I have been called many things in my life. Most recently, some have called me a “successful entrepreneur.” I am introduced to people as the CEO of a “successful business,” or prompted to tell classes of my “success story.” But what is success?
Success can mean many things to different people. I like to use the phrase “depending on your definition of success” when talking to people looking to start a business, because that definition changes everything.
For some it might be to create a billion dollar company. For others it may mean working happily with a handful or coworkers. Success is a multi-dimensional factor, and can be based on financial, personal, product, or legacy criteria (among others).
If you want to start a business, first figure out your measure of success. What are you trying to accomplish? Is it all about the people, the product, or just making money? What motivates you and what goal are you striving towards?
At Agora, I’ve defined success as many things. It’s doing high quality work that I’m proud of. It’s creating and maintaining a reputation as an awesome company to work for. It’s being profitable, so I can keep doing what I love.
To me, success is not about being a certain size, reaching certain revenue numbers, or doing a certain number of sales in a year. These are all a means to an end. For me – for Agora – success is having a job like no other; if I manage to create an incredible place to work, staffed with incredible people, doing incredible work, I am successful.
