Last night was date night. After 18 years and with two teenage daughters in the house, full-time jobs, businesses, and other commitments, Abby and I have to make a real effort to find time to just be a couple. We went to Downtown Hollywood for dinner and as always, our conversation drifted to business.
This is not to say it wasn't a romantic evening. I'm a smooth dude! Drove with the top down (for about five minutes because it rained, but still) and all that jazz.
Each business we visited, one for dinner and another for dessert, filled our heads with ideas which led to conversations and a visit to yet another dessert spot for more discussion.
It was a nice date. I'm not some kind of stiff who only thinks about work. Well, maybe I am, but I know a few jokes and I give a mean foot massage! See, I have redeeming qualities as a husband!
As we walked and looked in store windows, I saw opportunities. I saw what makes America great. The American entrepreneur. I saw people willing to risk everything for a shot at the American Dream. I saw families working hard and working together toward a common goal.
I also saw a lot of mistakes being made. I saw lost opportunities. I saw those beautiful dreams eroding into bankruptcy. I saw people with good intentions and bad business plans. I saw businesses in 2018 being run like it was 1918. I saw half-hearted attempts at marketing and a whisper of social media, which would do more harm than good.
I love entrepreneurs. I really do. I want them to succeed, though I know many will fail. I would be lying if I didn't see opportunity in picking up the pieces of someone else's dream - at a steep discount.
It is the responsibility of the player to know the rules of the game. If you don't know the game you're playing, you will lose every time. Learn the business, sure, but learn all the things you have to do to get customers in the door. Otherwise, you just have an expensive, depressing hobby. And someone else will be paying you to work on their dream while yours fades away.
So while I only have eyes for my wife. Those eyes occasionally roam and see opportunities to learn, to help, to coach, and to profit.
Adolfo Jimenez is an executive coach, entrepreneur, consultant, book club nerd, and family man living in Hollywood, FL. He is the owner of Le Velo Macaron
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