Entrepreneurs, game changers, the brave, and the innovative have much in common with those who climb mountains. You venture into unknown territories of bright ideas with the goal to reach the summit of success. You plan your route, you prepare your team, your strategy, your gear and sustenance to consume along the way. In business, this includes your R&D, formulas and growth strategies based on your education and enhanced through observation, experienced advisors, and partners as well as possible prior attempts to summit that have added invaluable life knowledge.
You start the adventure, knowing that there will be unknown obstacles, unpredictable weather conditions, possible team members who lack prior experience in the business of climbing, whose unexpected fears and considerations may slow the ascent (as well as your own) and need to be addressed with empathy and the guidance to keep the team moving up the ascent.
As the leader, your intensity of purpose to get to the top will possibly be misinterpreted as an unnecessary effort and that the team will make it to a mid-point and be satisfied with the accomplishment. However, it is the team leader, the entrepreneur, who knows that the success of overcoming the barriers, both external and internal, exerting the extra push to successfully address the stress of the climb, to care each can make it to the top, that culminates in the moment of …“We made it.”
The vista from the summit will be exhilarating, a new view of distant horizons, the team comradery of group accomplishment and confidence and the eagerness to follow the tracks down to the warm hut and fireside tales of addressing the challenges.
However, the entrepreneur’s summit experience will be different. From the top, he sees future goals, distant peaks that beacon his curiosity. They assess the learnings from the ascent, including supply and demand of the provisions consumed, an analysis of the team’s challenges and solutions, the invigorated desire to connect with other leaders to learn from their experiences reaching their own summits. They will also take time to review the stumbles, the cause of wrong decisions, the stresses that created potential hesitation, confusion and self-doubt as well as the necessary adjustments of unforeseen hazards. The entrepreneur will also turn to those who have made it their career to support the curious who want to experience the thrill of the summit and respect their input, where it aligns with their own goals to summit again.
Today, it feels that running a business is analogous to climbing a mountain, with unexpected obstacles like the current economy and tariffs making the daily game more challenging. We are here to help you reach that summit, the Dream to Mainstream adventure. Together, we ensure you win.
And if it is truly a mountain you want to climb, check out our dear friend, John DeGrazio’s Y Explore. I’m signing up for his Kilimanjaro climb 2026 and hopefully a few this year!
– Gillian
“Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” Michael Jordan