4-Step Entrepreneur Screening Test

Case in point. We recently brought on someone here at The Trademark Company who I knew was use to big corporate life. Following training he was put into full service in the division he was to be serving in. I had had some reservations as to whether he would fit in to the company and our culture here but looked past them given our personal relationship and nevertheless brought him on board.

Within days of him going into full service I could notice the stress building upon his brow.  Every day grew slightly more tense as I could tell he was bottling things up inside. Finally, after a couple of weeks dodging the issues we finally had a sit down to see how he was handling his new position.

Following a prefatory sigh, he launched into his concerns over a certain aspect of our business which he felt contained significant structural flaws. I mean he brought it down like fire and brimstone and end-of-days type of stuff. He was so stressed out about this issue I thought I was going to have to open the bottle of Jack Daniels I keep in my office with the sign over it that reads “In Case of Emergency Fill Glass.”

To his surprise, after he had finished voicing his concern I simply looked up at him, smiled, and said “Thank you. I am aware of that issue. But, candidly, it is really not that big of a deal. Don’t stress over it. In the grand scheme of things of matters I worry about at night I would place it about 37^th on the list.”  “Thirty-seventh?” he said incredulously.  “Yeah, that’s about right.” I replied. “Like what would be above this on the list?” he inquired.  Over the next few minutes I rattled off just a few which would appear in the 20s.  I didn’t really want to have to open my emergency bottle after all. In the end I think it made him feel better that I was aware of the issue but that my concern was much less about the same. The situation did reveal, however, something very important about my friend: he does not handle stress well and, in particular, the stress of dealing with an entrepreneurial-type of venture.

Ultimately, he left the company amicably. I often wonder if he sits up at night pondering what the top 10 were. In the end, I believe that to be a successful entrepreneur you must be able to handle stress and function despite the existence of the same. Remain Calm, Carry On.

How do you handle stress?

3.       Challenge vs. Opportunity

How do you view a challenge? Do you look at it as an obstacle that simply must be dealt with or do you see it as an opportunity to achieve and possibly even bring a new product or service to market?

Within the course of our business we deal with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) on a daily basis. One of our principal missions is the prosecution and registration of our customers’ trademarks with this organization.

We have now been in business long enough that we have seen pretty much everything the USPTO  can do to refuse a trademark application or otherwise. As such, we have developed tried-and-true systems to get our customers’ trademarks registered through these refusals when issued where possible.

For those of you who are not familiar with the USPTO, it is one of the best-run and most efficient government organizations in the United States. Occasionally, however, the USPTO will change or clarify the manner in which it examines specific types of trademark applications or will simply issue what is known as an Examination Guide instructing its examining attorneys on how to deal with a specific issue they are seeing in trademark applications. Often these examining guides have no effect on our customers’ trademarks.  Sometimes, however, they can lead to a whole new wave of refusals for a reason we have yet to see or saw less frequently prior to the issuance of the new Examination Guide.

Rather than lament these new guidelines as merely another challenge to our customers’ ability to register their trademarks, we seize the opportunity and craft systems designed to circumvent or satisfy the new requirements issued by the USPTO to ensure our customers’ trademarks maintain the same high rate of registration they have always enjoyed under our stewardship.  Sometimes these systems can be included in our current service pricing structure.  Sometimes they lead to the development of an entirely new service line for our customers.

The critical thing, however, is how we view the new Examination Guides: not merely as challenges to our existing services but rather as opportunities to create a better line of services for our customers.

How do you see the world? Filled with challenges or opportunities?

4.       Dreamer vs. Finisher

We all dream of a better tomorrow. Whether it is the oft-uttered “I’m going to quit my job and write the classic American novel” or “I’m going to open up my own business.” Dreams are a great break from reality and let our minds take us to places that provide freedom from the day-to-day challenges of our lives. But be careful, entrepreneurship does not treat dreamers kindly. That is not to say that being an entrepreneur and being a dreamer are mutual co-exclusive. Dreamers are often some of the best entrepreneurs. But, unlike many of us, entrepreneurs must not only be dreamers but finishers as well.

What’s the distinction? A dreamer comes up with great ideas. Inspiration can come from anywhere. From envisioning a revolutionary product because of everyday experiences in one’s life to tackling the larger ills of society. But what separates a dreamer who lays out vague cocktail-party plans for a business and a truly successful entrepreneur is the ability to finish.

Dreaming involves seeing a very narrow scope of the big picture and what the good or service could do and how it will be received by the consuming public. Finishing involves rolling up the proverbial sleeves and conquering all of the tasks that will be required to actually bring that product to market.

For instance,  a dreamer may be great at articulating the grand vision “Wouldn’t it be cool to create a product that mimics the sensation of consuming food by and through electro-stimulation of the portion of your brain that deals with the pleasure of eating?” At a party, a dreamer may bring this thought to life exposing the virtues of a new weight loss system that replaces food consumption with cerebral stimulation of the portion of our brain in lieu of actual consumption (Can you tell I attend a lot of exciting cocktail parties?). But for the dreamer, this is where it ends. There is no plan. There is no focusing on all of the steps to bring the product to market. There is only “Wouldn’t it be cool if…”

The Finisher, the entrepreneur, on the other hand, has the ability to take the idea, move it along all phases of development while maintaining interest in the product, and ultimately bring the product to market. In short, an entrepreneur finishes. Under our example, the dreamer, once sober, gives little thought to this innovative weight-loss system. The Finisher maps out a plan for everything that will be needed to bring the product to market dealing with all of the minutia on a path to get the job done.

So are you a dreamer or a finisher?

In the end, if you are a problem solver, handle stress well, see opportunities where others see barriers, and finish the life of an entrepreneur may be for you. Beware, however, if you exhibit the other traits referenced above. If so,  you may wish to stay on a more defined path.