Being an Entrepreneur is not sexy most of the time. In fact it’s usually more like the life the guy who lived off of $30 a month crashing on AOL’s couches than the booze-filled rage-fest depicted in media like “The Social Network.” So why do people take the plunge with no guarantee of anything in return?
1. You’re Not afraid of failure: “Don’t be afraid to be wrong. The learning comes from the failure. And, you will fail 99 times for one success. Learn from the missteps and move forward.” -Fitist
2. You’ve realized that it’s a real job: “I went to college, because that’s what everyone does. At Brown I took a few entrepreneurship classes, and they showed me that being an entrepreneur was a viable alternative to becoming a doctor, lawyer, consultant etc… After that I knew the startup world was for me.” – Priceonomic
3. You Have Undying Perseverance: “You have to like what you’re doing enough to take 50 no’s and then be excited about the one ‘yes.’”
4. Selling Comes More Naturally than Sports: “I was a horrible baseball player, but I sold more fundraiser candy bars than any other little leaguer in the bay area; they gave me a stereo.” – Syyn Labs
5. You believe that you are in control of your destiny: “I truly believe that if you are motivated enough and have the ambition to start something up on your own you can be successful at whatever you do.” -VivaVision
6. You Get Bored Easily: “My whole life is an exercise in avoiding boredom – launching a startup is a surefire way to avoid boredom!” – NewsiT
7. You’re a bit crazy: Entrepreneurialism is not for the faint-hearted. You really have to be a little bit crazy to succeed at it. – NewsiT
8. You take the “road less traveled”: “When at a crossroads, choose the path of most resistance – it holds the greatest reward.Go after the choice that will grow you the most as a person, not the easiest one.” -Pandora
9. You don’t know how else to make money: “I wanted to make money, and didn’t know how to do so without starting a business.” – Kissmetrics
10. You Can’t Sleep: “The real cue that it’s time to start is when you can’t wake up one more day without pursuing your idea.” – InsuranceAgents.com
11. No one will hire you: “I have authority issues and I never enjoyed or did well with school. I dropped out of the college and pursued the challenge of self-employment. For me it’s always been about the struggle to make something out of nothing.” – Technori
After starting several companies and selling them off, Josh Haynam dedicated himself to helping others become their own bosses. His site www.entrepreneur-stories.com features stories from highly successful entrepreneurs and is designed to bridge the gap between having the desire to start a company and actually a business.
