I imagine entrepreneurship as a football game where your company is on offense and your opposing defense consists of your competition, the economy, your marketing acumen, your ability to hire the right people and, most importantly, your ability to handle stress and lead a team.

When growing a business, you don't have to put on a masquerade that you are a big, tough man or woman, however you do have to instill confidence in the people whom you are leading. This gets harder with each hire that you make. Businesses, without exception, must grow.

Growth is a part of the game; without forging forward, you are never going to break the defense. If a defense sees weakness in your game plan, they will exploit any and all offensive maneuvers you attempt to make.

Sure, every now and then, you'll get exposure playing on Thanksgiving, but that exposure is quickly ruined when Peyton Manning throws for 400 yards and 3 touchdowns. As a business owner, when you get that Thanksgiving exposure, you make sure you win; no questions asked. If the other team smells even the smallest hint of weakness or pain in your quarterback on O-Line, the game is lost, forever.

If your company does not grow and fails to take the gut-wrenching dive, you are not the team captain who is passing at 15 yards a clip. You and your company becomes more like the team that consistently calls hand-off after hand-off right up the middle. Sure, you're bound to gain 4 yards on 3 plays, but who is that going to scare. The defense will simply adjust their linebackers for the short game, thus forcing you and your company in a spot that is not conducive to success. In all actuality, you won't even see the field goal posts.

Or, you forget about being conservative all the time and roll the dice. Take your new team and don't be afraid to aggressively pass the ball. Of course this will leave you open to interceptions and fumbles, but it also increases your odds of putting the ball in the end zone (a.k.a. taking risks to beat your competition). If your employees sense that you are implementing the run 3 downs out of 4 game plan, they are going to end up on ESPN embarrassing you by asking for a trade, publically.

In entrepreneurship you have to be the New England Patriots not the Detroit Lions.

Yes. Throwing a flee-flicker on first down is enough to make any coach sick, though if you don't want to do it, get in line with the 8-8 teams.

On a personal note, yesterday, I hired another employee. From my desk, when I turned around and looked at the guy (younger gentlemen fresh out of NYU), I knew that I was responsible for him. I had another mouth to feed and a running back to support, thus ensuring you make him into a Mike Anderson and not allow him to get tackled by the entire D-Line upon hiking the ball. I want to make him successful and I'm prepared to do what it takes to put my team in the playoffs.

As a matter of fact, today proved to be a match-up against the Steelers in the dead of December. We had a very large account on the line and I almost made a move that would have led to expensive consequences. Luckily, I was able to gain composure and make the team satisfied in my positive outlook and willingness to fight. This can be exceedingly hard at times.

Though, throughout the growth of your business, you must consider yourself the quarterback and the team around you is comprised of men and women who are going to do their part, but also rely on you to provide quick and accurate passes with little fumbling after the snap. Any entrepreneur or aspiring entrepreneur has to be able to stomach the game of competitive business and this is the best analogy that I can use to explain it.