As an entrepreneur the last thing you can afford to have is analysis paralysis. I see clients and prospects everyday week with analysis paralysis, but as a business owner this can become a very costly disease. I refer to it as a disease, because it becomes such a habit, it is as hard to cure as a stubborn disease. But there are ways to cure these ails if one is willing. Let’s first look at the high cost of analysis paralysis.

Take the story of Rick Hopper. He had an issue with his glasses falling out of his pocket every time he bent over. He began to work on his invention thinking there had to be a better way. With a paperclip and a magnet he designed a clip for his prototype and was able to secure a patent on this ingenious invention. Now the next issue was how to get it to the masses without big bucks to spend on advertising. A friend suggested he email the show Shark Tank and to his surprise, he was invited on a week later. Long story short he was able to pitch his invention to the 5 Sharks with not a lot of interest and some teasing. However, the Queen of QVC, Lori Greiner, did make an offer. She offered $150,000 for 65% of his company, OUCH! Not the offer he had hoped for and he promised himself he would not give up control of over 51% of his company. Now let’s talk pressure, national TV, must make a decision in less than one minute, does analysis paralysis kick in or does he take a leap of faith? Rick took the deal. Before Shark Tank Rick had sales of around $65,000 but within one month of Lori Greiner putting his SpecSecure product on QVC, he sold $100,000 is 5 minutes and sold out. Today his sales average approximately $3 million per year. That’s not bad money for a paper clip and a magnet with 35% ownership. Think what would have happened if Rick suffered from analysis paralysis?

There is a big difference between an inventor and an entrepreneur. The inventors on Shark Tank suffer from analysis paralysis and lose potentially huge deals. They get so bogged down in the small details they cannot see the big picture of what can be. Mark Cuban says often “it is better to have 30% of a watermelon than 100% of a grape”. The true entrepreneur has depth of vision and can see almost instantly if something is a good deal or not. The cure for analysis paralysis is the depth of vision. Do not get caught up in the immediate details but look down the road to where it can lead. Too many people miss opportunity on day to day details. The entrepreneur looks for the destination not the curves and hills in the road to get there. Focus on the end result and don’t over analyze the small things, those get worked out. Cure the disease of analysis paralysis and enjoy the success you deserve.

“Do not wait; the time will never be ‘just right.’ Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.”–Napoleon Hill

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at www.freedigitalphotos.net

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Tim Wilhoit is owner/principal of Your Friend 4 Life Insurance Agency in Nashville, TN. He is a family man, father of 3, entrepreneur, insurance agent, life insurance broker, salesman, sales trainer, recruiter, public speaker, blogger and team leader with over 27 years of experience in sales and marketing in the insurance and beverage industries.