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Entrepreneurship: How and When to Get Started?

Posted by Matt Roberge on Sun, Apr 17, 2011 @ 11:12 AM
  
  
  
  
  

Next StepToday's post is from an anonymous guest blogger.  Let's all try and help him/her out by leaving a comment.

Out of all the positions I’ve had in my professional life my current job is the best.  I work for a real estate investment company in Boston.  For reasons detailed below, both the company I work for and I will remain anonymous.  I have been with this company for three + years (a personal record) and, despite the company’s recent struggles, have been promoted and received two substantial pay raises.  My boss does not micro-manage, is friendly, knowledgeable, and trustworthy.  Without exception, all of my colleagues are true professionals.  There is no office politics.  I have the ability to work from home, “work from home”, and take time off whenever need be.   

So, why do I insist on keeping myself and my company anonymous?  It’s simple.  I HATE MY JOB!  More accurately, I don’t care about my job.  I have no passion for the line of work I’m in.  If I had a kid and it asked me to come into school for “What Does Your Parent Do Day” I would send my wife.  It’s not the specific industry that I’m in that I don’t care about.  It’s the fact that I had nothing to do with the creation of this company and, ultimately, when I’m gone (whether it’s tomorrow or ten years from now) my existence will have been meaningless.  It’s not that I don’t appreciate my situation.  I understand that there are a lot of people out there looking for work and struggling to make ends meet but that is no reason for complacency.

While I contemplate my next step, I’d like to pose a few questions to all the entrepreneurs out there:

How did you know when it was time?  Was there a specific occurrence at your job that pushed you over the edge?  Did you hone a skill to the point where it no longer made sense to work for someone else?  Was your job negatively impacting your personal life?  All, none, or some combination of the above? 

What I’d really be interested to know is, for those of you that didn’t have a unique idea or skill how did you decide what to do (i.e. go back to school, franchise, purchase an existing business)?

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Comments

Hey now, guest blogger. Great post. I was motivated by a bleak future presented by the position I held before returning to school. . . .
Posted @ Sunday, April 17, 2011 4:58 PM by M. Potvin
To answer your last question I decided what to do strictly based upon the lifestyle I wanted to live. I wanted to fly fish and ski as much as possible. I couldn't find a good paying job that would allow for me to do that, so I made my own job. Focus on what you love and your passions and everything will fall into place.
Posted @ Sunday, April 17, 2011 5:56 PM by Matt Roberge
Great post and great questions. Regarding "when", I would draw on an experience I had 6 years ago. I had the great fortune of being the teaching assistant for an entrepreneur class while at MIT. Each class, a different successful entrepreneur came in and told their story. I was very excited. I thought I would be hearing from extreme, super-natural humans. I was surprised. They were just like you and I. Not geniuses that graduated college at the age of 17. Not rich kids that invested billions of their parents money. Every day people. There were two attributes they all had (1) Uncanny determination to never give up (2) The guts to get started. That was it. My summary. Don't wait for all the t's to be crossed and i's dotted. Just try something and keep trying/tweaking until you get it right. You will not fail if you never give up. 
 
 
 
In terms of ideas, take two or three things you love but are seemingly un-related. For example, you may love to surf and you may also be a gadget guy. Great, explore cool mobile gadgets for surfers. You may not be the best surfer. You may not be the most knowledge-able on gadgets. But not a lot of people get both surfers and gadgets like you.  
 
 
 
If that does not work, you do not need to be the idea guy. Network. Meet entrepreneurs with ideas. Find one you like and ask to help. Entrepreneurs are always looking for smart people with passion and the willigness to help. 
 
 
 
Good luck!
Posted @ Monday, April 18, 2011 9:17 PM by Mark Roberge
Mark hit the nail on the head. When I work with a client, I typically ask them to imagine that they hit the lottery. Not $1,000, but $10 Million and they were rich enough so that money didn't matter and they didn't have to work for the rest of their lives. What would they spend their time doing? Look for a hobby. Look for an avocation. Look for a passion. Look for a cause. Look for a love. Then, find a way to make a living doing that.
Posted @ Tuesday, April 19, 2011 11:03 AM by The RainMaker Maker
I may not be a Roberge- but I think know enough of them that I can comment as well... 
 
Mark's description completely fits me. I don't have anything that remarkable about me. I am not an MIT wizard, nor did I go to Harvard. (I am smarter than the average Maine bear though...) 
 
But here is what I do know I am. Determined? yes- as determined as a single mom, working full time and going to school full time who graduated 6 months early with a double major magna cum laude. It wasn't because I was smarter then everyone else- I just worked harder and had a dislike of being second. I also had a vision of setting the example for my 2 sons. 
 
The get started part- that is the single most hardest thing I have done and continue to do. As gutsy as I am, I kept putting off starting my business. The complacency of a steady paycheck and benefits was too much to turn upside down. Despite the fact that I had a business and marketing plan and saw a clear need and niche- I was scared. 
 
Then I got laid off from my job- so much for complacency. Now it was sink or swim, and rather then scurry around for a job that didn't exist or settle for one that I would be just as miserable in as the last- I created a job and started the business. 
 
To Rick's point- I had the determination, but I lacked the dream. Even though the business was paying the bills, I wasn't happy with what I was doing- not entirely. Paying your bills and just surviving is not a dream. Once I captured the dream (or vision if you want to call it)- I got the guts to really go after it. Now I love my "job" and can not imagine doing anything else right now. 
 
So long story short- you have to have the dream to have the guts to do it. You have to have the determination to be innovative enough not to give up on the dream. 
 
Posted @ Tuesday, April 19, 2011 11:50 AM by Carole
Thanks to everyone for the comments. I really appreciate all the advice. I will put it to good use.
Posted @ Wednesday, April 20, 2011 7:44 PM by Anonymous
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