Earning The Entrepreneur Label
Everyone has had an idea for a product or service where they think, “this should be an app”. But almost no one actually sees the idea through to completion. Why? I can’t say for sure, but if I had to guess, it’s because it’s really hard. Building an app takes money, time, sacrifice and for lack of a better term, a lot of grinding.
I founded my company LogSmarter™ in August 2019 and have been labeled an entrepreneur ever since then. When I used to think of entrepreneurship, I would think of rich business men flying across the country on their private jets to go to board meetings. I wasn’t sure if this label fit me just yet. But, after nearly 2 years of being an “entrepreneur” I have a new mental image of the term. Now when I think of entrepreneurship, I think of lots of hard work. Like working when you want to sleep, working when you want to hang out with friends, working when you want to be doing anything else besides the work you are doing, you get the idea. The best description of the feeling of becoming an entrepreneur I’ve heard is from Elon Musk who describes the process as “Quite painful. It’s like eating glass and staring into the abyss.”
When I got to college, I traded balance in my lifestyle for an investment in my own human capital. The lack of balance in my lifestyle was exacerbated once I started my own business. I consistently woke up early, stayed up late and stayed in on the weekends so I could work to be a better man than I was the day before. Everything I did revolved around what I call the three Fs, Family, Fitness and Finance. If something I was doing didn’t seem like it was going to lead to a positive outcome for my family and friends, my physical fitness or the financial situation of myself and the people I love, I cut it out of my life. I vividly remember some of the worst moments, like staying up for 3 days in a row during finals my junior year so I could juggle working on LogSmarter™ and studying.
By the time I got to my last exam, I nearly passed out in the middle of it and I didn’t feel normal again for a whole week. A lot of times it felt like I had a monkey on my back. Between school and LogSmarter™, there was a never ending amount of work to do. My limiting factor was that I could not work literally all the time. I learned the hard way that each day only had 24 hours and despite me trying, the human body will not accept copious amounts of coffee as a permanent replacement for sleep.
So far, this description of my lifestyle might sound a little pessimistic and depressing. I’d be lying if there weren’t some points over the last few years that felt that way. But, I would do it all again in a heartbeat. For the first time in my life, I am truly confident in who I am and proud of what I’ve accomplished. I’ve maintained above a 3.8 GPA, taught myself how to be a full stack web developer, wrote code for Delta Air Lines and some of the biggest insurance companies in the world, started my own software company, experienced the ups and downs of getting a startup off the ground, landed a full time job at a great company and most importantly have set myself on a path where I know I can provide for the people I love and they can be proud of the man I have become. I no longer have to wonder if I fit the image of an entrepreneur. Through blood, sweat and tears, I learned what it means to be an entrepreneur and I know I’ve earned the label .
