To make it as an entrepreneur, you have to think big. And that doesn’t mean you should dream about launching a spaceship, like Elon Musk, or building the world’s biggest online store, like Jeff Bezos.
Thinking big is relevant to every entrepreneurial venture. Whatever the scale of your idea, big thinking can help you succeed. Here are three reasons why every entrepreneur should try to do it.
1. Entrepreneurs Need a Vision for the Future
Entrepreneurship is about imagining something that hasn’t been done before and then setting out to turn vision into reality. While the final outcome may be different to what was imagined, having that original objective is a necessary part of the journey. A dream is what guides and drives you along a unique path to ultimately build something new.
Forming a vision for the future demands that you think big. The spark can be something small. Thinking big is how you grow a spark into an entrepreneurial venture and provide the leadership needed to achieve results.
“The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. The oak sleeps in the acorn, the bird waits in the egg, and in the highest vision of the soul a waking angel stirs. Dreams are the seedlings of realities.”
— James Allen
As an example, a business might start with someone reflecting, “I wish I didn’t have to look through all these hotel websites to find the best available room.” By thinking big, you can turn that observation into a vision for a hotel booking website that collates and presents data from every hotel.
Building such as website from scratch would be a great challenge. But, with a vision in mind, you can start taking each small step required to do it.
2. Thinking Big Gives You Energy
To succeed as an entrepreneur, you need energy to get lots of things done. Creating something new is never easy, especially, if like most entrepreneurs, you start as a solo or small business and you have to do almost every task.
Thinking big gives you energy because there is a greater purpose to what you are doing. For example, doing the monthly book-keeping can be a tedious activity in itself. But you may be more motivated to do it if the monthly report shows whether or not you are on track to launch the next phase of your growth strategy.
“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy and inspires your hopes.”
– Andrew Carnegie
When you are passionate about doing something great, energy comes naturally. You may find yourself thinking about your business late at night, getting up early in the morning to get stuck in to the next job and reading articles to keep adding to your skill set. A vision makes each task feel not just a chore you have to do, but as a stepping stone towards achieving your ultimate goal.
True passion can extend benefits into many areas of your life. Things like abstaining from alcohol or studying business online are easier. You also have more drive to do small things that give you extra time for your business, like getting the shopping done quickly and working on a Saturday instead of watching sports.
3. Big Thinking Leads to Innovation
Big thinking is about looking beyond the boundaries of the conventional and what has already been done. It’s about imagining alternative realities, possibilities for change and asking big questions.
When you think big, creativity, innovations and inventions can all happen. You ponder things that few others may have considered. You may arrive at a common issue from a different line of thinking, with a different perspective and fresh insights.
“Exploration is the engine that drives innovation. Innovation drives economic growth. So let’s all go exploring. “
— Edith Widder
Thinking big leads to innovation because you free your mind and allow it do unusual, creative things. When you think big, process and limitations are put aside, your imagination runs wild and your creative potential is unleashed.
For big-thinking entrepreneurs, innovation can become a habit and method of doing. An original concept takes you down an unexplored path with new challenges and problems to solve. Innovating can, at times, be essential for a startup, small business or even a large business to continue to survive and grow.
As an entrepreneur, I’ve painstakingly learned the importance of heeding the best business advice I’ve received from many of the world’s top entrepreneurs. The bottom line: It takes a lot to start a business and grow it to profitability. Funny enough, the most impactful lessons have come from my biggest failures though.
Everything that we see around us was once a dream in someone’s mind. It all starts with dreaming, thinking big and then acting to make it a reality. Thinking big is not only important, it’s the essence of life. Without big goals to push us in life, whether we are entrepreneurs or not, we won’t truly live a fulfilled existence. Big goals push entrepreneurs past their comfort zone and grow their self confidence. Once you set and achieve bigger and bigger goals you will prove to yourself that you can do anything. You’ll want to aim higher and be better and you’ll create growth and improvement not only for yourself, but for your community as well.