The demons from without are those external forces that can complicate the process of getting started. The people that tend not to understand are those that are risk averse and enjoy working in the comfort and relative security of a steady pay cheque and stable work place. Typical comments are;
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- Why are you doing this?
- Why don’t you get a real job?
And stuff like that.
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The truth of the matter is that the only support that really matters is that of your family (spouse and kids), advisors/mentors and close personal network. Support on the home front is absolutely essential before beginning any entrepreneurial endeavour. Anything beyond that is just noise and doesn’t really matter.
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“Don’t think you’re on the right road just because it’s a well-beaten path.” ~Author Unknown
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Entrepreneurs are usually travelling down the less trodden path and those on the well beaten path may not understand. IMHO dealing with the demons from without is far easier than dealing with the demons from within.
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Next Post – the Bad – Persistence
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Ian Graham

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Apparently there is a real disconnect brewing between the Conference Board of Canada and Legatum Prosperity Index. One ranks Canada 4th in Entrepreneurship and Innovation out of 106 countries while the other ranks Canada 14th out of the 17 OECD countries. Interestingly enough the same 17 OECD countries are in both rankings. 4th versus 14th thats quite a difference.
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Here is what the two have to say:
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Canada provides a highly conducive environment for business, although technology exports are low
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Canada has an excellent technological infrastructure for business: internet bandwidth and the number of secure servers are very high, and personal computer ownership is the highest in the world at approximately 94 personal computers per 100 people. Just two formal procedures are required to start a business, thereby encouraging entrepreneurship, and 194,000 new Canadian enterprises were started in 2007, the sixth highest in the world. Canada achieves a high score for the value added in its service industry, and it ranks in the top 10 countries for royalty receipts, suggesting that Canadian companies are able to commercialise their intellectual property. Canada’s score is lowered by its very low levels of high-tech and ICT exports, which rank the country around 30th in both variables. Spending on R&D is 1.9% of GDP, which places Canada just outside the top 10 nations on this variable.
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How does Canada perform on innovation overall?
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Despite a decade or so of innovation agendas and prosperity reports, Canada remains near the bottom of its peer group on innovation, ranking 14th among the 17 peer countries.
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This does not mean that Canadian inventions are themselves inferior. In fact, Canada produces some great inventions and inventors.
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Canada’s low relative ranking means that, as a proportion of its overall economic activity, Canada does not rely on innovation as much as some of its peers. Overall, countries that are more innovative are passing Canada on measures such as income per capita, productivity, and the quality of social programs.
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Pretty significant disconnect between the Conference Board of Canada and Legatum Prosperity Index. Personally I would put my money on the Legatum Index.
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Ian Graham

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The best metaphor I can think of for the titanic struggle that goes on within the mind of all entrepreneurs is a Cherokee legend known as the “Two Wolves”.
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Within every person there live two wolves; a light wolf representing faith and a dark wolf representing fear. These two wolves are constantly battling within everyone and particularly in entrepreneurs during the first two years of their business. The wolves are constantly fighting each other for dominance.
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A young child that was listening intently to the elder the story asked; “Which one wins?”
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The elder stoically replied; “It depends on the one that you feed.”
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The same is true for the entrepreneur.
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“Think you can or think you can’t either way you will be right.” Henry Ford.
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Next Post – The Bad – Demons from without
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Ian Graham

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Passion is a double edged sword and needs to be tempered with reason. Reason is usually complimented and aggregated from without and within. I call this “The Bad” not because it is a horrible thing but because it perhaps the most difficult of balancing acts that any entrepreneur must perform.
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The ability to deal with that conflicted set of signals that tend to indicate either; the irrational and emotional “I love this idea and I am going to make it work” versus the cold logic of Jim Collins “face the brutal facts”. That conflicted set of signals that form the bad or as I like to call it the demons from within and without.
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In summary the bad is made up of the inner demon of self doubt and reason battling against that entrepreneurial spirit of forward at all costs. The second demon is the demon from without usually made up of people asking things like;
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- Why are you doing this?
- Shouldn’t you get a REAL job?
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These demons from without and within make up “The Bad” of entrepreneurship and the cure for which will be revealed in the third post from now.
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Ian Graham

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Nominations end tomorrow.
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Done something cool and innovative?
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Are you a bootstrapping start-up seeking fame and recognition for your hardwork?
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Check out the nomination form at “Bootstrap Awards”. Nominate yourself or a deserving start-up.
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Nomination Form
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Ian Graham

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A one hour Teleforum with Mr. Matthews, sponsored by CATAAlliance will take place on Thursday, January 21st at 10:00 a.m. EST.
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Pre Register now as space is limited.
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Mr. Matthews will talk about some of the factors affecting Canada’s ICT sector, propose measures that would assist the entire high-technology field and then outline some specific areas of ICT business opportunities. He will also provide a review of the mission and mandate of Wesley Clover, a source of business growth resources.
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Your local call in number and access code will be sent to you via email. Note that the Call-in Registration fee is $25 for CATA members and $55 (plus gst) for Non Members. Fees are reinvested in our research and business development programs. We will also advise you of new venture fund opportunities, soon to be released.

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If fear of; the dark, pain and failure are the disease then passion is the cure. Passion is that inner fire that burns brightly within all entrepreneurs. It is that desire to succeed, the drive behind the dream and that almost inexplicable somewhat irrational motivation that propels them forward no matter what. IMHO this is absolutely the first and key attribute that all entrepreneurs must possess.
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I have written about passion a number of times on Blogmatic: Passion the poison Pill, Stupid Passion, Passion versus Profit and there was an excellent post on by Daniel Isenberg just last week on The Danger of Entrepreneurial Passion. Entrepreneurial passion is a common theme and certainly an essential ingredient for any entrepreneur to have in their character, however, while it cures “The Ugly” disease passion is a double edged sword.
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An Entrepreneur without passion is just another employee.
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Next Post – The Bad
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Ian Graham

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Rational or more likely irrational fear of failure is probably the most pervasive of all the fears. This is also the most public and visible to the outside world if things don’t work. In very simple terms don’t worry too much about what other people think … really who cares. If your family, friends and close personal network are supportive then you are good to go.
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Work hard, do your best, strive for success, however, if the worst happens just remember your failures do not define you. In fact there is a saying that success is a poor teacher. Gandalf from the “Lord of The Rings” probably said it best “the burnt hand teaches best”. It is really all about attitude and personal character. In every problem or failure are the seeds of opportunity.
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“Failure is the opportunity to begin again only this time more intelligently” – Henry Ford

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Henry Ford struck out three times before successfully starting The Ford Motor Company. Thomas Edison had his share of failures before the light bulb went on. Most successful entrepreneurs have their share of failure before they experience success.
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You are what you think you are.
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Next Post – The Ugly – Passion
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Ian Graham

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Fear of pain comes in a variety of forms; physical, financial and mental and all three tend to take a toll. These fear factors are most active during those first two years of darkness mentioned in yesterdays post. There is something about the dark that sharpens the other senses and makes them more acute to pain.
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Not a whole lot to say about the pain of getting going other than it hurts … your job is to suck it up and keep on going. Getting started means making some sacrifices and taking some punishment. When asked what you will do to be successful the only answer is “whatever it takes”.
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The best story I can think of with respect to focusing the mind in the right direction comes from Napoleon Hill’s classic “Think and Grow Rich”. A Roman general was preparing to invade Greece and his fleet had just landed on the shores of Greece. The General called all of his captains to him and instructed them to burn all of the boats. The captains protested, however, the General said I want the troops mind focused on the battle ahead and not thinking about the boats behind them. “Burn the boats.”
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If you want to be prepared for the pain ahead then focus your thoughts in the forward direction and burn your boats before you start.
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Tomorrows post: The Ugly – Fear of Failure
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Ian Graham

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It was TheCodeFactory opening day on May 26th 2008 and the common space was filled with 70ish people. A very happy day after longs hours of work in getting the space open. The truth of the matter, however, was that getting open was only the start of the journey and many more obstacles lay ahead. While basking in the glow of the opening celebration senior Ottawa entrepreneur and founder/CEO of Acorn Partners Peter Kemball took a moment to pull me aside and share this little nugget of wisdom. “Ian, when you start any business there are two years of darkness.” Not sure I immediately grasped the significance of what was said. However, I often find myself reflecting on these words and thinking to myself “have been at it for xx months only yy more months of darkness to go”.
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Virtually every entrepreneur I have had the opportunity to chat with shares that fear of the dark experience … that first two years of getting going. This isn’t your typical fear but one that is acquired as you progress. Usually when you are starting out you are unaware of the pain that can be caused by bumping into things as you flounder in the dark trying to find your way. This is the sort of fear that you grow into as the stark reality of getting going strikes home. First time entrepreneurs are protected from the full impact of this fear by their own ignorance. More seasoned entrepreneurs tend to look at starting from scratch again through a different set of lenses that experience brings. James Scott, CTO at Klipfolio a successful Ottawa start-up came up to me after the O’Rielly Ignite Ottawa presentation and said that two years of darkness slide really struck a chord with me, many others have shared similar sentiments.
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The two years isn’t an absolute; maybe it’s a year maybe it’s three, however, there is a definite period of darkness in getting going.
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Tomorrows post: The Ugly – fear of pain
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Ian Graham

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