The Secret Sauce to Starting a Successful Business?

If there's one secret to entrepreneurship, it's this: building a great business from scratch takes time. You can't do it overnight. If you're gunning for overnight success, watch out: you won't achieve it. Sure, you could try. You'll get your 15 minutes of fame; but like most reality stars, American Idol contestants, and TechCrunch-super-supposedly-duper-startup-Web2.0 companies, you won't sustain your success.

Take a look at today's spectacular-azy businesses.

The gems on Wall Street. The ones heralded on Forbes. They all started slowly. Microsoft didn't hit its breakthrough until 4 years later. Google went a full year before it saw revenue. HP started out sucking (cash), until it met Disney some time later. Etc. Etc. Etc.

The Flywheel Effect

Achieving business success is similar to Jim Collins's concept of the Flywheel Effect. Initially, it takes all your effort and strength to get that wheel rotating. At first, it barely moves. But over time, as you start pushing, and pushing, the flywheel starts to gain momentum. It gets easier and easier. Push some more? Your business will soon hit its coveted breakthrough stage.

Why Most Entrepreneurs Fail

Most entrepreneurs fail because of one thing: lack of persistence. That's it. And no, we're not saying that's the only ingredient to failure. It's the primary ingredient. Want to build a great business? Start settling in for the long-haul.

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