Lesson #1 - How Not to Use Motivation

Motivation is great...when used correctly.
 
It is a tricky thing: it can be hard to find, and even harder to hang onto.  And when you do have it, it can push you to do things that you regret.

When I gained my motivation to start a restaurant it was because I was slogging away evening after evening working as a security guard at some office buildings in Downtown Seattle for a couple dollars above minimum wage.  The nightly patrol was so long that I lost 60 pounds in 2009 just from the walking.

I had worked at a Subshop for 3.5 years between early 2003 and late 2006, much of that time as a manager.  It had given me a detailed knowledge of what equipment I would need, experience working with a crew, and how to prepare the food. In 2008 I received my Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration. Using the motivation I developed because I was sick of patrolling the same buildings night after night for low pay, I decided to use my knowledge and education to start my own sub shop.

Then my Best Friend passed away December 2009.  He was only 26.

My motivation got kicked into overdrive after that because I didn't want to wait around any more.  Life was too short, and I didn't want to go waiting for opportunities to find me.  I became so motivated to open a restaurant in 2010 that I ignored red flags and rationalized poor choices.

Here are a couple pieces of evidence showing how I made poor choices because of my motivation.

Exhibit #1 - Location

How not to choose a location will be a future blog post.  For now just work with the knowledge that I chose poorly.  The location was available, it was in the neighborhood I wanted to live in, and it had high vehicle traffic volume passing by it every day.  Never mind the tiny parking lot, it was accessible from only one side of the street, and the reason that it was available was because the rent was really high.  I couldn't wait to start on my adventure in business, and I was too impatient to scout other locations in other neighborhoods or cities for something better. 

There's a laundry list of other reasons, which will be in the future post.

Exhibit #2 - Gainful Employment (or lack thereof)

How not to quit your job will a future blog post as well.   I was so motivated that I felt that I would be holding myself back by keeping the job I had, even though I could have made the hours work.  When the store opened and I was not getting immediate profits, life got a lot harder.  My savings ran out quick and so it was not long before I was living off of credit cards.

A little patience could have allowed me to hang onto a job that paid the bills, and would have made it so I didn't nearly max out my credit cards during my endeavor.

Exhibits #3 through... well, you get the point.

Further thoughts and Summary

Motivation is important to opening your business because it's what drives you to do the work needed to make this monumental leap into entrepreneurship.  This process is not easy, its not quick, and it can be very expensive.  Motivation is needed to make it through all that, and it's why not everybody becomes entrepreneurs.  

When used correctly it can help you to do the boring parts that are important in running a business, and make you work much harder at the fun parts that you enjoy most.  It can push you to move outside of your comfort zone, learn new things, seek out new ideas, and to try new techniques.  

Don't let your motivation make you impatient to things that need to be done slowly.  Motivation tempered with patience is an amazing trait in a person, and can lead you to success.  If I had waited and scouted out other lo