When Peter Polydor; a young and successful serial entrepreneur turned venture capital investor, first began his journey with startups, no one told him that entrepreneurship was going to be easy. As a matter of fact, there was a resounding roar that entrepreneurship was going to be hard – VERY hard.
Countless colleagues and advisors shared with him how starting a business could be all risk and no reward; and that the pursuit of a reward could dismay you from wanting to risk it again. With advice coming from every angle, it can be hard to decipher what business opinions you should subscribe to. Rather than letting the fears of failure and uncertainty drive him, Peter decided to dive head first in entrepreneurism and figure it out for himself.
Fast forward to the present where Peter has launched several successful business endeavors including being the CEO and Founder of Ergo Capital and the startup accelerator Ergo Accel, as well as being the Founder and owner of the Orange County co-working space, Eureka Building, and the real estate development company Ergo Properties.
Everyone’s experience with entrepreneurship is different, but for Peter, he learned that the best advice he could have ever received about starting a business came from his own self reflections and motivation drivers. Here are 5 tips from Peter Polydor about how innovators and entrepreneurs can turn inward to motivate themselves:
- STEP AWAY FROM THE EGO: “Ego is the bullet that kills a successful business”, is one of Peter’s personal quotes that has become somewhat of a mantra for his business practices. “Never let ego get in the way”, says Polydor. “If you let your ego get in the way you will miss out on more opportunities”.
- HOPE vs. FAITH – One thing that separates entrepreneurs from others is their outlook on how successful they can see themselves down the line. “Entrepreneurs don’t ‘ hope’ things will work out, they have faith. They have faith in every aspect of building their dream and are just as optimistic as they are pragmatics. They have to have faith that every time that someone tells them they can’t do something that they have faith they will”, says Polydor.
- RESPECT & APPRECIATION – Although there are various leadership styles, respect and appreciation are the one-two punch to being a good leader, according to Peter. “Always respect everything everyone does. From the software builders to the receptionists in your office, always recognize and respect everyone’s contribution to your company”.
- ALWAYS LISTEN TO YOURSELF – Innovation operates 24/7, but that is no excuse to not listen to your body and recognize that it needs a change of pace or scenery to operate better. “Whenever I’m stressed about a situation with work, I have to walk away and allow myself to process what’s going on. It’s too easy to get wrapped up in the noise and the momentum of whatever is happening that you can’t think straight. I’ve found that removing myself allows me to really hear myself and reevaluate my next moves”, Peter comments.
- NEVER LET FEAR BE YOUR GUIDE: Entrepreneurship can be scary, but nothing great has ever come about from someone being afraid to leave their comfort zone. “The worst driver of any decision is fear. Whenever you make a decision out of being afraid, you’ll always end up in a worse situation”, says Polydor. Always trust your instincts and always take the leap to pursue your passions and your dreams.
Though the entrepreneurship journey IS hard, motivation can be found using these self-reflection techniques to guide you through the rough patches.
