a minimal risk, or fold and hang on to your chips. But you can’t go all in. And you can’t launch a business until you are absolutely certain it will succeed.
Uncertainty is the death of great ideas and big plans. If you’re even the slightest bit wary of staying in, chances are you’re going to lose. Call it instinct, call it inexperience, something in you knows you might not win. Whether it’s based in realty or insecurity, your feeling is right. Once you open up the possibility of a different, losing outcome, odds are you’ll end up a loser.
In order to succeed in business – and in poker – you’ve got to be willing to bet the farm. When you go all in, you hold nothing back. No hedging. No waffling. No plan B. When you know you will win, there can be no retreat. So you better be sure you can pull it off.
Does this mean you need a fancy business plan and a room full of angel benefactors kissing your ass in order to launch with confidence? Nope. In fact, your chances of succeeding in business are much greater without them. Would you need an office, a staff, and a stack of embossed business cards in order to feel ready to go in to start-up mode? Heck, no. The trappings of “playing office” are distractions – expensive distractions – that have little to do with getting your business off the ground.
What you need, what you must have in order to win in poker, in business, and in life, is the unwavering belief that you will make it. Yes, you will also have to do some recon to make sure your idea is as innovative as you think it is, the timing is right, and your methodology is spot on. But none of that will make a bit of difference if you’re not totally convinced you will pull it off.
If you know for sure, go all in. The entrepreneurial world is high-stakes game and you’ve got to play to win.
Mike Michalowicz is the author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur.
