Deborah Meaden warns entrepreneurs to be brutally honest about their business ideas, not just passionate about them. Evan Carmichael breaks down the "cash trap": network marketing, vending machines, hand-cream schemes that promise quick money but leave you with wasted inventory. Real success comes from genuinely caring about the product and solving an actual problem.
Good morning, Believe Nation! Today's message is "Don't fool yourself." Over to you, Deborah Meaden.
Don't fool yourself. Be absolutely honest and clear over Your idea, is it a good idea, is it a bad idea, why am I doing it, what is my motivation? This is essential in every walk in life, but it's absolutely crucial for entrepreneurs. I can remember times in my business life where I've actually done things because I wanted to do them. I had to convince myself that it was a brilliant idea simply because I wanted to do it, and there's a world of difference between actually taking a cool, critical look at what it is you're about to do and then getting passionate. I hear a lot said about passion. Passion is absolutely brilliant, but being passionate too early can be a very, very dangerous thing.
I think far more dangerous than being passionate too early is not being passionate at all. And I see it over and over and over again. And when I think about don't fool yourself, this is what comes immediately to mind for me, because they say the devil always comes carrying a bag of cash, and you make the wrong decision because you see a pile of money on the table that you think is yours, and so you go for it. Only to find out that you're never gonna get that money. And I see it all the time where people say, "Join my network marketing company. You know, you can make tons of cash, it's easy money, no problem. You know, within 3 months you'll be up and running and the money will just keep pouring in." Now there's nothing wrong with network marketing, it just isn't the best fit for everybody. And then what happens when you see this opportunity, right? "Join me on my path, sell these vending machines," or whatever it is. You see a pile of money on the table and you fool yourself into thinking that you actually care about this business, that you actually care about these financial products you're going to be selling, or that hand cream that you're going to be selling, or the vending machine that you're going to be selling, right? That you actually care about it. Because there's financial opportunity, you fool yourself to thinking that that's what you're meant to do, right? You say, "Well, you know, this is great. I can be my own boss, and I can drive around the city, and I get to use products that are great on my hands, you know, this is, this is everything I always wanted. Where it's really not. You really don't care at all about hand cream. And you never did, and you never will. And it's the wrong business for you. Go do something else. And I think that's where people fool themselves. They listen to the opinions of other people, or they read an article and they see that this is the hot trend to get on, and so they go all in on that. And yes, lots of people will make money there. Lots of people will make money in network marketing. Lots of people will make money in apps. Lots of people will make money in virtual reality or whatever it is. At the same time, people will make money in traditional old boring industries too. You can make money anywhere. You can make money in any industry. The most important factor is that you actually care about this business. You care about the customers. You care about the product you're creating. You're a user. You're your own customer. There's an obvious need here. You're passionate about what you're selling, because if you're not, you're just wasting your time. And a lot of people waste their money. You have to buy into this thing, you have to buy inventory first, and you get stuck with a garage full of product that never sells and that you have no interest in using either. And so I don't want you to fall into that trap. Don't fool yourself. Make sure that whatever it is that you're jumping into, you actually have a deep connection to. There's an opportunity, yes, amazing, and you have the commitment and the passion and desire to see this thing really work out. That's my take. So the question of the day today is: What do you think most entrepreneurs, or a lot of entrepreneurs, fool themselves on? What critical thinking do a lot of entrepreneurs fool themselves? Leave it in the comments below. I'm going to join in the discussion. I also want to give a quick shout out to Cloris Kiley from ClorisKiley.com. Kloris, thank you so much for coming on my show as a guest. I'm looking forward to going on your show and also for buying a copy of my book. It really, really, really means a lot to me. So thank you again for watching, guys. I believe in you. I hope you continue to believe in yourselves and whatever your one word is. Much love. I'll see you soon. I wake up every morning. Espresso keeps me going.
