Everyone wants to be an entrepreneur these days. (At least it feels like it.) And why not? Entrepreneurs live the dream: the freedom, the fame, the purpose, the change.
But building a startup and keeping it going five or ten years down the line is incredibly hard, even with all of the support networks and funding channels innovators have at their fingertips today.
One of the biggest obstacles is fear—of failure, mostly. One of the best tips for managing it comes from best-selling author Seth Godin: you can’t make fear go away, you must dance with it.
“When you start working with the fear, first of all, the fear gets way easier to handle because it’s lost most of its power,” Godin said, speaking to a room full of up-and-coming social entrepreneurs at the American Express Emerging Innovators Boot Camp in New York City. “The second thing is it becomes this magical guiding missile of change. Because it is almost always right. When it says, ‘No, no, no, you’re going way too far out on a limb,’ that’s exactly the thing you need to be doing.”
He’s right. And it’s a truly valuable lesson. So we asked a handful of entrepreneurs who have “made it” to offer their best advice on social change, leadership, and, of course, failure. These tips won’t change the world. But there is a chance they’ll help you make a difference in yours.
Emily May, Hollaback!
- "When mishaps occur, it's not the moment that matters. It's what you've done before and moving forward that counts."
- "The most important trait you need as a movement leader is resilience. You’re going to make mistakes, and you’re going to be told by hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people that what you’re trying to accomplish simply can’t be done. Those things are a given. What’s not a given is your response. If you can find a way to navigate all that rejection and failure, and still keep up your energy and passion for the movement, that’s when you’ll start winning."
- "Don’t be afraid to take risks. It’s impossible to lead a movement if you want to play it safe."
- "People say that social entrepreneurs are crazy. Maybe they’re right, but we’re the ones who change the world."
- "Movements start because people tell their stories. They grow with diverse and decentralized leadership, people start to pay attention with research, and then, usually, you’ll start to see some policy change take place. The thread that weaves through all this is cultural change. If you’re not changing culture, you’re not building a movement."
Greg Van Kirk, Ashoka Globalizer
- "Your strategy and tactics are going to change all the time—and they should change all the time. Every single thing, besides your core values and guiding principles, has got to be on the table to be changed from one day to the next."
- "Empathy is a critical core value for a social entrepreneur. Once you have empathy, mutual empathy, you’re able to build mutual respect with community members. Once respect is there, you’ve formed a basis for trust. Trust is everything because innovation requires continuous failure—with trust, these failures become viewed as iteration and community members will keep working with you. Without trust, you will simply fail."
- "When you talk about empowerment, it’s really just helping people overcome uncertainty."
- "Do I really care that someone bought a water filter, solar lantern or cookstove? No, that is only a starting point. What I care about is the next thing: are they using it and is it helping them? That’s not romantic. That’s not just about trying to do good. In business you call that customer experience, you call that customer satisfaction."
- "It’s not what we do, it’s what we set in motion."
- "If you’re open and humble and honest and talk about your weaknesses, and what you don’t know, then it’s also very confirming for people to believe in what you say you do know. Be authentic and ask for help when you need it."
Catherine Hoke, Defy Ventures
- "The more success that we have, the more it invites haters to tear it down. We can’t stop the hate from coming in, but we can stop ourselves from dwelling in it."
- "This is my best tip on fundraising: I sell success plus an immediate, burning need. ‘Here’s our low recidivism rate and our amazing employment rate. We’ve done such a great job, but I really need you for an upcoming business plan competition—we are giving out $40,000 in grants and I’m not sure exactly where that’s going to come from. So, I need you to step up.’"
- "I have a lot of fears. I’ve learned to commit to getting through to the other side of fear. If I’m doing something different, taking a risk, fear will be there. But I will survive. I can keep failing. I guess I’m just not paralyzed by the fear of getting burned again. I learn every time I fail. I get a lot smarter."
- "It’s amazing how much time and effort my mentors save me. It’s worthwhile to have mentors—you just have to find the right one, because the wrong mentor is a waste of time. How to get mentors? Say, ‘Hey I have a big problem with X. You’re an expert. Can I please come pick your smart brain for 15 minutes?’"
- "When you screw it up—not if, but when—just do it again. Do it differently. Do it smarter the next time. Just go do it again. Why give up? The work you’re doing is important."
Jared Matthew Weiss, Overture
- "There’s something special about the thing that gets you up in the morning."
- "People don’t want you to inform them. They want you to inspire them. What inspires you is what’s going to inspire other people to follow you, to help you, to contribute to whatever it is you believe in. Inspiration is the catalyst for action."
- "Lead with your humanity and, when you tell your story, make it as human as possible."
- "Simple is so wonderful."
- "If you want to hit the nail on the head every single time, well, it’s never gonna happen. You’re always going to have people who either love you, hate you, don’t care, or don’t notice, no matter what. The best you can do is try to build a bridge of empathy as quickly as possible."
Godin, May, Van Kirk, Hoke, and Weiss were speakers at the American Express Emerging Innovators Boot Camp, a global program that provides leadership support for emerging social entrepreneurs who are tackling some of society’s most complex issues.
