Being an entrepreneur is a polarizing choice. For some, it represents the culmination of a lifelong dream. They’ve had creativity pulsing through their veins. They feel like they were born to start a business. Their business provides them with rewards and a sense of accomplishment that can make their friends and relatives jealous. Behind every entrepreneur who says it’s the best thing they ever did? There’s another side to all the long nights and hard work. Last week, the Wall Street Journal had a good feature, What I Love – And Hate – Most About Being An Entrepreneur. (Bonus points: my friend, the immensely talented Neil Jamieson, did the amazing graphic that accompanies the story).
The Best and Worst Parts of Being an Entrepreneur
For the feature, the Wall Street Journal found a good mix of folks who build their own companies,
- Kim Jordan: New Belgium Brewing
- Tim Brown: Allbirds
- Reid Hoffman: LinkedIn
- Tope Awotona: Calendly
- Payal Kadakia: ClassPass
- Neil Blumenthal: Warby Parker
When I first looked at the list, I immediately realized that I use two-thirds of the companies they founded. I have a pair of Allbirds, I use LinkedIn and Calendly on a daily basis and I’ve got a couple of pairs of Warby Parker glasses that I rotate wearing throughout the week.
The article is worth a few minutes of time for any entrepreneur (or would-be entrepreneur) to read. You can get some good tips on some of the challenges you may face. Also, these are some pretty impressive brands that grew out of the choices these folks made when being an entrepreneur.
How Do You Feel About Being an Entrepreneur?
It’s Monday morning and we’re starting another week of living under pandemic conditions. But the summer is approaching and the warmer weather may also bring a little hope. Reading the article again made me think about what I like about being an entrepreneur. Probably the biggest thing I like is the freedom to take my business in different directions. I remember years ago working for someone else who constantly missed out on opportunities to grow their business. When I started my own business, I promised myself I wouldn’t make those mistakes. And when I look at where I am today compared to where I was when I started out in 2011, it’s like night and day.
But with all the great things about being an entrepreneur comes plenty of frustrations. One of the biggest can be the amount of pressure that is on you on a daily basis. You are the boss. The shots are called by you. And if a mistake is made, you’ve got to own it. However, if you can find a way to positively take responsibility for things, then the good can outweigh the bad every time.
