Revenue Journal®

There's a certain type of entrepreneur who becomes obsessed with a product idea, and sets up a business to sell it. It's always a guy (yes, for some reason, it's always a guy) who can never understand why "everyone can't see the wisdom of this idea" and why "someone can't give me the money to get this business off the ground."

I hear from these gentlemen because of my blog and book, and my consulting company. The most recent person who contacted me said he had also contacted a famous "marketing guru" company, but that "they won't give me the time of day."

This most recent person says that he lost a great deal of money trying to sell websites for a website creation franchise operation. He is now in debt, and is trying to get out of debt selling a gasoline additive. He tells me that he wants marketing help. But when I make specific suggestions, he responds to my email with more detail about how he got into debt and how he is a nice person who was raised to treat people with respect and courtesy, and how he just needs marketing help. In other words, he asks for advice, advice is given, and then he ignores it and asks for advice or sympathy.

I'm sure he is a nice person. But I'm also sure that I can't help him because he refuses to engage in a process that would lead to success. He is looking for some kind of magic bullet that will make everything turn out all right.

Another similar entrepreneur has created a product, mortgaged his house to have them produced in quantity, and is now sending out emails begging for someone to finance the marketing for him.

In these situations, there is a certain lack of reality. The marketplace is merciless to people who refuse to face reality. There is also always a blatant attempt at garnering sympathy. We are told the long sad story. But customers never, ever buy out of sympathy. People may give money or assistance to someone down on their luck, but that's not a purchase. Purchases are made when the buyer has confidence in the seller, not when the buyer feels sorry for the seller.

I'm sorry to say that I don't have much hope for these entrepreneurs. Because of their own behavior, they are destined to scrape along.

There's an entirely different kind of entrepreneur who also needs help, but is open to advice. This type of person engages and thinks along with the person giving advice. For example, I was contacted several months ago by a woman who needed help with her product line and her website. We've been working together for several months now, and have made steady progress. She doesn't have her head in the sand. She's willing to do the hard work that is required to be successful.

There are no appeals for sympathy, although she had been having a tough time with her business until she found us. She had been misguided many times by search engine, website, and marketing vendors who made self-serving, expensive and ineffective suggestions.

What's the fundamental difference? I think it's a victim versus victor mentality.

The victim assumes that no matter what he does, he is somehow destined to fail. It's a pattern, one that he is familiar with, one that he will most likely repeat. (This is why I never recommend hiring someone who has worked for more than one failing company - they often learn how to fail rather than succeed.)

The victor assumes there must be a way to succeed, and is realistic about the fact that success takes a huge amount of hard work. The victor is also willing to step out of the usual comfort zones when the advice being given makes sense.

Even habitual victors have some victim mentality in them. Is there something you always assume you will not do well? Something that tends to fail? Something that has never worked for you in the past? Something that seems too difficult, so you basically ignore it? Something that you assume you can't do yourself, and are always looking for someone else to save you?

When you work for a boss, you can whine about how difficult something is to your boss. A good boss will listen and try to help you find a solution. When you're an entrepreneur (or the boss), you can't whine to anyone. No one is interested in your sad story - least of all potential customers. You have to find a way to fix it. You have to learn your way out.