How difficult is it to become an entrepreneur?
Becoming an entrepreneur is easy.
To become an entrepreneur, all you have to do is say that you’re an entrepreneur. Yes, it’s really that simple to become an entrepreneur.
Becoming an entrepreneur is the easy part.
Staying an entrepreneur is what’s tough.
Staying an entrepreneur is the tough part.
This stuff is tough.
You know that, of course. Or at least you should know that. It’s not easy to build something out of nothing, stick with it through failures and successes, to believe in your idea when others don’t, and then to actually make the business work.
When I read through blog posts and pieces (including mine), I’m hyper aware of how entrepreneurship is being presented to readers (like you).
It seems that everyone has their “X Steps To Becoming An Entrepreneur.”
Entrepreneurship is presented as a formula. As a process. As something guaranteed, if only you follow these steps. While there are a handful of fantastic resources and philosophies out there about the first couple of steps to take, most of the advice out there isn’t worth a damn.
Entrepreneurship advice shouldn’t be click bait.
I love marketers.
The greatest, most ethical marketers create messages that encourage us to do things we already want to do on some level.
One thing marketers do is write catchy headlines on articles about entrepreneurship.
I’m no skilled marketer—although I do believe I’m ethical about it! But the reason you’re reading this very sentence is because the there’s something here that is speaking to a part of you. It’s resonating. You’ve been thinking about this entrepreneurship thing, and you’re searching for reasons to either start something or continue something.
And all of that starts with the title.
But here’s the thing. Not all marketers have great information beyond the title. Most just have something to sell. Selling is a good thing, but only if what they’re selling is helping you to do what you actually want to do.
You want to become an entrepreneur.
Here’s one way to start.
To become an entrepreneur, do something for free.
When you work for free, you’ve got virtually nothing to lose. The expectations of you are low!
That’s a great thing, because you can easily surpass expectations. Execute on the work right in front of you, look for more to do, then execute again.
Then charge to do it better. If people buy, then you’re in business.
This is how I started. I’d skip out on class in college to travel to places like San Diego, Fort Worth, and Miami to volunteer at conferences. I figured it’d be a great way to network. What I didn’t anticipate was that I’d be good at running conferences.
Even though I took this work seriously, it was still just a fun thing for me. A hobby. An experience. The whole “becoming an entrepreneur” part happened kind of by accident. Or naturally, I guess.
People “accidentally” become entrepreneurs more often than you might think.
It’s good that you’re thinking intentionally about becoming an entrepreneur. But understand that it might not happen in the way you expect.
Just something to keep in mind!
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Photo: Flickr/Guido van Nispen