“Wanting to be an entrepreneur versus being an entrepreneur is two very different things,” says Gary Vaynerchuk. And I fully agree with him.
Regardless of what kind of genes you have in your blood – born entrepreneur, born leader, born creative, etc. – what separates you from the other wantrepreneurs is your action: Are you really going for being an entrepreneur full-time? Are you becoming a weekend-preneur? Are you a side-hustler? What is really defining an entrepreneur?
Entrepreneurs: Who are they?
I don’t know what about you, but being entrepreneur – not wantrepreneur – is actually plunge and immerse yourself in the world of ‘doing your own thing’: Starting a FinTech company, flower shop, app development company, digital marketing agency, custom bike shop, an eBay shop selling things sourced from garage sales, a lemonade stand, etc. Other than that you’re not really an entrepreneur; you may be an entrepreneurial tendency, but you are definitely not a ‘real’ entrepreneur.
To put it simply, if you want to be an entrepreneur, be like one. Start something. Make mistakes and use them to be better in the future. Sacrifice your fun stuff for the greater goods. Work on the weekends. Anything. Entrepreneurship is not a job (entrepreneurs can’t stand having a job – it’s suffocating them) – it’s a full-time commitment, and also a lifestyle.
Why wantrepreneurs can’t succeed
Young people these days want to jump into the entrepreneurship spaceship – launch a startup, get funding from a VC, drains all the fund to build the startup, and eventually fail – and call the failure as “learning experience.”
Launching a startup doesn’t really qualify you as a real entrepreneur. On paper, yes – you are the Founder/Co-founders. But unfortunately, if the startup can’t generate any money – or in any measures, successfully get acquired by another company – or simply don’t impact others in a meaningful way, your startup seems like a massively expensive toy.
Why can’t wantrepreneurs succeed? It’s simple, really. Because entrepreneurship requires action and dedication – often hard work with little to no return at least for the first few years – and no real dedication can be really committed if you are a weekend entrepreneur or having a business as a side hustle. wantrepreneurs focuses on the end goals – fast cars, early retirement, riches, and glory, or such – but not the journey that’s full of ups and downs.
What does it take to be a real entrepreneur?
Becoming a real entrepreneur, not wantrepreneur has a heavy price tag on it. There are prices to pay: Your personal time. Your hobby. Your sweat and tears – literally. Often your family time. Sometimes your health. Real entrepreneurs will work toward their goals and get better in the process of achieving them. That’s why entrepreneurship is all about the journey, not the end goal.
Eventually a real entrepreneur is all about track record. Your success is your rapport: Get acquired and cash in the multi-million dollar valuation; building a scalable business that’s greatly profitable; running a business that changes people life – for the better.
So, are you ready to be an entrepreneur – or will you settle as a wantrepreneur?
