I’m a risk taker. I’m a rush junkie. If I’ve got a great commercial idea, I don’t want to share it. What about you? Entrepreneurship is all about project management.
What is your risk sensitivity? Are you risk taking, risk sensitive, or risk averse? If you like to take risks, one option is go out on your own. If you have a good track record, chances are you’ll attract investment like flowers attract bees.
What percentage of American households includes someone who has started, tried to start, or helped fund a small business? One percent, five, or even ten percent? Well guess again! Thirty-seven percent, more than one-third, of American households are involved with some form of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs were once considered folks who couldn’t work in a big company because they were seen as business misfits, even a little disreputable.
Well, how things have changed! Many start-ups are now big companies who are dusting old, in-bred organizations. Small business people morphed into entrepreneurs, the makers of companies, the adders of value, the employers of people, and the actualizers of dreams. They’re now our business icons.
Small business is not for the weak of heart. Up to half of small businesses don’t make it past two years. Joseph Schumpeter, the economist called the process ‘creative destruction.’ Ideas for new products and services develop, companies form, they grow, products are altered or new products are developed, and the company morphs again.
Life Lesson Earned: I’ve started a number of small businesses. Some tanked, others broke even, and one or two actually made money. This is after years of very hard work – many 80-hour weeks and little pay. Would I do it again? You bet, in a heartbeat – no in a nanosecond! Why? It’s in my DNA. I’m a risk taker. I love the freedom to fail or succeed. I love the rush of doing my own thing.