Why I never recommend entrepreneurship to anyone
Talk to entrepreneurs you meet on a Start-Up Day or conference; it is not hard to find them overhyping on small things, smiling way too much, being overly optimistic, as if they are overdosed. Are their minds f up?
Talk to entrepreneurs when they are drunk. Ask them why they quit their corporate jobs. You will probably see how much their eyebrows frowned and mentioning “corporate dogs,” “soullessly working for big companies,” “cannot have their lives in control,” etc.
Well, the flip side of the coin is that people with a corporate job have a way, way more stable life, probably a month of paid time off, better work-life balance, and better mental health than those entrepreneurs. Plus, you can very likely earn $5k post-tax from a corporate job if you stay in it for more than a decade. Overseeing the immense benefits of a stable corporate life, these entrepreneurs, who probably have just an idea and zero paying customers, seem delusional. What makes them so crazy?
They want to be the boss — not true. Any people in the game know that sooner or later, you will have to play the game of capitalism and the rules of free markets. These overhyped entrepreneurs, who keep their noses up to the sky and secretly slash prices to beg and win some customers, know. So, what is that?
Sense of purpose. It is like a belief, a calling, a North Star, and a mental thing. Nobody can see it, not even the entrepreneurs. They can visualize it in their mind, but no comparable real-life counterparts can reflect what it is in their mind. So, they step out of their comfort zone and use their efforts to mold it into reality. Remember, these entrepreneurs who are overhyping and being super optimistic probably have debts on them and bring less than $5k post-tax back home every month. Yet, this sense of purpose keeps their heads up. I can throw another two hundred words about the highest level in the pyramid of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, but I think you all get that.
To answer the question of what keeps entrepreneurs so driven and not giving up even in 5 figures of debt and not making any profits, I want to bring in 3 Chinese words: 不甘心. This adjective describes the state of unwillingness to submit to the current situation. I can’t find its English counterpart, so comment if you know a reasonable translation of these words. Here is my try: 不(not; un-) 甘心 (settled; willing to submit).
Of course, not every entrepreneur may share the sense of purpose as the reason they start a business — it could be money, challenge, or life is just too dull. Nonetheless, it is that sense of 不甘心 of looking at what you are doing and calling your life a wrap. They want to try and see if the ideas in their minds would work. Maybe it is a sense of curiosity. Perhaps it is hardwired in our DNA. I have no doubt to imagine that some of our ancestors actually jump off the cliff and see if we can fly. This sense of risk-taking, curiosity, and stepping into the unknown venture generates as much hype as the calling itself.
During COVID, my business was hit pretty hard. It was the fifteenth month of my startup. Things were getting on track. Then, everything stopped. Nobody wanted to study abroad. It was a crazy spring and summer to the point I could cry when I listened to certain songs. I was lucky to hang on there, and as the pandemic ceased, the acceptance rate for international students studying abroad was the highest as the border reopened. It was like the spring blossom after a bleak winter.
I could easily say that this roller coaster would not financially outperform me if I took a corporate job and stuck with it. Yet, life would not be as interesting as enjoyable. However, it is a brain-, soul-, and heart-wrecking journey that I would not recommend to anyone unless you share the same enjoyment, which some of my friends surely do. As much as I want, I can’t stop them from doing entrepreneurship but to join them because, just like them, I want to be different. I want to build a legacy. No matter how much higher it pays, I don’t want to be a corporate d. I am 不甘心. :p
I’m Anthony, and I started my own profitable company when I was 23. Now, I provide consulting services for startup founders and entrepreneurs. I hope you like my insights. Follow this publication if you’re interested in the value of my content.
