I’m an idealist, and in my perfect world everyone would be an entrepreneur. I remember studying business management in high school and learning about entrepreneurship. It’s odd but the only thing I can remember being said about entrepreneurs was that they are ‘risk takers’. It was only after remembering that, that it struck me why more people don’t become entrepreneurs. Evidently entrepreneurship as a career path seems to be cast in a dim light. Luckily I’m here to illuminate the way and show you why for the right individuals, entrepreneurship is better than the greatest career you can imagine.
Firstly, as always I like to define what it is I’m talking about so people can see it as I do and better understand my point of view. So what is an entrepreneur? To me an entrepreneur is someone who lives by their own rules. An entrepreneur is anyone who makes money in a way that doesn’t involve exchanging their time for it. An entrepreneur is someone who builds a business. They labor harder when starting out in order to enjoy greater financial gain and less labor in time. They are innovators, pioneers. They are persistent, dedicated, and willing to make mistakes. They crave success. Without entrepreneurs we would have no Microsoft, no Google, no motor cars, no airplanes, no Nike, no Macdonalds, no Coke, no movies, no tv, no kitty litter, no post its… you get the point.
What’s so great about being an entrepreneur? Let’s take a closer look:
Freedom An entrepreneur is nobody’s boss. While there may be periods of time where the entrepreneur is made to follow, or work under another, for the most part an entrepreneur is independent. Entrepreneurs aren’t slaves to their jobs like employees. They work their own hours. They design their own lives. Entrepreneurs are creators.
Unlimited income potential An entrepreneur doesn’t have a fixed wage. An entrepreneur has unlimited income potential. There is no limit to how much money he/she can earn because his income isn’t relative to the amount of time he works. Through leverage and building a business the entrepreneur can make money from the efforts of others as well as himself and this way earn far more than he could with his efforts alone. The entrepreneur sacrifices income in the short term in order to enjoy far greater income in the long term.
Unlimited creativity As an entrepreneur there is infinite ways you can make money. There is always a new business to start or a new idea to implement in your existing business. Every day is filled with ultimate possibility. Entrepreneurs wake up in the morning and think “What can I create today?”, instead of getting on the treadmill of a job and doing the same thing week in and week out.
Character As an entrepreneur you do take a lot of risks. And as a result you do a lot of failing. There isn’t really a place where you can learn the defined skills of being an entrepreneur so it requires you learn through the school of hard knocks. You fail, and if your resolve and purpose is strong enough you recover. This process builds character. Entrepreneurs are battle hardened. They are good at undergoing hardship and as a result have a greater appreciation for their success. They are better able to deal with challenges in other areas in their lives as a result of this inner strength.
The life of an entrepreneur is one of excitement, challenge, hard work, failure, pain, passion and success. Most importantly an entrepreneur lives their passion. While there are certainly times of frustration and heartache, day to day work hardly feels like work because most of the time they are engrossed in what they love. There is no distinction between work and life, work IS life and life is work, it’s all passion. Personally I wouldn’t dream of living any other way.
To learn more about various aspects of entrepreneurship, please scroll the articles and information below.