On being an Entrepreneur

Being an entrepreneur isn't about just going out and starting a business because you have the drive. It's a mind set. Yeah, you can be the charismatic sociopath who can convince anyone of anything and get people throwing money at you right and left, or you can be the enthusiastic go getter, or the idea man. You can be anyone of these. However, none of these make you an entrepreneur.

The reality, it's the details that make you an entrepreneur.

Nearly all, I mean like 99.9%, will fail the first time around. You might make another go because you thought you learned something, you might not, it varies. You will then go back to working for someone because a paycheck that is steady is so much nicer than trying to make the big score.

After a few years of working for someone, you will get sick of having no say, or no ability to affect change in the company. You will then maybe look at doing a little something on the side. Yeah, that's sounds good. You will have a great little side business and think, I can make this more.

You will give up the day job and try to make a go, only to realize that you have to build clients up really fast or else you will be broke and have to move back in with your parents. So, you might do it, you probably won't. You think, what the hell, my parents house isn't so bad. You push forward. Finally, you give up and go back and try and get your job back. Most likely your boss will take pity on you and let you have your old job back, but pay you less.

All this is going to teach you something very important. It's not what you do that is important. It's the business that's important. You have to understand business. So now you can go one of two routes. You can find a mentor or you can go back to school. Either are good. Sometimes both is a great option. I did both. But you are going to find the person who can teach you everything about business you can consume. This needs to be like the little kid who just got a copy of Harry Potter. It needs to be everything. It needs to keep you up at night, because you know how important it is.

You will need to learn about accounting. You will need to learn about marketing. You will need to learn about HR and management. You will need to learn about Sales. You will need to learn about operations. Everything you can possibly learn.

Then comes the day you have an idea. You will see it in a whole new light. Most likely you will reject it. You realize it's not going to make enough money to be a job. So you're working in business in some area, biding you time. You have a few more. In fact, you have so many ideas, that you keep a journal of them. Each one you do a quick look at it. Most of them you quickly reject because your business knowledge tells you to.
You realize that most of them are great ideas that don't fill a need. You realize that what you really need is a problem. Because that's all any business is about. Solving problems. Coolness only works in lifestyle brands. Unless you're a Apple, you are just a person providing a solution to a need.

One day, you will be out doing something totally unrelated, and it will dawn on you. There is a need I know is out there, and there is a solution that I know I can provide. It may be in something you have never worked in. You will start doing the numbers. You will know how to run them because you learned all of this and why it's important. You will research the market because it's what you know you have to do. You will know that you need to be a sales person first and fore most, because if you don't have a client, you don't have a business.

Finally, all the pieces fall into place. Cash flows look good, there's room in the market, you have a few potential clients ready to go. You quit the job, you're making good money. You are a real entrepreneur.
However, you will probably even fail then. Because people make mistakes. You might not be very good at managing and hiring the right people. Or you could screw up on your taxes and the IRS takes care of that for you. Or you could just have not had a sustainable business model because after you started something changed and you didn't see it coming.

That's business. That's why I want to discourage you. Because you should be discouraged. You shouldn't go into this head long and take the bull by the horns. You should walk home, find a sniper rifle, and knock the bull down from the stands. Going head long just results in failure.

So now that I've told you this long winded story. Let me get to my final point. I'm not so much worried about how do you make a sustainable business. That's actually pretty easy once the business is running. If you know how to manage and run a business, you'll change and adapt to the market. What I am worried about is how you are going to get client number one or ten. Your first ten clients are going to be both your easiest and hardest. Hardest because frankly you don't know how to sell anything right now. Easiest because you're so full of energy, you can probably bull through enough people to get some.

So, what you really need is a strong marketing and sales plan, mixed with a really well thought out cash flow statement. Those two will help you more than anything.

In the end, if you really want to be an entrepreneur. You have to get out of the mind set that you are going to be the developer. You aren't. You need to be the businessman. The deal guy. The salesman. The accountant. You need the be the ever loving, hell have no fury, type A, over achieving, money loving, bring it on I'm going to close this deal now, RAIN MAKER. That's what you need. You won't be able to afford to hire those people right now. So YOU have to be able to do it.

And that my dear friend, is how you become an entrepreneur.

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