Entrepreneurship is amazingly cool and arguably the basis of the history of the United States. Sure, it's hard, but it offers many rewards that working for someone else can't touch.
it's mostly a slog that hopefully will make some money after a couple of years.
I've known a few people that wanted to start a business and thought they just needed to come up with a few good ideas, find someone else to do the work, and collect the money.
They wanted to partner with me and essentially be my boss/manager instead of a partner. They all ended up getting jobs, while I'm on my second successful business.
So many people are in love with the idea of a business, but won't be able to follow it to success when things get to tough or they need to actually put the work in.
Very few people have the discipline to start and run a business.
I used to be afraid to hire help during my consulting days that new help my take what seems to be a simple and boring process, and build their own business. I was also struggling to find employees who would be as flexible, determined, curious as I was and thought it is me not figuring out how to find ones, how much to pay, train, etc.
I was also preaching "run your idea as a business" to everyone with the idea. I was also confused by how a post about someone's new office job on the social media would get so many upvotes/likes, yet a post about getting through the struggle with something business-related would rarely get any attention.
Lately, I decided for myself (and I bet my view will change many times as I grow older), that entrepreneurship is somehow wired in the brain. I chatted with my mom this year and found out that nor she, nor her parents, nor parents of my dad ever had any hustling inclinations. My dad had it, although it never materialized in anything sustainable and, unfortunately, alcohol was stronger. So it probably not genetic, but random flukes.
Whenever I talk about something-business, be it investing (nitty-gritty details, not self-made bitcoin millionaires), accounting, various laws in different countries, freight - everyone is bored (my lack of being able to engage with the talk about these topics definitely contributes to that too). Grind just doesn't seem to be cool for the most. What is cool - big survivors of that grinder.
Yet to me the grind itself is what makes me interested and excited. Constant acting in the environment of limited information availability, resource and time constraints. Even if the business itself is boring - the grind is not (to me personally). Also - risks, constant evaluation of risks. Everyone who knows me says I am very risk-averse. I can guarantee - I am taking on some ridiculous risks, but I also have hedges, as I have a family. What I think ultimately was a reason for my father failure was wrong risks evaluation (in a very hostile time and environment, so no surprises there). I hope to learn from it and keep going further...
But it is certainly not glamorous - that's for sure. In fact, it can be very much dark. But few may enjoy the ride.
4 comments
[ 2.5 ms ] story [ 22.4 ms ] threadI've known a few people that wanted to start a business and thought they just needed to come up with a few good ideas, find someone else to do the work, and collect the money.
They wanted to partner with me and essentially be my boss/manager instead of a partner. They all ended up getting jobs, while I'm on my second successful business.
So many people are in love with the idea of a business, but won't be able to follow it to success when things get to tough or they need to actually put the work in.
Very few people have the discipline to start and run a business.
I was also preaching "run your idea as a business" to everyone with the idea. I was also confused by how a post about someone's new office job on the social media would get so many upvotes/likes, yet a post about getting through the struggle with something business-related would rarely get any attention.
Lately, I decided for myself (and I bet my view will change many times as I grow older), that entrepreneurship is somehow wired in the brain. I chatted with my mom this year and found out that nor she, nor her parents, nor parents of my dad ever had any hustling inclinations. My dad had it, although it never materialized in anything sustainable and, unfortunately, alcohol was stronger. So it probably not genetic, but random flukes.
Whenever I talk about something-business, be it investing (nitty-gritty details, not self-made bitcoin millionaires), accounting, various laws in different countries, freight - everyone is bored (my lack of being able to engage with the talk about these topics definitely contributes to that too). Grind just doesn't seem to be cool for the most. What is cool - big survivors of that grinder.
Yet to me the grind itself is what makes me interested and excited. Constant acting in the environment of limited information availability, resource and time constraints. Even if the business itself is boring - the grind is not (to me personally). Also - risks, constant evaluation of risks. Everyone who knows me says I am very risk-averse. I can guarantee - I am taking on some ridiculous risks, but I also have hedges, as I have a family. What I think ultimately was a reason for my father failure was wrong risks evaluation (in a very hostile time and environment, so no surprises there). I hope to learn from it and keep going further...
But it is certainly not glamorous - that's for sure. In fact, it can be very much dark. But few may enjoy the ride.