Are you on your own mission to change the world? Are you looking for inspiration to help you come up with the next big thing?
When aiming to change the future, it’s sometimes worth it to pause and look back towards the past.
Entrepreneurship might just be the oldest profession there is, and it turns out that there is a lot we can learn from those that came before us. We can get so blinded by their massive success that we tend to forget many entrepreneurs had to overcome significant obstacles to get where they are.
These stories will not only give you a fresh perspective on the problems you face, but they also contain nuggets of entrepreneurial gold.
Scott Leune – Founder of Dental Whale and Breakaway Practice
Scott Leune’s story sounds like something out of a Hollywood movie. Scott always wanted to be a dentist, and with a successful practice and a baby on the way, his path in life seemed to lay open before him.
However, a serious back injury made the day to day responsibilities of a dentist nearly impossible.
Scott was still heavily invested in the field and wanted to stick to what he knew. He came to the conclusion that he needed to look at dentistry and its problems from a different angle.
He saw how complacency in the industry led to a lack of standard best-practices that would improve and streamline all dentists’ lives. Through a lot of testing and iteration of different models, and trying to convince others to embrace new ways of doing things, he finally founded Dental Whale and Breakaway Practice.
These companies offer support to dentists through seminars, training, IT systems, skills and equipment sourcing, and even marketing.
Looking back, Scott doesn’t regret his accident as it opened up his eyes to a new and exciting life he wouldn’t trade for his previous day job as a dentist.
In an interview with Relentless Dentist, he gave what he considers to be the keys to success:
- “… getting the right information”
- “… having the leadership qualities to actually do it. To actually pull the trigger and lead people down that path.”
- “… having people force you to do the right thing, having advisors”
Howard Schultz – Founder of Starbucks
Hard to imagine the internationally ubiquitous Starbucks as a small, regional coffee chain? How about a boy from a poor, working-class family in a Brooklyn housing project becoming worth over $4 billion?
In the case of Howard Schultz, both turn out to be true.
At the time Howard joined Starbucks as the director of retail and marketing, it only had three stores.
A fateful trip to Milan changed the way he saw coffee. There, he came across the special coffee culture where boutique cafes served amazing coffee while being on a first-name basis with their customers.
However, his bosses back home didn’t buy into his vision to replicate this model. So, he quit his job. After a full year of trying to secure funding, being rejected by 217 out of 242 investors, he found his own company, Il Giornale. According to him, this was a disheartening, but humbling time that made him who he is today.
It was soon worth it as Il Giornale went on to purchase Starbucks only two years after Howard quit.
In Howard’s mind, innovation and bringing something new to the table is key to success:
“Only those who go by unexplored roads, creating new industries and new products, can build a strong, long-lasting company and inspire others to achieve great results.”
He clearly lives by example. Starbucks famously closed over 7,000 stores to train their baristas on how to make the perfect espresso. It was an inspired move that saw the company’s profits triple over two years’ time.
Today, Starbucks is worth $115.5 billion (August 23rd, 2019).
Starbucks is also one of the best examples of a company really aligning with their customers. They share their stories through their blog which is an excellent example of what an important part of a company’s branding content can be. With a few principles to guide you, it can be surprisingly easy to run your own business blog.
Konosuke Matsushita – Panasonic
Konosuke Matsushita was born into a family of well-off landowners in 1895. When they fell on financial hardships, he was shipped off to work as an apprentice for a coal brazier at the age of 9. He also spent five years working at a bicycle shop until he eventually landed a job at the age of 16 at the Osaka Electric Light Company.
While working, he would tinker and invent during his free time. He soon invented a new type of light socket. He presented it to his supervisor, who didn’t approve. Not to be discouraged, he started selling out of his home that he lived in with his wife and her brother.
With time, he diversified his products and sales picked up until they could expand their business. They moved to a bigger location and officially launched Matsushita Electric Housewares Manufacturing Works.
Konosuke Matsushita was incredibly hands-on in almost every facet of his business. Under his guidance, it grew steadily over the coming decades, expanding into more products and overcoming difficulties like the second world war.
In a break from traditional Japanese working culture, he formed a society for his employees where they would come together participating in recreational activities.
His proactive and positive approach to life and work is well put in this quote: “When it rains, you put up an umbrella. That is the secret of success in business and management.”
Be the next success story
If there’s one thing that all these stories highlight, it’s that entrepreneurship sometimes boils down to a choice: To be or not to be.
Scott Leune could’ve decided to let his injury keep him down or given up on dentistry altogether. Howard Schultz could’ve stayed at his cushy job, keeping his dream nothing but a dream. Konosuke Matsushita could’ve let his supervisor get into his head and lose faith in his own creations.
They all have two major things in common:
- They didn’t let others not believing in them or their circumstances keep them down.
- They had the courage to change course to pursue their dreams, even if it meant leaving their comfort zone.
Now, it’s your turn to take the initiative. This ever-changing world always has new opportunities to offer enterprising individuals. As these stories show: where there’s a will, there’s a way.
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