LESSONS IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP: CREATION VS. PRESERVATION

During my time as an entrepreneur, I've noticed an interesting stream of consciousness taking place as I reflect on my decisions and thought processes. When first starting out, the entrepreneur is hyper-focused on creating. This is because nothing exists yet. This phase of business is my favorite. It's new, it's exciting, it's that feeling you get when you're about to open presents on Christmas morning. This is what got me hooked/keeps me hooked on entrepreneurship. Each day is a new set of presents under the tree cause you have no idea what you're going to get. And just fyi—sometimes the presents suck, but you have to appreciate them all because that's the risk you take when you start opening presents. "Oh sweet, a penalty from the IRS. Thanks, Santa." - Me

However, if it was just creation all the time, nothing would last. You need preservation. Preservation is the management of the ongoing operations, so think business management/administration. To go back to our analogy, this the individual who takes the responsibility of collecting the wrapping paper shreds, tape, packing paper, etc. This includes maintenance tasks, reviewing processes and reports, updating items, management of employees, etc. You have to assess how things are going and make sure you're not letting something slip through the cracks that will end the journey or leave you with a sizable mess to clean up.

Not everybody is made for creation. Not everybody is made for preservation. The two can be thought of as business development vs business management. I am a creator. I like nothing more than coming up with new items to implement. New software to try. New projects to take on. Other people like managing what already exists. You need both. And obviously as companies grow they need many figure heads and that's why you have the c-suite (CEO, CFO, COO, CMO, etc.) in corporations. But this isn't a discussion on traditional corporate hierarchy—this is for the small business, or soon to be business.

For those interested in psychology, to my limited understanding, the difference between the two, creationist vs. preservationist, can be linked to openness and conscientiousness, respectively—two of the big five personality traits. Determine which one of these you are. This can help guide you as far as where you would feel most content in your career. As an entrepreneur, you have to be able to wear both hats (plus many more) depending on what stage your business is in. This also should be on the checklist of 'should I have a partner in my business venture or not'. This takes some serious internal reflection. If you don't think you can take the time to go through and work on the preservation tasks, you will struggle to stay organized and your business will likely decent into chaos as do many small businesses.

The successful entrepreneurs understand themselves. They find a way to create value by leveraging who they are and what they're good at. Some people can add value in many ways and are good at many things—everything they touch turns to gold. This is a reflection of positive and accurate internal reflection.

I've made a checklist to help determine which of these you are:

Creator:

• Open-minded
• Imaginative
• Creative
• Insightful
• Curious
• Emotional
• Easily distracted (that ADHD)
• Can get lost in work (that you enjoy)

Preservationist:

• Detail oriented
• Project oriented
• Organized
• Good at following rules
• Disciplined
• Dependable

You of course can be a mix of both—but some people lean towards one or the other. This is very rudimentary and my best take on what I notice in these types of individuals. I suggest taking a personality test, even if just to walk through the exercise of having to think about the questions posed to you about yourself. 

So, whether you want to create or preserve or both, is up to you. Either way, life is going to teach you who you are one experience at a time.

~ Bonde