In a way, I've been an entrepreneur all my life.
That doesn't mean I was born wanting to change the world or had business sense at two years old. For a long time, I didn't even have an idea I was passionate about. Like most kids, I was into Power Rangers, Scooby-Doo and my toy jumbo jet, which I was convinced meant I'd become a pilot.
Looking back, though, I can see that I was a little different. I tended to notice when something was needed and find a way to provide it. I was interested in money from a young age, too. Ask my mom about the loose coins around the house that somehow always found their way into my piggy bank.
Early lessons in selling
While other kids played marbles in the playground, I was trying to sell them. In middle school, I sold sweets to help my mom bring in a little extra money. In college, when I needed financial help, I started selling computers, smartphones and accessories to other students.
I had no start-up capital. I still think about the customer who paid me upfront, in cash, for a sizeable order. Delivery took two weeks, and all he had from me was my phone number and a very basic flyer. He must have been one of the most trusting people alive. But I delivered, and I was proud to have kept my word.
After university, I tried an apparel business. It carried me through one summer, then failed.
Whatever drove me back then, I always believed I could shape my own circumstances. I didn't let "no" or "it can't be done" stop me. People laughed and wondered what I was doing, but I didn't mind. I was acting on what I knew about myself. I understood early that a conventional nine-to-five wasn't for me. Even so, it took years and several side businesses before I registered my first full company.
Why I waited
Part of the reason I waited was simple: I couldn't support myself on one-off ventures. If I was going to give a business everything I had, I needed a cushion. So I went against my instincts and took a job. I also put aside a childhood dream of owning an electronics and computer store because I could see where consumer electronics retail was heading.
Those working years taught me more than I expected. Time and again, I watched good ideas go nowhere because the people above me allowed fear to get in the way. For a while, I did the same. Eventually, I decided I wouldn't let ideas I believed in go to waste simply because the people around me didn't share the vision.
I don't regret the wait. Research suggests that patience and experience count for more than the usual start-up myths acknowledge. A study of U.S. start-ups by economists Pierre Azoulay, Benjamin Jones, J. Daniel Kim and Javier Miranda found that the average age at founding of the fastest-growing new ventures was 45 (opens in a new tab), and that prior experience in the same industry strongly predicted success. Another line of research, which Wharton professor Adam Grant described in WIRED, found that entrepreneurs who kept their day jobs while starting out were 33% less likely to fail (opens in a new tab) than those who quit to go all in.
Entrepreneurs feel fear too
Many people assume entrepreneurs are fearless. My experience has taught me otherwise. We feel the same fears, doubts and insecurities as everyone else.
What the best entrepreneurs seem to develop over time are qualities like grit, empathy, perseverance and a steady commitment to excellence. I had about four ventures that didn't work before I started the businesses I run now. Even with careful planning, I know there may be more failures ahead. What I can promise is that I'll face them head-on.
There is no clear path
The road to entrepreneurship isn't a yellow brick road. There's no tour guide and no secret formula that guarantees where you'll end up.
To me, entrepreneurship is a quality: a blend of passion, empathy, confidence and insecurity, coupled with the drive to work through that insecurity. It's the desire to do meaningful work and leave our shared world a little better by questioning how we understand it and the people in it.
It's about adding value and making a real difference for the customers we're privileged to serve. It's understanding the difference between a feature and a benefit, while recognising that together they shape the experience we sell. And it's understanding that money isn't just money. What we're really working towards is freedom.
Stay teachable
The word "entrepreneur" means different things to different people. To me, it means committing to lifelong learning and change.
Not long ago, I was reading Chris Guillebeau's The $100 Startup (opens in a new tab). Much of it was familiar, but I kept reading. One good insight that helps me serve my team and my customers better is worth the time, even if it improves things only a little. As entrepreneurs, we have to remain teachable.
I try to think a few steps ahead of the people I serve. When I put together a report or a proposal, I want it to be clear, useful and well made: something they're proud to share with their board, their colleagues or their own leaders. My team might say I push hard and always ask for more. I do, because I believe we all have greatness in us.
Not everyone needs to be an entrepreneur. But we all have a purpose, and we can all contribute beyond ourselves. I've found that real growth happens through that contribution. Helping others is how we develop ourselves, and through that work, we come to understand, and eventually receive, what we've been working towards.
Get out there and do it
So, whatever is holding you back, don't fear risk. Calculate it.
I'm not telling you to quit your job tomorrow. But if you have an idea worth pursuing, one you're passionate about and, more importantly, one the market has shown it needs, ask yourself what you really have to lose. Set a deadline. Save enough to give yourself some comfort during the transition. Learn everything you can before you make the jump.
It won't be easy. But if you put in the work and focus on giving rather than getting, you may build something that outlasts you.
If we're cut from similar cloth, I don't think you'll regret giving it a try. I'll see you on the other side.
– KB