Being an entrepreneur is hard. Period.
Just because Zucks put on a hoodie and became a billionaire doesnât mean everyone else can. Sure, if youâve got the chops, thereâs no question that this day and age has provided us the tools to build something both quickly and cost-effectively. But, that doesnât mean everybody should do it. Itâs funny to me how quickly people can realize that theyâre not a Kobe or Beyonce, but for some reason, theyâre able to convince themselves theyâre an entrepreneur and can build a million-dollar business.
For over the last half-decade, weâve been living through a narrative that has glorified entrepreneurship. The story thatâs been depicted in movies like The Social Network has convinced people that they could (and should) go and start a business. But, by doing this, Iâm afraid that a lot of you arenât putting yourselves in the best positions to succeed. Not only might you be wasting time, but youâre also hurting your reputation and brand equity while losing peopleâs money along the way. Instead of progressing yourselves professionally, what youâre actually doing is stunting your growth in a time where you could have been an incredible number two, three, or four in a great organization and setting yourself up for more long-term upside.
Look at the facts. LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Tumblr — Recognize those names? Thatâs 7 (7!!!) notable companies built in a 12-year window that everyoneâs convinced they can mimic. In the time that it takes you to read this article, 27 more companies were started and almost all will fail. Thatâs a problem. Why does everyone think they can start the next big thing when itâs statistically improbable theyâll create the next unicorn? Look at the math. Itâs against you.
And, to even be âsuccessfulâ you donât need the âmillions.â Because when you really look at the numbers, on average, an income of $155,000 a year puts you in the top 10% of all income earners in the U.S. Thatâs likely lower than what you would have thought, right? Well, thatâs the data. Thatâs the truth. So this notion of âI need to make a âbilliâ or bust,â is just impractical.
And so, for those of you looking to start your own venture, you need to start by asking yourself, âWhy am I even going down this route in the first place?â The answer is happiness, because thatâs the truth. Would you rather make $70K running your own thing, dictating your own income, happy as hell, or make $100K at a job you hate?
And so, all Iâm asking here is that we reframe the conversation. Because, the only way for any of this to work is for you to start with your north star and reverse engineer from there given the context of who you are and what you want out of this one shot weâve all got.
In entrepreneurship, thereâs no magic formulas. No 9-week process to make you a millionaire. No secret-holding $3,000 ebook that was written by someone whoâs never built a business besides the one that âteachesâ you how to build one. That shitâs not real. It takes work. Hard work. And those âmillionsâ we see see in the headlines? Theyâre not realistic either. Theyâre just not. But that doesnât mean we canât be happy while doing it. We just need to understand why weâre doing the things weâre doing, because:
How you make your money is way more important than how much you make.
We live in a day and time where anyone with passion and love for something can build a business around it. And, although that might sound clichĂ© because the thought has been bastardized, itâs just true. The internet has opened us all to a world of opportunity but we need to be honest with ourselves in understanding what weâre seeking. You just need to be practical and self-aware. Because 30, 40, 60 years from now, youâre not going to regret the few extra bucks you could have made. Youâre going to regret not focusing your time and energy around the things that could have made you happy.