Chris Mance II - Mental Skills Coach

The startup world is full of buzzwords. Year after year new buzzwords hit the world by storm, thousands of entrepreneurs jump on the bandwagon, and voilà — millions of dollars of venture capital money flood the market.

Case in point is the buzzword “wearable” technology. These devices are headlining this year’s Consumer Electronic Show (CES) and have been the main event at several other tech conferences over the last 12 months.  In short, wearable technology is not only a red hot buzzword, but also a red hot business.

In the past, my perspective was that it was a missed opportunity once a buzzword hits the proverbial tipping point as wearables did back in 2013, and what social media did back in 2008 among other recent buzzwords. Now, however, I believe this perspective is wrong.

2008 was still just the beginning of the social media business opportunity. Just like 2014 is still just the beginning of the wearable business opportunity.

The best time for entrepreneurs to get in the game is once a buzzword first hits the mainstream. There are a few reasons for this

1. You don’t have to waste money educating people about the new technology as other startups and the media has already done this for you.

2. It’s easier to find partners and team members with experience working with the new technology

3. The demand for the new technology already exists

Pioneering a technology and creating a new buzzword is fun and rewarding, but so is being a fast follower. So when it comes to the wearable technology frenzy, we’re still in the 1st inning of entrepreneurs cashing in on this bandwagon.

The difference between doing an activity you’re inspired to do and one that you aren’t is like night and day.

When you’re inspired, you wake up early to get started. When you’re inspired, you stay up late to finish as much as you can. When you’re inspired, working hard is effortless.

On the other hand, when you aren’t inspired and instead feel indifferent about doing an activity, nothing comes easy. You know that feeling when you hit the snooze button over and over again. That feeling when you can’t wait until the day is over…

Inspiration changes everything. It’s both a full proof cure for procrastination and a full proof cure for laziness.

Believe it or not, making pancakes is a lot like entrepreneurship. When you make pancakes, the first one typically comes out a little deformed and even a little burned or under cooked.

After that first one, you get a feel for your pancake flipping technique and then every pancake gets better from that point forward.

This process is such a great analogy for an entrepreneur’s journey. As a first time entrepreneur, your first business is just like that first pancake. It won’t be perfect, but you have to keep at it if you want to get better.