Entrepreneurship is hard and stinky
A 9–5 job with a steady income, benefits, a chance for industry experience, and age-old methods for retiring with money in the bank seems like a very safe and comfortable way to live. This being opposed to living off of four hours of sleep and top-ramen for a year or two before you finally launch your startup, just to see it fail miserably four years later in piles of debt.
However a new business does not have to be, and in fact won’t be, what we see on T.V. shows like Silicon Valley. Instinctually, I knew that. And further, I don’t want that type of experience, or that kind of money, or that type of life. I personally want a business that works for me; not a business that I have to sacrifice my entire personal life for.
Of course, for the former vision of how a startup might get off the ground, methods and strategies have been spelled out for everyone in pretty type-faced font all over the Internet. Books like the 4-Hour Workweek, and $100 Startup prey on the emotions of the aspiring. Podcasts, video blogs, events and meetups are all attempts at luring those hopefuls into a bunch so that they can be monetized.
Remember the Alaskan Gold Rush?
Most of these infomercial-esque products are very effective at making the customer feel like they’re accomplishing something while consuming their content — before they’ve done really much of anything. You must understand that these products and services are businesses, both small and large, trying to turn profits. They provide services and information for those looking to make it big in industries like software, where net profit margins are extremely high.
These businesses can absolutely be legitimate, and can be a god-send for those completely clueless on how to start a business. However, you have to always be thinking about their motives, the quality of content, and how to manage your own time. Absolutely cliché, but it’s true: your time is money.
As a young person and aspiring entrepreneur about to graduate university, I stand very lonely among my Amazon, Expedia, Boeing, Microsoft bound college friends in Seattle. If we’re young and have so little to lose, why are the risk takers so few?
Oh, probably a good idea to mention our $37, 172+ in student loans. Probably should have started with that.
