Ice Cream Truck

Do you remember the feelings you got when you heard the ice cream truck coming? The sound of an ice cream truck can trigger several emotions such as excitement and anticipation. As a kid, I would immediately try to remember where I stashed my money so I could quickly grab it and run out the door, chasing the truck. But what if I couldn't find my money in time, or didn't have enough? Or what if I was too late and the ice cream truck left my street before I could catch it? What if by the time I caught it, all the other neighborhood kids bought the good stuff, leaving behind the slimy push pops from the bottom of the freezer? All those questions would well up in my mind within seconds, but I would chase after the truck regardless.

When entrepreneurs are overcome by the 'Entrepreneurial Seizure' as some so eloquently put it, they react in much the same way. Emotions overtake logic and soon they are overcome with anxiousness. The biggest problem associated with this is the hastiness involved. An entrepreneur has an idea, decides they are the only one with this idea ever, and they proceed to take steps to implement before everyone else does. This emotion of hastiness can have damaging effects on the strategy behind business.

It's important for entrepreneurs to step back and take an unemotional look at the big picture. Then attack the idea with a well thought out strategy. Too many times I sit down to coach entrepreneurs about their idea or their business and they are too busy scrambling to catch the truck, sometimes forgetting about common sense. Other ice cream trucks will come around, so don't let the emotion of haste determine your future, otherwise you will be stuck with a slimy push pop.