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3 Naysayer Thoughts on Entrepreneurship. Let’s Address Them.

Russ-O-Matic
Business & Entrepreneurship
30 Comments

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photo credit: Charlie Stinchcomb

Okay, let’s think about entrepreneurship for a second.

What comes to mind? Hard work? Long hours? Creating something worthwhile?

Entrepreneurship is ALL of these things and it certainly isn’t for the faint of heart. Like in all aspects of life, you have two groups – the doers and the naysayers. In this article I will explore three common negatives (that really are just myths in my estimation) on aspects of entrepreneurship from naysayers that I have come across over the past few years.

Entrepreneurship Myths:

1. “Branding” is a dirty word. I’ve heard this NUMEROUS times and quite frankly this statement couldn’t be further from the truth. Branding is an essential step for a successful entrepreneur to take and is a key determinant of how you and your company are perceived. It tells a story of who you and your business are. Note: Just don’t go crazy for the sake of looking like a crazy-cool brand if that’s not what you’re about. Consider your company culture/values and keep things crisp, clean & concise to convey the right message about your offering. Your brand is where you create real value in your business so give it the respect and attention it deserves.

2. You really aren’t the ‘exception to the rule’. Haven’t we all been subject to comments of this sort at some point or the other? In our culture today we have two conflicting socially normative values;

On one hand:

1) That you should do, and ought to do, everything in your power to capitalize on your individual person-hood and reach for success.

And on the other:

2) That “the nail that sticks out gets hammered back down,” which is meant to dispel the idea of reaching for the stars – Tall Poppy Syndrome.

Belief that it can be you, and that you can really achieve success, is a common characteristic in all entrepreneurs. In fact it’s a vital characteristic to have or no one would attempt to CREATE. With the second way of thinking, it’s often a person trying to reflect their own insecurities on you; so listen to what they have to say, smile AND CARRY ON! Just a word of caution however. Try not to blindly throw yourself at the behest of chance. Calculate and assess your risks before you take them.

3. By starting your own business you are risking your own job security, and that is just silly. I mean really?? Okay, to start with, in order for any business to ever be started, there must be the initial risk of a startup. But the reward is so much greater! Take a moment and reflect on the vast number of successful businesses that currently exist because their owners had the guts to take that risk. Also, realize that there does not necessarily have to be risk of losing job security when one is working on launching their own company.

There are no hard and fast rules governing the art of a successful venture. Nothing explicitly says that you have to quit your day job and focus all of your waking day to your cause. It’s completely possible to explore alternatives to this process. One is to try and build a business out of a hobby that you already enjoy (maybe with some friends); so that you increase your productivity by blurring the lines between work and play. As the business scales up, you can then look at transitioning into the business full-time. Plenty of quality businesses actually get off the ground part-time and grow to become larger enterprises.

Personally when I started out, I quit my jobs to pursue my entrepreneurial endeavours. I’m more a “hands-on” type of entrepreneur and like to devote good time to a new venture so it has all the attention it needs to get to revenue generation mode.

Which approach should you choose? Well, that will depend on your personal situation and your propensity for risk. Both work.

Conclusion

While there absolutely are some silly misconceptions out there on starting a business, some are really just myths.

It is important to understand that entrepreneurs in general are incredibly optimistic and positive people. We have to be in order to weather business challenges and grow strong businesses. BUT not everyone thinks the same way and the thoughts discussed above are often merely a projection of the fears of people who do not share the same behavioural characteristics that most entrepreneurs do. It could also be attributed to differing risk profiles of people at some level too. The main aim here is to analyse this thinking so you don’t fall victim to other people’s negative thinking and give up on your ideas before you even start!

30 Responses

  3. Connie

    I have gotten number 2 a lot. Nice to see you’ve picked up on it too.

    • Russ-O-Matic

      Hi Connie, yes – most people that go off on their own, or on a tangent to what is typical experience this. Don’t let it get you down, just keep at what you’re doing. 🙂

  4. Elrid

    “By starting your own business you are risking your own job security, and that is just silly”. Your take on this is very thought provoking, I never looked at it that way before thankyou.

  7. Buzz

    Good way of describing, and nice piece of writing.

    • Russ-O-Matic

      Thanks Duncan, I’m glad you enjoy the site and my posts. 🙂

    • Russ-O-Matic

      Hi Ilyaz, great to hear you’ve found a way to deal with “nay-speak”. I hope you’re progressing well with your ventures.

  14. Gary Y.

    Thank you. This has always seemed more complicated to deal with — but you make it easy!!!!!