111 reasons to become an enterprenur

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111 reasons to Finally Become an Entrepreneur in 2014 by Kyle Eschenroeder 23 comments an entrepreneurial lion (remember this for Reason 3) I don’t even know what an entrepreneur is anymore. For us, right now, it’s making money without having a job. And as jobs become less gettable entrepreneurship is becoming mandatory. If you haven’t already been forced into entrepreneurship, you will be soon.

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Page 1: 111 Reasons to Become an Enterprenur

111 reasons to Finally Become an

Entrepreneur in 2014by Kyle Eschenroeder 23   comments

an entrepreneurial lion (remember this for Reason 3)

I don’t even know what an entrepreneur is anymore. For us, right now, it’s making

money without having a job. And as jobs become less gettable entrepreneurship

is becoming mandatory.

If you haven’t already been forced into entrepreneurship, you will be soon.

There are several forces that are making it extremely difficult for a company to

justify paying you. There is the increased cost because of health care, increasing

minimum wages, and machines replacing humans at an alarming pace. This has

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nothing to do with politics. It’s just what’s happening. (If you want more scary

details then check outthis post.)

So why am I taking the time to convince you to take the leap to

entrepreneurship if it’s inevitable?

I want you to be ahead of the game. We’re already deep into this transition, but

some are still holding on. You don’t survive by holding onto the Titanic while it

sinks, you survive by getting out early and swimming as far from the suction as

possible.

The ship is sinking. We all feel it – even if we can’t admit it yet.

There are steps to take to make yourself more ready. This chaos has even

creatednear-turnkey solutions to beginning a new entrepreneurial life.

Before we get on with the list, let’s get clear on one thing: becoming an

entrepreneur doesn’t mean you wake up as Richard Branson tomorrow. 

It doesn’t even mean you quit your job.

I’m proposing you start slow. You begin to create your own thing. You  take a

small action today. Tomorrow you take another. You learn what’s required.

I’m suggesting you begin to shift your mindset to something more self-reliant. I’m

suggesting you treat your choices as if they matter. You begin going to work with

the mindset of an owner. You start your side hustle -  and you   hustle .

The first step to entrepreneurship is to decide to build something your boss

didn’t tell you to build.

The rest of this post is dedicated to convincing you to make that choice.

[If you've already decided you want to make the leap but aren't sure WHAT to

do... a lot of people have been having a ton of success (a guy pulled in $30,000+

last month) with out Importing Empire coaching program. It's the perfect place to

start for a beginning entrepreneur.]

Without further ado…

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111 Reasons to Become an Entrepreneur in 20141. You’re unemployed.

Or, if you haven’t been fired yet, you will be when the robots get good enough to

take your job. If your job has any possibility of being systematized then a

computer will learn it… or it will be passed off to someone overseas who will be

grateful to do it for $5 an hour.

2. It makes you more of a man.

Or woman… but in the traditionally masculine role of providing. I’m not sure about

the science here, but I’d be willing to bet that entrepreneurship boosts

testosterone levels.

3. The lion in the wild vs. the lion at the zoo.

apathy

Compare the two (the above with the one up top). The lion in the zoo has a great

healthcare package and total job security. The lion in the wild doesn’t know if he’ll

be able to eat (or feed his family) when he wakes up. Yet somehow the lion in the

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zoo is bored, dirty, and depressed. The lion in the wild is fit, beautiful, and fully

alive.

4. It’s safer than a job.

It feels less certain than a job because you face uncertainty every day – you are

forced to deal with it. A job feels safe until the day you’re served a pink slip. In a

job you’re blindsided by the unknown because you’ve never had to worry about it.

Like a wild lion, the entrepreneur knows the danger he’s in – so he’s more ready

to deal with it.

5. Companies only want to hire entrepreneurs (or use temps, or machines).

Even if you want to get a job, you probably won’t get hired unless you learn some

entrepreneurial skills. Selling yourself, connecting with others, thinking like an

owner, discerning good ideas from bad ideas, self-motivating… all these

entrepreneurial requirements are also becoming requirements to get hired.

6. You gain the owner mindset.

You begin to think about things in a more empowering way. Instead of trying to

screw The Man out of a dollar you try to make more yourself. Instead of waiting to

be told what to do you do what needs to be done. This is true of your professional

life but also your personal life.

7. You produce more and consume less.

We get sucked into consuming because we think we need one more thing.

Focusing on becoming an entrepreneur will shift your attention

towards creation instead of consumption. You forget about all the things you were

supposed to have and get lost in ecstasy of creating something of your own.

8. You are free to be more creative.

You can try anything you want to do. Nothing is wrong until it’s proved wrong.

9. The entrepreneurial mind bleeds into all your other activities, choices.

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It’s that owner’s mindset, and it goes everywhere with you.

10. Your schedule becomes much more flexible (even though you’re working ten

times harder).

You can sleep in until noon because you were up until 2AM creating your

business. You can take a week off because you worked 20 hour days for a

month. This flexibility lets you leverage your natural creative cycles.

11. You aren’t able to blame others anymore.

We weaken ourselves by blaming others. As soon as we give up responsibility

we give up the ability to overcome a challenge. Entrepreneurs don’t get to blame

others. It’s your fault. Even if it’s out of your hands, it’s still your responsibility.

This increases your power as a human being in ways you can’t imagine.

12. You become surrounded by higher quality people.

You begin meeting others who haven’t settled, who want to build something

awesome. You meet others who are going through similar challenges.

13. You have the ultimate sense of autonomy.

Autonomy is one of the most important pieces of job satisfaction… there’s

nobody more autonomous than an entrepreneur.

14. You’ll be able to build a legacy.

Sure, everyone leaves behind a legacy. Entrepreneurs seem to leave more

interesting ones than others.

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15. You become antifragile…

… and that’s one of the most important things to do in a world this chaotic and

uncertain.

16. You see the world through the lens of opportunity.

Entrepreneurs thrive because of their ability to see possibilities where others

don’t. This is a beautiful perspective to have

17. You become stronger because you aren’t able to avoid struggle.

Entrepreneurship is the hard path. (It’s also the better path.) You don’t get to

avoid difficult decisions and you don’t get to sit back because somebody else will

pick up your slack.

18. You learn to take risks.

Risk is what makes life exciting. There is an intensity in the entrepreneurial life

that isn’t available in a job-job.

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19. You don’t have to risk it all, though.

The entrepreneur who goes all-or-nothing is mostly a myth. Most

entrepreneurs managetheir risk. They know the risk they’re taking, accept it, and

dive in. You don’t have to quit your job or risk having your family starve.

20. You become a person of action (or you will remain a wantrepreneur).

Vacillation means your business is done. You act quickly with the best

information you get – and the information is rarely good.

21. You will finally have scratched that itch – you know what it’s like, now.

Worst case scenario: you have some crazy war stories. If you give it a real go,

you’ll never be the bitter old man who never did what he knew he wanted to.

22. You join the ranks of humans who have the balls to live life on their own

terms.

That alone makes it worthwhile.

23. You are forced to become a bigger person than you ever thought you would

be.

Comfort zones? They don’t matter in business. Warren Buffett would be a timid

man in social situations… in business negotiations? A killer. He overcame himself

because of his entrepreneurial need to make his business succeed.

24. You become less interested in Justin Bieber – there are more important

things to do.

Worried about information overload? Dedicating yourself to entrepreneurship is

an instant fix. You don’t have time to give a shit about Biebers.

25. It forces you to focus on the essentials.

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Your attention is your universe: and you are now totally dedicated to your own

creation.

26. It is the most powerful productivity hack available.

You do what needs to get done. You don’t get the luxury of working against

yourself or anything like that. Productivity becomes necessity.

27. Your influence on the world becomes bigger/leveraged.

28. You are forced to make wealth – and you know for certain that you are

valuable to the world.

29. You can measure your progress (instead of being a part of same giant

unwieldy corporation).

It’s hard to tell if you’re even making a difference in big companies. In a startup

(just you or you and a few others) you become keenly aware when you fall

behind. There’s no escaping it. You’ve got to perform.

30. It’s the best way to get rich.

Jobs have ceilings to how much you can earn (except some sales jobs). When

you build a business it’s like a snowball – it keeps building on itself. And you

capture any above-and-beyond profits.

31. Your work builds on itself – it’s not a “one and done” deal.

When you do an hourly job you rarely have the satisfaction of working towards

something greater. An entrepreneur does work every day that will grow his

company. Every day he does work he can look back on the next year and

appreciate.

32. ( Random Tip: It’s much easier to make wealth by focusing on what you hate

than what you are passionate about. It’s much easier to get paid to relieve a pain

than do something fun.)

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33. It’s cheap now.

Technology has lowered the barrier to entry to the point where it’s

ridiculous not to give it a go.

34. Business enables everything else.

Inventors who get remembered are the ones with big PR money behind them.

Businesses pay for more great art than anything else. Wealth can push theory

into reality.

35. It gives you a purpose in life. 

Even if you’re in a “boring” business, the necessity of taking action will obliquely

create a life more passionate and purposeful than you’ve ever had before.

36. It builds confidence (once you get going).

On the flipside, it can cause some of the most severe moments of doubt you’ve

ever faced. By facing those doubts you will gain an amazing sense of confidence.

37. It builds self-reliance.

38. It diversifies the amount of people who can make life-changing decisions for

you.

If you have one boss that can ruin your life, you’re in an

extremely fragile position.

39. It reconnects you with the your ancient ancestors: if you can’t swim, you

sink. This makes life sharper.

What you do matters. You realize that life isn’t as safe as it seems so you

prepare yourself for anything.

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40. It makes you passionate.

I challenge you to find a bored entrepreneur. You won’t.

41. It creates opportunities you could never have discovered before.

Even taking the first step opens you up to possibilities that didn’t exist

before.Opportunities emerge as you push on.

42. It kills any excuses you might make.

43. Machines can’t do it – so you’re safe from artificial intelligence.

Maybe you think I’ve been exaggerating this whole “machine economy” thing. I’m

not. Software is replacing journalists and, soon enough, taxi drivers and truckers

will be replaced by self-driving autos. This isn’t sci-fi, it’s real life. One of the few

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things that computers will never be able to do is start a business and market

product.

44. More businesses are being started every year… you’re getting left behind.

There are 28 million small businesses in the US, 22 million of these are self-

employed. You’re still fairly early on the curve here… but every day more are

taking the leap and making it tougher for you. The best time to start is now.  

45. You will learn skills that are applicable everywhere:

46. …like sales, and we’re always selling someone on something…

47. …and basic finance, which we all know we should be better at anyway…

48. …and a basic sense of design…

49. …and communication skills…

50. …and basically everything else.

51. A business can often give you a good reason to do things you’ve been

wanting to do forever. (Like going to China.)

52. If your business is successful, you can afford to support your family while still

spending time with them.

53. You will feel more alive.

And, isn’t that the point of it all?

“People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life. I don’t think that’s

what we’re really seeking. I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of

being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have

resonances with our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the

rapture of being alive.” – Joseph Campbell

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54. You no longer have an incompetent boss (although escaping incompetent

customers may be impossible).

Okay, maybe you still have to deal with a shitty boss for a while. But at least

you’re on a path where you can see the light!

55. It’s a harder life (and that’s a good thing).

We can’t avoid struggle, but we can choose what kind of struggle we endure. Do

we make the easy choice and suffer from over-comfort, over-eating, over-luxury?

Or do we make the hard choice and struggle to become better?

56. It makes decisions easier: Is this good for my business? 

57. It makes you less self-conscious.

The business comes before you, so you are more afraid of it failing than getting

embarrassed. This allows you to be bold in ways you never thought you could be.

58. You begin to create culture.

Entrepreneurs participate in culture even more than actors and artists.

59. Being soft stops being an option.

Weakness isn’t an option. You become hardened in the face of necessity.

60. It’s the closest thing you have to waging war.

Maybe it’s just me, but I love the rush of going into battle without actually risking

my life. Business is one of the best places to accomplish this.

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61. It brings out the strongest parts of you.

You will be called on to do what you didn’t think you could do. And, to your own

amazement, you’ll do it!

62. It makes you face failure.

You will fail. Pushing through that will be a great reward.

63. It will make your family proud.

64. It will force your relationship to get closer (or otherwise break).

It will put a special strain on your relationship. Sometimes it breaks, sometimes it

becomes stronger. Like your family, she/he will be proud of you.

65. The world is in chaos – which means there are tons of opportunities to

create your business.

While others struggle you will thrive because you have become trained to see

opportunities in what appears to others to be loss.

66. Do more good.

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Entrepreneurship is literally the art of making as many lives better as possible

while getting paid for it. You don’t succeed as an entrepreneur until you’ve made

lives better.

67. You have infinite earning potentially.

There is no earning ceiling placed above you.

68. Your choices matter.

The decisions you make have consequences larger than before. You’re the one

behind the wheel. You’re responsible, not your boss.

69. You get to wear multiple hats.

It’s fun to be able to jump from one thing to another. Instead of a monotonous

routine…

70. …it’s an adventure!

71. Fulfill wishes.

Entrepreneurs find what people wish they had and then try to make those wishes

a reality. (Or create something they didn’t even know they wished for!) Instead of

complaining about lack you create possibilities.

72. You can start as small as you want.

Most successful entrepreneurs dedicate their lives to their businesses. You don’t

need to jump there yet. It’s not all-or-nothing. You can put up a website and start

selling your products today.

73. Entrepreneurship will grow your vision muscle.

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Most of us have had our dreams beaten out of us. Either by “realists” or just by

hard experiences. Entrepreneurs are forced to push forward to keep the boat

from sinking. Over time, their capacity for envisioning great possibilities grows.

74. Prove that you can do it.

If you’re really not interested, fine. If you’re reading this you have at least an itch,

though. You don’t want to be on your deathbed regretting that you never did what

you wanted to do. Use death as a motivator to push past the fears of failing and

uncertainty.

75. You will become more human.

76. Your responsibility to society.

Entrepreneurs survive because they are constantly looking for ways to better

serve their communities and the world.

77. Knowing that what you do matters.

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Everything you do will affect your business. This adds a sense of importance to

your life that you just can’t get working for a large company.

78. A sense of accomplishment.

Knowing that you created something from nothing provides a powerful sense of

achievement.

79. You can work from anywhere.

This is specific to online businesses… which is where a ton of entrepreneurs are

headed. You don’t need to report to the same cubicle every day. You can cycle

through the coffee shops in town or go work on the beach…

80. You don’t need a ton of money for advertising.

You can create your own content marketing campaign or you can run a Google

AdWords adwords campaign for $100.

81. You must continuously get better.

There is no self-development program as brutal as entrepreneurship.

82. You can work in your undies if you want.

(But you might do better work wearing a shirt.)

83. You have a better understanding of money.

You will start to be disgusted when you see money wasted. You’ll think of how

you could have invested it to grow your business. You begin to see money for

what it is: a tool.

84. You will be an inspiration for others.

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When you become an entrepreneur it creates that possibility for many others who

see you doing it.

85. You’ll be forced to turn pro.

There is nothing that will more quickly transform you from an amateur into a pro.

(Or from a boy to a man.)

86. Builds assertiveness.

The entrepreneur has to ask for the sale. He has to go after clients. He can’t sit

back, waiting and praying that someone will find him and decide to give him

money.

87. Builds empathy.

In order for you to sell effectively, you’ll need to understand the needs and wants

of others.

88. You will become an expert.

Both in business and whatever industry you’re in. An entrepreneur needs to know

the ins and outs of the world he’s dealing with. It feels great to be competent…

and you’ll need to be more than competent.

89. You’ll get tougher.

Negotiations, competition, and long hours will test your mettle.

90. You will be forced to get organized.

(Not everyone… but most.)

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[Note: the following are quotes that are powerfully entrepreneurial, even if they

weren't made by "entrepreneurs".]

91. “Chase the vision, not the money; the money will end up following you.”  –

Tony Hsieh, Zappos CEO

92. “Don’t worry about failure; you only have to be right once.”  –Drew

Houston, Dropbox Co-Founder and CEO

93. “Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard.”  –Guy Kawasaki, Alltop Co-Founder

and Entrepreneur

94. “Any time is a good time to start a company.”  –Ron Conway, Noted Startup

Investor, SV Angel

95. “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” –Wayne

Gretzy, Hockey Star

96. “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”  –Winston Churchill, British Prime

Minister

97. “Ideas are commodity. Execution of them is not.”  –Michael Dell, Dell

Chairman and CEO

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98. “I knew that if I failed I wouldn’t regret that, but I knew the one thing I

might regret is not trying.”  –Jeff Bezos, Amazon Founder and CEO

99. “If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve

launched too late.”  –Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn Co-Founder and Venture Capitalist

100. “The way to get started is to quit talking and start doing.”  –Walt Disney, Co-

Founder, Disney

101. “Projections are just bullshit. They’re just guesses.”  –Jason Fried, Founder,

37Signals

102. “User experience is everything. It always has been, but it’s undervalued and

underinvested in. If you don’t know user-centered design, study it. Hire people

who know it. Obsess over it. Live and breathe it. Get your whole company on

board.”  –Evan Williams, Co-Founder, Twitter

103. “As long as you’re going to be thinking anyway, think big.”  –Donald Trump,

The Trump Organization President

104. “You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing and

falling over.”  –Richard Branson, Virgin Group Founder

105. “Don’t be afraid to assert yourself, have confidence in your abilities,

and don’t let the bastards get you down.”  –Michael Bloomberg, Former

Mayor of New York and Founder of Bloomberg L.P.

106. “I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful

entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.”  –Steve

Jobs, Co-Founder and CEO, Apple

107. “All of my friends were doing babysitting jobs. I wanted money without the

job.” – Adam Horwitz

108. “Be undeniably good. No marketing effort or social media buzzword can be

a substitute for that.” —Anthony Volodkin, Hype Machine founder

109. “Money is like gasoline during a road trip. You don’t want to run out of

gas on your trip, but you’re not doing a tour of gas stations.” —Tim

O’Reilly, O’Reilly Media founder and CEO

110. “Don’t worry about people stealing your design work. Worry about the

day they stop.” —Jeffrey Zeldman, A List Apart Publisher

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111. “The most dangerous poison is the feeling of achievement. The antidote is

to every evening think what can be done better tomorrow.” —Ingvar Kamprad,

IKEA founder

_

There you have it.

111 reasons.

If I haven’t convinced you, let me know in the comments and I’ll try again.

If you have another reason, let me know in the comments.