Should Everyone be an Entrepreneur?
I've been noticing how often I defend the life of an entrepreneur/business owner. Usually because someone who is taking the "normal" path (you know, birth, school, job, retirement, death) attacks me or someone else who's decided to live a bit differently. They usually boast about how "secure" their life is and how "risky" mine is. At which point I laugh and say that the life of a successful entrepreneur is much more "secure" than the life of a typical business owner and it's not even close. An entrepreneur usually has multiple streams of income, can't get fired at any time for anything (what are the odds that all of their customers fire them at once?), and if they decide to leave the business they can sell it (try selling that job you got fired from).
So should everyone be an entrepreneur? Hell no. Consider the definition:
en·tre·pre·neur - a person who organizes, operates, and assumes the risk for a business venture
How screwed up would the world be if that was everyone? No one would ever want to work at McDonald's or a gas station. Should every kid in high school start their own business? No, some just want a few bucks a week to spend on video games and 10 hours at the movie theater gets it done. Some moms just want some extra cash for clothes so they get a job at Macy's. Is there anything wrong with that? Of course not.
If we were all entrepreneurs everyone would be trying to innovate but no one would have the tools to do so because we'd all would want to be the business owner and no one would want to get their hands dirty. Some people would rather just go to work from 9-5 and go home and live the rest of their life. There's nothing wrong with that. In fact, as an entrepreneur, you NEED that person. You need the dedicated employee that will help you reach your goals and isn't interested in taking over your biz.
I have the utmost respect for any choice that anyone makes regarding their personal and professional life. I've never walked in their shoes so I try not to criticize. That's why it pushes my buttons when someone rides me. I'm not trying to convince them that the secret to a perfect life is being entrepreneureur, simply to respect the choice that I've made.
So should everyone be an entrepreneur? Hell no. Consider the definition:
en·tre·pre·neur - a person who organizes, operates, and assumes the risk for a business venture
How screwed up would the world be if that was everyone? No one would ever want to work at McDonald's or a gas station. Should every kid in high school start their own business? No, some just want a few bucks a week to spend on video games and 10 hours at the movie theater gets it done. Some moms just want some extra cash for clothes so they get a job at Macy's. Is there anything wrong with that? Of course not.
If we were all entrepreneurs everyone would be trying to innovate but no one would have the tools to do so because we'd all would want to be the business owner and no one would want to get their hands dirty. Some people would rather just go to work from 9-5 and go home and live the rest of their life. There's nothing wrong with that. In fact, as an entrepreneur, you NEED that person. You need the dedicated employee that will help you reach your goals and isn't interested in taking over your biz.
I have the utmost respect for any choice that anyone makes regarding their personal and professional life. I've never walked in their shoes so I try not to criticize. That's why it pushes my buttons when someone rides me. I'm not trying to convince them that the secret to a perfect life is being entrepreneureur, simply to respect the choice that I've made.
posted by Adam McFarland at
6/06/2006 09:15:00 AM
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