How Stinky Gym Clothes are like Being an Entrepreneur

How Stinky Gym Clothes are like Being an Entrepreneur

Being an entrepreneur is a lot like getting the smell of out dirty workout clothes.  How? Because when I found a solution for cleaning my stinky gym clothes,  it was a lot like the process we train entrepreneurs to use.

Let me tell you the story of what happened today . . .

I love to work out. Sometimes I run outside, other times I am swimming in the pool at the gym.  Plus I’m a triathlete, so you get it… I work out a lot! Working out helps me to clear my head and some of my best ideas come during or just after a great workout.

As I got ready to head to the gym I had one of those moments where I couldn’t find anything to wear.  Not because I was worried about how I looked – all my workout clothes stank. I mean they all smelled bad. None of them could be worn without stinking up the place.

It was frustrating!

So what did I do?

Your answer might be: ‘Wash your clothes?’ or “Not go to the gym?”

That would be one way to go about it. Me? I Googled the solution, ‘how do you get the smell out of workout clothes?’

I actually found a solution from the search! I didn’t know if it would work or not but I tried it.

And guess what! I just now checked and it worked! An Internet solution worked on getting the smell out of my workout clothes!

Now, in the worse case scenario, if it didn’t work, what would happen? I’d still have stinky clothes and I could try something else, right? Or I’d ruin my clothes and not have any workout clothes, and I’d have to go buy more. The very worst-case scenario here is that I walk around in stinky clothes or go naked!

So how is this like being an entrepreneur? Well, you see, even when entrepreneurs are faced with the uncertainty of not having the answer to the question they have to power through and figure it out. First, we identify the problem or issue that needs to be solved. Then, we gather the business knowledge (for dirty clothes it was using Google search). Then, we build a business strategy; a plan of action is formed, based on the knowledge (for me, trying the solution I found online). Then we focus on growth through business development (evaluate, evolve and take action as needed; for me the clothes were clean so I had a solution to the problem).

This is how a normal life problem reminded me how important it is to be focus on success as an entrepreneur.

p.s. The solution I used was soaking the clothes in a White Vinegar and water solution.