The four leaf clover for St Patrick’s Day always gets me thinking about the role of luck in small business. I constantly ask owners: Would you rather be lucky or good?
This question is always asked as a choice and I give the same answer: Lucky. In the business world, luck makes you good. If I am unlucky, then no matter what I do, it’s very hard to be successful.
One of my favorite quotes about luck is by Jean Cocteau, the French dramatist and movie director. He said, “We must believe in luck for how else can we explain the success of those we do not like!” (feel better?)
Here’s how luck plays an important role in your business. You get a call from a prospect you have been courting for a year saying that their current web development firm just went out of business: Could you take over the $100,000 project they had just started? Were you lucky or good? Probably both since you stayed in touch with the prospect, so when they had a need, they called you. Remember, we can’t sell people anything; we need to be there when people are ready to buy.
You also put yourself in the right place at the right time. As film producer Samuel Goldwyn said, “the harder I work, the luckier I get”. There are many ways that you can proactively attract luck.
Here’s another example that turned out differently: You just closed a software development contract with a client for $250,000. It’s the largest sale of your career. A month later, the SEC indicts the client. The project is canceled, and months later, the company dissolves. Were you unlucky? Absolutely.
We all need to learn to accept business outcomes outside of our control. So what is an small business owner to do? Sit by the phone while fate and luck take their course? No, work hard to achieve your personal success. Celebrate the victories, and transition through the disappointments. And just in case, carry your lucky rabbit’s foot wherever you go.
Another expression that is universally applicable to running a business is that “timing isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”
If it were not for the Internet bubble of 1999, I may have never sold my last business. The company that bought us was looking for a quick way into the “New Economy.” Back then, we were all headed in that direction and they thought our company was a short cut in.
An important part of being a small business owner is to be able to accept the role that serendipity plays in any business outcome. These “fortunate discoveries” can also provide a lift to your company. In my last business, 25% of our revenue came from a source we did not even consider until a customer suggested it to us. We discovered a major revenue stream by accident.
As a small business owner, welcome both Lady Luck and Father Fate in your business. They fit well alongside your daily hard work.
