Summary

The article emphasizes the importance of careful consideration before embarking on entrepreneurship, especially during challenging times like a pandemic, by addressing six critical questions to assess one's readiness.

Abstract

The article "Why Does Everyone Want To Be An Entrepreneur?" cautions against the romanticized view of entrepreneurship, particularly in the wake of the pandemic's economic impact. It underscores the necessity of discipline, sales knowledge, and realistic motivations for starting a business. The author warns against using entrepreneurship as an escape from job search frustrations and advises having a substantial financial cushion before taking the leap. The piece also criticizes the influence of so-called "gurus" and stresses the importance of having a unique selling proposition (USP) or brand value. The author concludes by encouraging readers to thoroughly evaluate their preparedness and unique value they can offer in the market before committing to entrepreneurship.

Opinions

Entrepreneurship is often glamorized, but it is not suitable for everyone and requires a realistic assessment of one's abilities and circumstances.
Discipline and the ability to handle multiple roles are crucial for running a successful business, especially in the absence of traditional workplace structures.
A deep understanding of sales is vital since lack of revenue is a primary reason businesses fail.
Using entrepreneurship as a means to avoid job search challenges is ill-advised; the skills needed to build a client base are similar to those needed in job hunting.
Skepticism is urged towards online "gurus" who profit from selling the dream of entrepreneurship without a proven track record or transparency about their success factors.
Having an emergency fund to cover living expenses for 6-12 months is recommended to make sound business decisions without financial pressure.
A unique selling proposition or clear brand value is essential to differentiate oneself in a competitive market, and new graduates should critically consider how they can demonstrate tangible value to employers or clients.

Why Does Everyone Want To Be An Entrepreneur?

Take This Quiz To Check if You are Truly Ready — #5 is Critical.

As millions of employees are furloughed or laid off due to the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, there seems to be a new buzz in town. Start your own business! Make money online!

As people struggle to find a new job and scramble to pay the rent, many seem tempted by the allure of entrepreneurship and becoming their own boss! What is to lose, right? Now or never?

WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!

Entrepreneurship is not everyone’s cup of tea. However, if you really want to take the plunge, consider the following Six Critical questions before you take the plunge!

#1 — Are You Disciplined?

Running a business is hard.

Running a business has become harder during this pandemic. If it were easy, the federal government would not be discussing yet another stimulus package to save small businesses.

I’ve been a freelancer and it takes a lot of discipline and effort to get work done when you do not have a manager or deadlines or annual appraisal forms to fill. Do you have the energy and motivation and passion to be a 1-person team handling sales, marketing, social media, IT, taxes, accounting, and the actual client WORK?

#2 — What Do You Know About Sales?

What do you know about sales?

Lack of sales and revenue is the main reason why businesses fail!

Your ideas might be amazing but have you validated them with sales? For example, recently I have seen a plethora of mental health apps — great design and blog content, but no one to pay the $200 session for the therapists on the apps! So the owners are left scratching their heads about why their app is not successful and they are unable to monetize a fabulous idea.

Likes and follower counts and website traffic are useful metrics but they don’t pay the bills. They are simply “vanity metrics”. Your friends and family can motivate you and may even make the first few purchases, but can your idea or product scale to give you living wages?

You can hire someone to do sales, but NOT until you have generated some revenue first. So think SALES, SALES, SALES!

#3 — Are You Just Trying to Avoid Job Hunt Frustrations?

Being laid off sucks! But if you are only jumping into entrepreneur land to avoid your job search frustrations, then think again! If you cannot land yourself one job NOW, how will you land yourself clients in the future?

So do NOT fool yourself. Job searching NOW might seem painful, but the process of building a sales pipeline is similar if you do not want to live perpetually in a ‘feast-or-famine’ situation. So please be warned.

If you are struggling with your job search, then remember that you are not alone. This pandemic has messed up the lives of millions. Also, if you want some creative and unconventional methods to speed up your search, look at the methods below:

Top #6 Creative Strategies to Land Your Dream Job

Methods that work in any economy

medium.com

#4 — Fooled by Gurus?

Don’t listen to the online gurus who claim to teach you how to make millions. There are many genuine teachers, but the conmen outnumber them by thousands. Most internet stars make money by selling courses on how to make money!

Or they already had clients/sales/networks or a fabulous personal brand. If you must follow your passion, start it as a side hustle first. Once it does take off, you can quit your day job. Even Warby Parker started off that way!

I despair to see smart, hard-working, talented folks throw away excellent careers (and pots of money!) chasing some nebulous “follow your passion” advice. Even Superman worked as a reporter during the day, so why can’t you?

Still not convinced? Read this:

All New Writers Should Have Full-time Jobs

Why an alternate 9-to-5 job guarantees writing success

medium.com

#5 — Do You Have 6 Months of Emergency Cash?

Businesses take time to flourish. The decisions you make will be much better if you have 6–12 months of emergency cash to cover all your living expenses and any unforeseen emergencies.

Even Arnold Schwarzenegger ran his own gym and landscaping business to fund his acting career. Having this financial freedom allowed him to wait months for the perfect role “Terminator” that catapulted him to fame and fortune! Similarly, if you have backup money, you can choose high-value clients who truly value you, and don’t nitpick hours for $5 gigs!

#6 — What is Your USP or Brand Value?

What is your value add?

Why does everyone out of college want to be a social media influencer or project manager or an Instagram star? Young women especially! I am tired of reading posts about women with little to no experience trying to become “life coach” and cliched lines about “helping you live your best life”!

Unless you can show how your skills contribute to efficiency (saved man-hours) or generate profits, or fill a key need, no one will care to pay for your services. Plus, many of these jobs are entry-level with low barriers of entry, so it will be very hard to differentiate yourself or work your way up the career chain to earn 7-figure incomes.

New grads, please think deeply about this point and how you will communicate your value to future employers.

Would you pay $100,000 to a stranger?

Think about it, would you pay $100k to an unknown stranger? Then why expect clients to pay money to an unknown novice? That is exactly what I see new grads hoping from their employers.

Conclusion

Entrepreneurship is exciting, invigorating yet immensely challenging, a roller coaster of emotions until the business takes off! All of this takes time and massive effort. So think carefully about the questions below and then decide if this path is the right one for you!