According to the latest information posted by the Wall Street Journal, entrepreneurialism among US citizens are up from 10% ten years ago to 16% today so, why is it still the thinking of most people that starting a business is a risky venture when self-employment is up by 6%?
Many more people are jumping ship from the corporate day job to the side gig opportunities like Uber drivers, Airbnb renters, and Etsy online marketing because there is money to be made in these areas of on-demand and ECommerce businesses. People are finding that these new ways of doing business are much easier to get involved with and find the self-employment spirit because the platform has been laid and the new quasi-self-employed status becomes plug-and-play. Just download the app and you’re in business!
I really like the side gig thing that people are doing with this way of business because even though, it’s really not a business that you are the founder of or the inheritor of, you are still working on a self-severing model of making a living. This is good news for the want-to-be entrepreneur that doesn’t want to risk vastly to start working for themselves, just yet. Even a franchise type business has risk and high startup cost even though the template for the business is already established but the new side gig and on-demand work space could become a catalyst for a new authentic entrepreneurial movement.
Take for instance an Uber driver discovers a new kind of sub-service for the ride hailing sector that improves their riders experience or the Airbnb renter discovers a new way to serve the customer’s needs in this area. Just getting out and trying to create a living for yourself by doing something for yourself can start to generate new ideas and new businesses. I only had a fraction of the business ideas when I worked in the corporate world as I do now that I’m an entrepreneur. Getting out and moving on ideas is considered action, action creates value and value creates a need even if the action you are taking is piggybacked on someone else’s ideas like Uber, Lyft, Etsy, and Airbnb.
The soon-to-be entrepreneur is doing something to improve their situation every single day. From saving money for startup to side gigging app based business at night and on the weekends. My advice to any pre-entrepreneur that wants to hit it big and do very well is while working to improve your situation, look for a way (or ways) to improve someone else’s situation. New entrepreneurs tend to forget that creating impact and value for others is paramount in the world of business. I’m almost sure they are not teaching this in business school with any real effectiveness so consider the fact that you are now probably more qualified to start a startup than most MBA’s these days!
“If you can find a way to improve just one person’s life without thinking about the money you will make from it, without serving yourself first and demonstrating what you will give up in return to provide that value, you will be well on your way to untold wealth!”
That should be the working and living motto of every business school in America but it can be the working motto of your future empire! Take that motto and run with it. I just came up with it as I was writing this post and it’s my gift to you at no cost, if you want it!
Daniel J Bockman
