October 15, 2013

Debunking the Myth of Risk

From the outside, entrepreneurship seems very risky. I'm here to tell you it's not.
Sure, I'm biased because I am one, but I'll continue from my previous post to say your corporate job isn't as safe as it appears. 

Working for a large company gives you the illusion of security, but you could easily be let go tomorrow.

Everyone desires at least partial control of their lives and if you own a business, you have more of it.

What differs mostly from being an entrepreneur is: you don't have guaranteed income regularly and you have to learn how to sell. 

It's a skill set much different than what you've learned in school. Not only are you selling a product or service, but you're selling yourself.

Is it challenging? Yes. Can anyone do it? No.

In fact you'll work longer hours and get paid less initially. If you're willing to accept that, continue moving ahead.

What's not true is that it's highly risky. Anything you do has an amount of risk. For example, there's a higher risk that you can get in a car accident than crashing while flying in a plane, but almost everyone drives daily. 

I look at it in another way. Would I rather risk and try or not and regret it for the rest of my life? This isn't as much about risk as it is about effort. If you quit your job and start a business, it's probably not the smartest decision to make (I made it myself), but as long as you try new things, not repeat the same mistakes over and connect with people who have done it before, you'll eventually get there. 

Entrepreneurship even makes you look at failure differently. Talk to any successful entrepreneur and they can tell you 10 times the amount of mistakes they've made to the few successes they've achieved. Failure becomes your teacher as long as you implement the lessons it teaches you.

So as you ponder your next idea to pursue, instead of asking yourself why you should do it, ask why not?

October 1, 2013

Side Hustle

"Side hustle" is a term used by the younger generation and aspiring entrepreneurs, but guess what?

It's becoming a reality for EVERYONE.

The skill set that college should teach, but doesn't is: how to SELL.

The days of corporate security are over. Pensions, 401K's and retirement funds are rapidly disappearing. That means you can't put all your eggs (hope, money, dreams, etc.) in one basket.

All your ideas for a side business need to be implemented NOW. 

If you currently have a job, you can lose it overnight...
If you're unemployed, it can last a long time...
If you're an entrepreneur, you have to keep evolving...

This isn't meant to scare you, but motivate you to start DOING.  

What do you have a passion for?
What experience(s) in the past has prepared you for the future?
How can you make money doing it?

Everyone wants to follow their dreams, but you need to figure out a way to get paid to do them.

I'm not telling you to quit your job and pursue you passion now. 
Instead start researching, testing and networking in the industry you want to be in. 
Get some experience, even if it's not paid, so you can learn what your customers want. 

If you do your homework now, you'll reap the benefits of your "side hustle" becoming your main thing. 
Good luck and get started NOW!