Why Do We Leap, When We Know It’s a Long Fall?
So, you’re thinking about taking the plunge, and starting your own business. Or, maybe you have already started your own business, and are now working full-steam-ahead to make your company profitable and distinctly different from your competitors.
Perhaps you’ve read a book or two on the subject of entrepreneurialism. Possibly you have descended from a long-line of business owners, and you now desire to be your own boss, set your own wage, and take absolute control of your future.
But, wait.
Did anyone tell you that it was going to be hard? Was there a skeptic amidst the supporters who told you, “Go ahead, start your own business, but you know, over 50% of small businesses fail in the first year and 95% fail within the first five years.” To them, you scoffed. But, heed the naysayer’s warning, for it is the bumps in the road that makes the entrepreneur’s journey both exhilarating and difficult.
Six months ago, I was employed by a large Aerospace corporation in Southern California, raking in a whopping $57,100 per year, miserably disengaged from my life. You see, I had gone to college, like many others, to study a major that pleased my parents and would inevitably define me as a “successful person.”
Eventually (it took two years of being an employee), my entrepreneurial spirit broke out, and I quit my engineering job. I decided to pursue my dreams of freelance writing, and formed a sole proprietorship. Here stood the greatest risk that I had ever faced—one that would be marked by seemingly insurmountable obstacles, promising opportunities, and countless deep breaths.
So, I did indeed have naysayers in my life that were skeptical of my endeavors and surely caused my anxiety level to rise, but to them I say, “Pah!” For it is the strong-willed and the tough-skinned who succeed in being entrepreneurs; as we are the risk takers, the dreamers, and the innovators. With every mistake we learn; and with every win, we accelerate. Our raw desire for excellence is the inertia that propels us, for we are young entrepreneurs, breaking barriers with every step we take.
4 Comments
David Askaripour
August 7th, 2006 at 11:56 pm
Monica, I know exactly what you have been (are going) through. I’ve had my share of quiting jobs in order to fulfill my entrepreneurial dreams full time. It’s definitely tough, scary, and extremely stressful — I won’t lie and say that it isn’t. But in the long-run, the risks we take today will have huge impacts on our futures as successful entrepreneurs when many people are still living lives that they really hate and despise. I tip my hat to you.
Adam
August 8th, 2006 at 9:07 am
Monica, great post - you sound EXACTLY like me. I was working as an engineer at age 22 making over 50K but I wasn’t happy so I left to run my own biz.
People have no idea how tough it really is, but they also have no clue how rewarding it can be. From the tiny bit of success I’ve tasted thus far it makes all the stress, hard work, and sacrifice worth it.
You are obviously a very good writer so I’m sure success will find you.
Monica Bowers
August 15th, 2006 at 5:54 pm
Thanks Adam, for the comment. Many people I know balk at the idea of an engineer doing anything besides calculus and programming. It’s nice to hear that other ex-engineers are making their way in the world by expanding their other talents.
Monica Bowers
August 15th, 2006 at 5:56 pm
David, for those people in the world who are living lives that they hate and despise, I recommend that they do the thing in life that they are most afraid of failing at. And if they fail, so what? At least they tried. Thanks for the comment.
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