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Do you dream of being your own boss, but feel held back by the intimidating stories about entrepreneurship? Do you think having your own business means running yourself ragged, or having everything perfectly mapped out? Entrepreneurial coach Linzi Wilson breaks through some of the most common myths around running your own business.
Think of the term ‘Rat Race’.
If you’re anything like me, those words send shivers down your spine.
If you are considering leaving it to start your own business, you probably want to blaze your own path, bust out of the norm and build your own destiny. The thought of working for someone else for the rest of your life ignites the motivation to start hustling, innovating and creating.
In short, once you’ve become an entrepreneur, you’d like to think that you’re no longer a participant in the rat race.
But let’s look at the definition of that term:
‘A way of life in which people are caught up in a fiercely competitive struggle for wealth or power’.
Interesting ... there’s no mention of cubicle dwellers, nine to fivers or working for the boss.
Here’s the thing - I genuinely believe that there is a parallel rat race in the world of entrepreneurship. That, if we’re not careful, we can find ourselves in a similar situation to the one we were so desperate to escape from.
It’s time to bust through some of the common myths of entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurship has to be hard
We’re conditioned to believe that the journey has to be a struggle. We’re constantly bombarded with the stereotyped entrepreneur who works every hour in the day, who sacrifices everything for their latest venture, who will do whatever it takes.
It’s all very impressive, but it can be easy to start to wear this struggle and ‘busy-ness’ as a badge of honour.
Here’s a question asked by the ever inspiring Danielle LaPorte :
‘What if it were easy?’
In her epic book The Firestarter Sessions, she talks about the metrics of ease. The idea that perhaps, it doesn’t have to be hard. Perhaps if we leant towards what felt easy, if we played to our strengths and focused on what lights us up, our business (and life) would flow and expand organically.
You need to have a 100-page business plan
Another myth that can stop people in their tracks. The traditional approach to writing a business plan is outdated and inefficient. The fact of the matter is that your business plan should be viewed as a constant work in progress that adds value and structure. Your business plan should be written for YOU.
Chris Guillebeau, author of 'The $100 Startup', advocates writing a one-page business plan.
"I think a small-business plan should focus on a few simple, essential things," he says. "One, what is the product or service? Two, who will buy it? Three, how will you get paid?"
You need an angel investor or heaps of start up cash
Guy Kawasaki talks about how too much money can actually be worse than too little:
‘Companies create projections that use the money that they have. The availability of money makes them think of ways to spend it, so there’s less emphasis on doing the right things the right way.’
In fact you could argue that having less money can actually boost creativity and innovation.
There are countless stories of entrepreneurs who started with next to nothing and built an empire from scratch.
Take John Paul DeJoria for example. He worked his way up in the hair care and cosmetic industry before partnering with Paul Mitchell in 1980 to launch a hair products company, putting up an initial investment of just $700. The (now iconic) packaging was printed in black-and-white because colour printing was too expensive. Their office consisted of a PO Box and an answering machine with a message recorded by a female friend. Today his net worth stands at $4 billion.
You have to use the ‘default’ definition of success
There is a question that should be obligatory for all entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs to answer. What is your definition of success?
It can be so easy to fall into the trap of using other people’s benchmarks. Perhaps it’s how much money you have in the bank, how many clients you work with, how many products you sell.
What if you stepped away from those pre-conceived ideas and created your own definition?
Maybe it’s more important to have a super fun lifestyle wth the ability to travel, or maybe success means only working twenty hours a week so you spend time with your kids.
Explore what success means to you, and if need be, re-align your goals to ensure you are working towards your version of it !
These four myths can prevent career changers from moving into entrepreneurship, and also can block entrepreneurs from truly reaching their potential. Each one holds a lesson and an opportunity to look at business with a fresh perspective.
So, to avoid the perils of the parallel rat race, ask yourself this question:
If entrepreneurship is really about running your own race, doesn’t that mean you get to make the rules ?
Are you considering leaving employment to set up your own business? Are any of these issues putting you off? How can you make entrepreneurship suit you and your lifestyle? Let us know in the comments below!
Meet Linzi. She's a business coach and is passionate about exploring your potential. Her clients are creative entrepreneurs, passionate dreamers, genuine freedom seekers, independent go-getters, and blue sky thinkers.
She's experienced the highs and lows of entrepreneurship. From teaching kids to surf to running music festivals, Linzi's had huge successes and one spectacular failure. She's copped some karma for the team, and she wants you to learn from it. Linzi runs a 6 week coaching program called Super Stoked - for entrepreneurs who want to wake up smiling. Visit HelloGlowCoaching.
