How to Create a Movement as an Entrepreneur

Do you ever feel lonely as an entrepreneur? In this video and article I get into how to create a movement as an entrepreneur. After all, no one makes it on their own.

Did you ever call into a love line and dedicate a love song to somebody? You know you did. You know you did. I was thinking about what it would sound like if there was a radio station where you could dedicate love songs to entrepreneurs. What would it sound like? It would probably sound something like this.

Lonely Entrepreneurs

There's a lot of entrepreneurs out there that are lonely. You know, when you start your business, you are going to be lonely for a period. Perhaps have a great idea. You may be doing something and it's a great business. You're excited about it. But no one supports you. Not your mom, dad, friends, or family members. Everybody thinks you're a nut. They think you're crazy to have started your own business. You should just have a job like normal people do. You are out of your mind.

If you've ever felt that way, this video from our archives on how to start a movement as an entrepreneur is for you.

Your First Partner as an Entrepreneur

Initially as a lonely entrepreneur, you're all by yourself. Eventually you recruit a partner, a running mate, another leader that sees the vision. They get it, just as big as you. And that changes the face of your business overnight.

How to Start a Movement as an Entrepreneur

The question becomes how to start a movement.

There's a video out there by a TEDx speaker, Derek Sivers. It's the best explanation I've seen on how all movements get started, including those that start their own businesses. You can watch it here.

A Leader Has Guts

A leader has to have the guts to stand out and be ridiculed. But to start a movement as an entrepreneur, what you do has to be easy to follow. And your first follower plays a crucial role. Your first follower shows everyone else how to follow.

Treat Your Followers As Equal

To start a movement as an entrepreneur, you have to embrace your followers as equal. Once you do, it's not about you any more. It's about them. You go from a singular focus to a plural focus.

Once you do that, your first followers will call for their friends to join them.

When Followers Are Leaders

Your very first followers exhibit a very underestimated form of leadership. It takes guts to stand out and be one of the first followers. The first follower transforms the lonely entrepreneur into a leader, and gets other people to join in.

A Crowd Begins to Form

Once you have a few followers, instead of being all alone, a crowd starts to form. The movement then becomes public. At this point, it's important to show not just the leader, but the followers. This is true because new followers copy not the leader, but other followers.

Diminished Risk

As more people start to follow, you gain momentum and hit a tipping point. You now have a movement as an entrepreneur.

At this point, it's less risky for people to join in. Those who were previously sitting on the fence have no reason to stay on the sidelines. They won't stand out or be ridiculed, but they will be a part of the in crowd -- if they hurry. At this point, if they don't join in, they'll be ridiculed for not being part of the in crowd.

Nurture Your First Followers

If you want to start a movement as an entrepreneur, you must remember to nurture your first few followers. Treat them as equals. Make it about the movement, not you.

The biggest lesson presented in this video is that leadership is over glorified. The leader gets all the credit. But the one that really creates the transformation, that starts the movement, is the first follower. He is the one that turns the lonely entrepreneur into a leader. So while we're all told to be leaders, never underestimate the importance of followers, or the importance of joining with others that are doing great things.

We All Need Friends

Speaking of being lonely, none of us, including entrepreneurs, can make it without friends. Be sure to check out this video and article on how to choose great friends.

This article was originally published on PatrickBetDavid.com.

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