The sport has much to teach those brave souls who run businesses of their own. Here are six lessons kiteboarding offers entrepreneurs:
Richard Branson wants it in the Olympics. Sergey Brin and Larry Page use it to decompress. Famous venture capitalist Bill Tai views it as a way for entrepreneurs and investors to connect.
I'm talking, as you might have guessed, about kiteboarding. In many ways, the relationship between the sport and entrepreneurship is a natural marriage – both involve adrenaline, calculated risk and the occasional big crash. And because an entrepreneur makes his own schedule, he's able to find more opportunities to get out on the water.
But there's more to it. The sport has much to teach those brave souls who run businesses of their own. Here are six lessons kiteboarding offers entrepreneurs:
1. The importance of preparation and learning. Going kiteboarding without taking lessons is a surefire way to get hurt. Even after you've become a functional rider, it's important to prep for a session by checking your gear, ensuring safety systems are in working order, and making sure the conditions on the water are right.
Entrepreneurs are also wise to spend significant amounts of time learning about relevant markets and preparing for all eventualities in them. Failure to do so can be costly and soul crushing.
2. Perfect conditions are rare and must not be an excuse for inaction. I recently had the chance to kiteboard in what for me were "perfect conditions." I ripped across waist-deep, flat, turquoise water in 20 knots of wind in the Turks and Caicos. We don't have these conditions where I live.
There's rarely a perfect time to start a business. Economies wax and wane, governments introduce new regulations, and disruptive technologies emerge. Preparing and learning about a market are essential to entrepreneurial endeavours, but don't be paralyzed by the wider world. Do the homework and jump in.
3. Rather than blaming external circumstances, adjust to them. Wind is fickle. Its strength changes, as does its direction. Kiteboarders who don't adjust to these external changes have far less fun and can get into precarious situations.
Similarly, entrepreneurs who refuse to alter their course despite changes in the business environment are destined to fail. You have to be ready to move the market and change your product or service based on customer feedback. Failure to do so can lead to shuttering your business' doors.
4. Starting is the hardest part. For most new kiteboarders, the waterstart is the toughest aspect of the sport. During the learning process, falling is frequent and hard. Perseverance and practice are the only answers.
Starting a new venture is similar in that the first phase is often the most difficult mentally and financially. As with kiting, one must have the stomach and will to overcome tough challenges. Mistakes are an inevitable part of life in an early stage startup. The key is to learn from these and keep on trucking.
5. Commitment determines outcomes. Ask most professional kiteboarders to identify the key ingredient to landing huge jumps and difficult tricks the answer is almost always "commitment." When they decide to jump high, if they're not fully committed, they crash.
Likewise, hesitation and distraction kill startups. Don't launch unless you are 100 per cent committed to seeing your operation work and ready to make real sacrifices in pursuit of that goal.
6. Equipment and tools are never enough. Like skiing, snowboarding or hockey, kitesurfing is a gear-centric sport. You've got to have multiple kites, boards, a harness and a host of equipment and accessories. While high-quality gear can make a difference on the water, it's no substitute for experience.
Similarly, in business, state of the art tools and equipment aren't a substitute for knowledge and accrued wisdom. Don't be seduced by gear. Starting up a company rarely requires waiting around until the latest/greatest tools can be bought.
Jackson Wightman is co-organizer of BOOST, a small group event that helps entrepreneurs and executives solve their digital marketing challenges while kitesurfing in the Turks and Caicos. BOOST is open to all levels of kiteboarder, including those who have never touched a kite before.
Follow Report on Small Business on Pinterest and Instagram
Join our Small Business LinkedIn group
Add us to your circles
Sign up for our weekly newsletter