If You Want to Be Your Own Boss, You Are Out of Your Mind

In this series, professionals share how they embrace the entrepreneurial mindset. See the stories here, then write your own (use #BetheBoss in the post).

Almost everyone I know wants to venture out to start a business.  Maybe it’s a tech startup, maybe it’s a retail store that sells quilting equipment, maybe it’s a food delivery company, maybe it’s the Uber for (fill in the blank), or maybe it’s a consulting firm.  The nature of the venture doesn’t matter.  What matters is that you are leaving the nest, working without a net, jumping off the cliff, testing the waters and out of your mind.  It’s a good thing and you will often hear the phrase, “You are out of your mind.”

Gone are the days of, “I have a big idea.  Someday I am going to quit and show “them” what I can do.”  Someday is now today.  These are the days of the entrepreneur all over the world.  Otherwise normal people are quitting jobs at utility companies, leaving dental insurance and 401(K) benefits, and free coffee to go into the garage to get something going.  Your dog can go with you to keep you company in that garage.  Location no longer matters.  You can start a business anywhere and your colleagues can be across the globe.  Technology has made it easy to start the business, but then what? 

My own ambitions have taken me in a lot of risky directions where I have observed lots of entrepreneurs with lots of ideas.  I have see hundreds of business plans and deals.  According to the entrepreneurs, some of those new ideas are going to be the next Google, Facebook or Twitter.  Some of the market sizes are “to infinity and beyond.” (A favorite venture capitalist phrase is “that there is an infinite market for the unavailable.)

I cheer for the entrepreneur.  I want entrepreneurs to realize their dreams.  Maybe in the process those entrepreneurs will cure cancer or develop another fossil fuel alternative or an app that will change the world.   I want to capture the zeal of the entrepreneur and put that optimism in a bottle.  Most importantly, I want to help set expectations for the entrepreneur in the hopes on increasing the odds of success.  And here are the three expectations I want to set:

There Are No New Ideas – OK, there might be some new ideas but if the idea is soooo great, someone, somewhere in the world is thinking along the same lines.  If your idea is to develop trash compactors on Mars, someone else is thinking about it.  This should be an incentive, not a source of discouragement.  The more people working on it, the better the idea must be.  The “secret” to success is to be the best at execution, to be the best at grabbing the “real estate” in the market.

There Are No Overnight Success Stories – OK, there might be a few but most overnight success stories I know are the result of years of hard work. The “best at execution” rule applies here too.  Set your expectations that the success of the business will take focus, focus, and time.  All new businesses take longer to build than the entrepreneur expects.  Putting a realistic time frame to success will help you avoid disappointment along the way.

Success Rarely Happens As a Part-Time Activity – OK, you want to keep your job at the coal mine because you are supporting four kids and you need some sense of security and benefits, that’s understandable.  And, in the evenings you plan to create the next PopChips or Pinterest or Zappos.  It’s a good idea but not very realistic.  You will probably have to cut the cord with the security blanket.  This one act is what truly separates the entrepreneur from the dabbler in a side business.  It is the scariest and what investors look for too.  Investors don’t put money behind part-timers.  Set your expectations that you may hit the limit on your credit card before the business is a success.

Turning an idea into a business is not for the faint-hearted and could include failure and disappointment along the way.  In the face of that failure, setting realistic expectations and focusing on execution are two of the behaviors that will help with your sanity.  Or maybe not because you are out of your mind.  Many who are entrepreneurs are working to make something that is, as Steve Jobs said, “insanely great.”  I am cheering for you.