Many adults say that one of the greatest gifts in life is having the opportunity to watch their kids grow from infants all the way to adulthood. While some may say otherwise, there is nothing more rewarding than watching something that you have invested a great amount of time in and watching it flourish. As an entrepreneur, you are the parent and your projects are your children. Whether you are a startup tech company looking to create the next best thing, or just trying to start your own restaurant, whatever it is you put those extra hours in becomes your ‘kid’.
Speaking with many entrepreneur’s one of big reasons that they chose to leave the corporate world and enter the startup life is because they wanted the satisfaction of being able to create their own project and help guide it in the right direction. So what the big question then becomes is what drives an individual to continue to put in the time to make a project grow. To best understand this it is helpful to use the analogy of being a parent and watching your child grow.
I myself don’t have any kids, but from what others who have kids have told me, you lose a lot of hair along the way, but in the end, it’s worth it. Just like when a child is in its baby stage and they need your attention 24/7. So is the same with a startup project. When you have a great idea you can’t wait to get started with it. You love it so much that you are willing to work late into the night and live off only powerbars and energy drinks. Sleep is hard to come by, but you tell yourself that it is all worth it. Why? Because the project is yours.
As a child grows from infant to adolescent, this is where they learn by exploring and they begin to ask questions. As a parent they are proud to bring their child to school and are eager to meet other parents to setup play dates and to share tips on the best way to pack a lunch. Similar to that, as your project begins to take form and you are eager to share it with your close friends to get their opinion as well to show it off like a prized possession. For an entrepreneur, hearing positive feedback from others is equivalent to your child bringing home a good report card. Still, it is a growing process. During this time, you still need to put in those long hours for your project, but you are beginning to have an idea of what exactly your finished project may look like.
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