How did you discover your entrepreneurial calling?
Hi there!
Are you considering taking the leap into entrepreneurship after gaining 5 years of work experience?
Have you been intrigued by the idea of starting your own business but are unsure where to begin?
Wondering how successful entrepreneurs found their “big idea”?
Did they always know what they wanted to do, or did they spend time reflecting on their passion?
Share your thoughts and experiences on finding your entrepreneurial path in the comments below!
#entrepreneurship #startup #businessidea #entrepreneurialjourney #successmindset #careerchange
I’m an entrepreneur but I’ll be honest not a very prolific or good one so please don’t take my advice.
I knew this is what I wanted to do because I had this pervasive feeling that I could do things better if I was in charge. I haven’t had a big idea but I’ve noticed that when I team up with others, co-founders/friends I’m able to take an idea and make it into a product.
I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting and atm I’m looking for a job because I can’t afford the business I have planned. But I remain hopeful that my efforts will not be in vain.
Good Luck.
Within the first 6 months of starting my first job (right out of grad school). I was working as a junior software engineer at a big telecom and had an opportunity to work on the side (nights and weekends) on a software prototype with the potential to go big, along with a friend. This was in 2000 (before the dot-com bust) so that gig didn’t really take off but I realized the joy of being an entrepreneur during that phase.
You really won’t know until you start a company and to be honest there is a very big difference between trying to be an “entrepreneur” and someone who is just really good at running their business.
That may seem confusing but when I was 21 I really wanted to do a startup, and my friends came to me with an idea, I ran with it and spent my time learning how to raise money, build a POC etc.
We raised a couple million dollars and after 4 years of trying to grow the business it failed. I went on to have 2 more failures after that.
In short I was very good at looking like an entrepreneur and raising capital but I wasn’t actually good at running the business or making money.
So I took a job in tech, grew my career and got a good sense of what it was like to work with amazing leaders, how to manage good projects, do research, grow something, hire good people, and manage teams.
Next 3 businesses I got good at learning our craft, running the business and generating real revenue… Not just burning through VC capital hoping something works.
All 3 are growing, profitable and our newest will break $1m in revenue in year one with just $500 to get started.
So to wrap it up, I now feel like an entrepreneur and feel capable but it took a while to get here.
my perseverance and not taking no for answer no matter how many huddles I face
When I realized I have hands to create something and willingness to move forward with it. It’s not for everyone but man I love having something that is my own.
For me, I know I’m an entrepreneur because working for somebody else for a long time to build their vision, with no ownership, is not it for me.
LEGACY : If I was to pass a way with a high earning job, I can’t pass that to my kids. But, I can pass down assets from a high earning business.
I didn’t know and still don’t. I just like experimenting with business ideas. It’s fun. I don’t take it too seriously.
Knew it since I was a young teen. Just a gut feeling and when I finally listened to that gut feeling my life completely changed
When the threat of poverty creeps up on you, everyone becomes an entrepreneur.
Never seek comfort.
When I realized I was a bad employee! Also when I realized I have no fear of failure and a higher risk tolerance.
ADD won’t allow me to work for anyone lol
Entrepreneurs usually not always, have that inner fire inside to crush competion and hate the idea of being capped in the job market.
And a lot of entrepreneurs have very dark trauma they are running from.
Believe it or not, But a lot of entrepreneurs is deeply insecure of never being enough.
And yeah they love the game of businesses so much, hate loosing more than wanting to win.
But entrepreneurs never Fall into specific categories. There’s been both highly successful career types which turn their career into a business, there’s been entrepreneurs which are dropouts, there’s been entrepreneurs that simply had a Better solution to the market and have that deep desire of believing there’s solution is so much Better, some also become it because they have a bad experience in corporate and wanna crush that Company, there’s been single mothers or dad which lived a shitty life and their love for their child change their life.
And you have to have some wrong with you if you wanna go from a Secure job 9-5 and working 24/7/365 for years before anything Big happens. And a lot of people Will talk shit about you until you make it. You need to have a High stress tolerance or devolp it.
Me, iknew it from an early age. But never took the jump really, cause i kinda just let it be. Didnt think much of it, But that Voice in the back of your mind simply became too much and one day i was like fk it.
And from my own research im pretty much the entrepreneurial type if you research the mindset.
Hate authority, resillient, cant settle, want the Big hot shot life, lots of trauma to write a book about, stronger than i even know, and my mind is Sharp. No problem with people dealing. See the future, and have been right about lots of things.
And i dont really think anything like traditional people and average people. At all.
And all i Care about is success. Thats it.
But timing is sometimes a huge factor. I also had to go on a spiritual journey for a couple of years to understand me. Ive tried to run from being one too and i always end back where i belong.
Im just ment for it. Thats it. Will i make it Big, dont know. But a lot of people tell me that i Will. Cause of who i am. Will i? We’ll see..
This is a life journey, not just a couple of years. Its decades.
But one thing i do know is i can help people pretty good, already changed a lot of People’s lives for nothing in return.
Ive been told im a master at psychology and Human Nature. Dont think that, can always be Better. But yeah i understand a thing or two..
Edit:
And you have to be someone who learn everyday. And study the market, product, competitors, politics, macro economics, macro politics, etc. Thats also how you figure out ideas, products. Etc. Also not all markets is the same place at the same time. Some markets is years behind or forward of other markets, some markets arent ready for your idea yet.
Idea usually comes with observing the world from all kinds of angles, you arr typically part of networks in all kinda of ways, Paid, none Paid, seminars, masterminds, inner circles, courses, mentors, coaches, etc. You follow the latest things, you follow where the world is headed.
Also some products or services have a trend, some also there for a short amount of time. Some is Better in crisis, some are not.
And some things have their life time and you take the next thing, sometimes its also about the level you play.
This is usually what happens a lot online
Some person start an online service business.
Then move into ecommerce
Then move into SAAS, software etc
Then usually you either exit Big and retire or you move into privat Equity or you start another one.
The game changes, depends on your goals and level you’re at.
What you do from 0-1 million is different from 1-10 million and 10 million to 100 million etc.
And is it exit or revenue or what do you want. Also do you wanna retire or not. At what phase you wanna go.
Is it one business for decades? The same business or you start, buy, sell companies?
You still need cashflow to start other businesses. Or an exit.
Its all really Down to people themselves.
And nothing just drops Down with an idea if you arent active within the biz world somehow.
But if you wanna have a lifestyle business thats also another thing, then you optimize for maximum profits, minimum time spent on it.
Or you wanna build something new to get to the next level.
Typically you start, sell companies a few times and some just live that game.
The game can be played so many ways
I have always said and will always say that an entrepreneur is a personality type, not a venture.
If you have that dog in you, have a sizable amount of screws loose, and have shoulders big enough to carry more than most people can dream of, jump right in!
Honestly I didnt know. Just had an idea and went for it, and things just kinda happened.
When I was a kid, probably about 10 years old, I was reading an old Superman comic book that had a page in the back with an address, if you sent them a letter they would send you a catalog and you could take it around and sell things out of it. I did that and earned a basketball.
That’s when I realized I didn’t have to rely on others for a job, that I could make one myself.
For me it was the fact that working for someone else was not it. I was always able to climb the corporate ladder pretty fast and got into good positions that paid very good money. Even though i was doing well from an outside perspective (good job,money, house, cars etc.), I was never happy, it never seemed worth it for me. I would get home exhausted and wanted nothing to do with anyone. Having those things, and working for someone else sucked the life out of me. One day i decided to quit, i had a semi-plan, but nothing solid. The stress is real – the struggles of been an entrepreneur – but the life i live now is worth it. I actually feel alive.
Right after my first boss fired me.
Started out hustling comic books in third grade, trading lunch items, realized I was a natural merchant. Started working like anyone else, was a personal trainer for a couple years, got into being a mechanic. Thing is I always made more money on my own. Like the jobs were my side jobs almost.
Running my own show now, the two things that make me money, trading financial markets and running a flood restoration business. They both keep me mentally stimulated because I have to constantly solve my own problems. For example if you’re actually going to be a profitable trader, you need to know your statistics. You have to be adaptable, you have to have risk management, I like the daily mental challenge and figuring things out. When I’m working for someone else, I’m just going through the motions, I think a lot of people enjoy this because it allows them to have a focus on a family and things I don’t care about. They go home after work and then they have their second life. For me my entire life is what I do. There isn’t a second life
My best advice for you would be to think of a business idea that is based on solving a problem.
I’m plugging a solution: [Owchie](http://Owchie.com)
If you want to create a great product or business, you have to find a real problem to solve.
I just had the talent for it since I was young. Ive also loved computers for as long as I can remember 🙂
great entrepreneurs aren’t made from wanting to be entrepreneurs
they are made from either being extremely passionate about doing something or solving a problem
so passionate they take big risks, stay up all night working on it, can’t stop researching it on their phone
this 3 hour work week YT influencer stuff is BS, those people are living and breathing selling their stories on social media even if they only work 3 hours at their “job”
if you don’t know what you want to do, you aren’t ready to jump into being an entrepreneur
I hate authority
I think it’s a personality thing. You just have a feeling this is right for you — even if it is 10x more painful and you know it’s more painful, nothing else feels right and you want it anyway. Experiencing your first real job usually confirms this.
I always knew. The area I grew up in was deprived and even from school age nobody had any ambition beyond working in construction or being a hairdresser. I was too much of a dreamer. The thought of a repetitive job was horrifying.
It has never been a conscious debate or decision. From the time I was 10 years old I was trying to hustle. I started buying and selling stuff online at 14 because why would I want to work at the grocery store for $8/hr when I could flip 1 thing and make $100?
Every moment I spent employed for someone else made me intensely miserable. I hated following rules, hated waking up early, hated working hard just for someone else to keep most of the revenue I produced.
By 22 I was fully self employed and I’ve never looked back.
I didn’t decide to be an entrepreneur. I just am.
I started my first business at eight years old. I ran it for two years before we moved and my circumstances changed.
After that first one, I just kept noticing opportunities for other businesses, and if it was a good idea, I’d pursue it.
I got to work with 11 startups personally and learned a ton. Doing your own thing is a mountain of work, but it is a doable thing. If you’re the kind of person who can hold yourself accountable, you can succeed as your own boss.
It’ll be different for everyone, but for me the first was hating working for other people and giving them leverage over my future, and number two, I really believed I could.
I didn’t. As Peter Parker tells Miles: Its just a leap of faith. That’s all it is Miles, a leap of faith.
I wouldn’t say I am an entrepreneur.. yet. I’ve started many side hustles and tried tons of stuff, and still learning every day. Just building capital to start investing into Realestate.
I’m 22 now, since 15 I’ve always known I’d work for my self, I had my mind on millions of dollars, complete freedom, providing for my loved ones, and creating jobs. Since then I was always thinking of business models, new ideas, strategies, goals, plans.
The main thing for me, is I don’t like being under people. I don’t like being the “little guy” being able to be told what to do how do to it when to do it.
Not in an egotistical way, but I want to be the top, I want to be in the position to change lives, inspire people, create a good bubble for my family.
I hate every single thing about a regular job, every single thing. You and the other employees look at the “boss” like they’re on a pedestal, or the quarterly zoom meetings where you have to Throw on the corporate America persona, scheduled lunch breaks, same thing day in and day out. I hate everything about a 9-5.
I am currently in outside sales and project management. I’m doing this to build capital to start my Realestate portfolio. For me personally, as far as a job job goes this is great.
Long story short, I want freedom, I don’t like job atmospheres, and I like no limit on my income
-You knew how to make money from a very young age, you were selling shyt
-I remember my mom giving me $15.00 to mow the lawn. I asked a some Mexican to do it for $5.00 and pocketed the rest so I can play video games.
-u have some type of adhd
-this is a bit of a weird one, but if ur the type of employee who gets awards at ur job, always getting promoted, always get good reviews from managers and peers etc you are NOT cut out to be entrepreneur. You are a 9 to 5 worker through and through
I didn’t. I wanted to be one so I tried and tried. Then I became better and better at it.
I needed to be an entrepreneur because I make a terrible employee 😅 I do not like being managed/micromanaged, I don’t like following rules and I don’t respond well to authority. Now I’m the boss.
I didn’t have a choice
I was a terrrrrrible employee. Could not hold a job down for more than a couple months without getting bored.
When I found something I was actually interested in, I stayed in the industry (but still hopped workplaces within it) for 6 years and was finally like “I’ve seen what works really well and I’ve seen what doesn’t. I could do this myself.”
9 years later and I own two spots in the same industry with 35+ employees. It’s a challenge every day. I’m NEVER bored. I could never go back to working for someone else.
If you think it might be for you, it probably is! What excites you about life? How do you want to feel every day and how can you create that? Start there. Make a list of ways you can create those things in the world and see if anything feels like “it.”
I am creative and thought it would be cool to success at something. I didn’t really think I was cut out for it but I did make a successful business. There were times when I questioned if I was cut out for it even after being successful, because I compared myself to other founders who said they would have pushed through where I instead quit.
For me the fear of failure or not taking the chance to try something new was way more scary than the thought of failing or not trying. Having some successful friends to chat with gave me the confidence that being an entrepreneur is not about “being cut out or not”….its more about being passionate about what you love, being willing to work hard for it and seeking out others who have the same passion and have “been there and done that”! They will give you the time and open doors because they want you to be successful.
When you have a strong desire in you to do something everyone else is not doing
My entire life i could never stand working for someone else in a normal job, but i really knew i wanted to be an entrepreneur when my former employer royally screwed me over out of greed, and by that time i was already starting to realize just how much money they were making off of my labor while doing nothing themselves. It just feels like theft to me.
Profit = unpaid wages, exploitation. Which is why when i hire someone to help me, i split the profit with them, because anything less would be stealing the fruits of their labor. Treat others as you would want to be treated. I would like to be treated fairly as an equal. Not as some subservient fool who gets taken advantage of for someone else’s personal gain.