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The airport waiting room had a dozen numbered doors — no destinations, just numbers — leading to who-knew-where. We listened intently to the frequent message spoken in Russian over the loudspeaker, hoping to hear the magic word Magadan, but the crowd was extremely noisy, and the speaker system crackled so badly that it was nearly impossible for us to make out any of the words, let alone understand the important information we needed. As time passed, we became more and more worried. Crowds of people were disappearing through the various gates, and we were afraid that we might have missed the announcement for Magadan.
PRINCIPLE: Noise is one of our greatest challenges as modern day people, but sometimes it’s especially true for entrepreneurs. You get it from all sides: well-meaning naysayers, well-meaning cheerleaders, sales people, vendors, creditors, bankers, lawyers, dissatisfied clients, family members, and the list goes on and on. Sorting out the important in the midst of all that noise is one of your biggest challenges if you are going to be successful and happy on your entrepreneurial journey.
Just after another group of passengers had disappeared through one of the doors, we thought we heard the word Magadan over the speaker, but we couldn’t be sure, and no one was moving toward any of the exits. We saw a rather Western looking gentleman, so we approached him and said we were going to Magadan and asked if he knew whether we had been called for Magadan boarding. With a startled expression on his face, he pointed us toward the door where the last group had disappeared several minutes earlier.
PRINCIPLE: Seek help from someone who can see and hear through all the noise and static. Someone who knows where you want to go and how to get there. We picked the most knowledgeable looking, most friendly looking person we could find. Picking the right advisors is critical.
In a panic, we rushed through the door only to find ourselves in a deserted stairwell. We ran down the steps and exited onto the tarmac. The icy wind chilled us instantly. There was no plane and no one in sight; however, we noticed an idling bus about 50 feet away so we ran to it and beat on the door. When the driver opened it, we shouted “Magadan?” Wonder of wonders, he waved us into the crowded bus.
PRINCIPLE: Sometimes, you just need a dose of good old-fashion luck. But usually, you have to make luck happen by being prepared and by being willing to go outside your comfort zone.
A few minutes later we arrived at an Aeroflot aircraft that had definitely seen better days. My husband pointed at the plane and asked the closest person, “Magadan?” He nodded. We breathed a sigh of relief; by some miracle, we had not missed the once-a-day flight into Magadan. When the bus doors opened, everyone started pushing and shoving their way to the exits and up the stairs to the plane. However, since we had our boarding passes with our seat assignments and our sense of civility, we were willing to wait our turn.
PRINCIPLE: Time and tide and entrepreneurial success waits for no man or woman. You have to be ready to move when the time is right — but always do so with grace and civility.
We finally entered at the back of the plane. Our seats were against the front bulkhead, and Michael was relishing the prospect of leg room. The plane was overly crowded so it was difficult to make our way forward with the aisles full of people stowing their carry-ons. By the time we got to the front of the plane, almost everyone was seated, and every seat was taken. Our hearts sunk, when we discovered that our seat mate was an old and very large — like really large — woman. We were going to be packed into those three seats like sardines. Unhappily, we pointed to the two empty seats.
“Nyet!” the old woman shouted and splayed herself across all three seats. We showed her our tickets and in our best sign language indicated that those were our seats, but she just shouted at us again, “Nyet!” while maintaining her possession of the entire row. Confused and out of applicable sign language, we waved to a steward, who was about 1/4th the size of the woman. We showed him our tickets. He spoke firmly to the old woman, pointing at us and then at the seats. The old woman grabbed her cane threateningly and shouted — you guessed it — “Nyet!” at the steward, who turned to us, shrugged, and walked briskly away.
PRINCIPLE: Sometimes you know what you want and what you deserve. It’s right there in front of you, but you just don’t know how to make it happen. That’s when you call on an expert — but make sure the expert you call on can handle the job.
We turned to look for seats somewhere else on the plane, but it appeared that every seat was taken. I’m sure at that point that we looked scared, pathetic, and beaten. Then, 15 rows back a man stood up and waved to us, holding up two fingers. Another miracle! We made our way back to where he was waiting to share his aisle with us. We slipped gratefully into the window and the middle seat. Although there was less than no leg room, we had seats, which momentarily seemed like a good thing. However, our seats were not bolted tightly to the floor — if at all. They were more like rocking chairs than airplane seats. As we settled in and looked around, we realized that the rusted exterior of this well-worn plane was in sterling condition compared to the interior.
Fortunately, the young man who had graciously given up his privacy and room to help us turned out to be a very kind, Ukrainian engineer who spoke passable English. Throughout the rest of the flight, he told us about Magadan, helped us get our food, and generally made us feel safe. We do not know what we would have done without him.
PRINCIPLE: To be your most successful in business, you will need strategists who have the experience and know-how to navigate the treacherous waters of entrepreneurship.
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