Trying to decide if you can make a break from the herd? What is a corporate job? Is it for you? Here’s what I’ve been able to prune down the make or break characteristics of a self-employed entrepreneur to:
#1 Altruism appeals to you.
You like helping people? You like making things better? Well, congratulations! That’s the core of all business, and you’re already well on your way to making things happen. Corporate jobs are more disciplined and structured, needing less self-motivation than starting a business.
#2 You are curious.
Whatever you’re passionate about, whatever industry you fit into, there’s a lot — a TON — of information you need to learn. Thinking of any new industry, you need to ask yourself:
Who’s involved? What do they do? What DON’T they do? What do they want? What do their customers want? What are they not giving their customers? Where is it going?
Try to frame your questions simply, and your answers in as broad of strokes as possible. You don’t want to accidentally box your thoughts into whatever is in your head at the moment. Use lateral thinking to help some seriously new ideas break to the surface.
With altruism and curiosity, you’re pretty much in the clear to make a living as a self-employed small business owner. You may not lead the future of tomorrow, but at least you can make a good living according to your own plan.
#3 You see where the future is going
Do you ever think “God, I wish this website did ____” only to find that a few months later, it does? Have you found yourself oddly satisfied after seeing a new store open in your town, because you’ve always known that it needed that kind of store?
Superb. You have vision. You may just be an entrepreneur.
This means you’re able to not only think about what the world is like today, but what it could be like tomorrow. Steve Jobs (Apple) and Edwin Land (Polaroid) both said that they didn’t invent anything. The products they made “always existed,” they each say, “I was just the first to discover it.” They could see a better solution, and were just able to make it a reality. Now it’s your turn.
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So… If you like to make the world better, like to investigate and have intuition, you could probably do quite well on your own.
Unsure how to go for it / get started? Ask me in a comment and I’ll try to help you out.
And remember, if all three of these don’t apply to you, you are screwed. just have something to work on, now. It’s really not that tough, so stick it out!
Related Post: Don’t Sell Your Soul to Corporate America
