Anyone can become an entrepreneur. I’m not kidding, it’s true. It’s an electrifying time to be alive in the world today. More and more people are making breaking free of the corporate chains every day. There are more people becoming entrepreneurs today than at any other time in human history. Doesn’t that just get you jacked up?
Entrepreneur and Technology
With the speed of advancement in science, technology, and the internet, it’s become much easier to become an entrepreneur than it was even 5 years ago. There are internet entrepreneurs, who started out with an initial investment of $10 for a domain name, making millions of dollars every year. You don’t have to grind away for endless hours trying to save enough cash to bootstrap your business, you can do it all for the cost of domain and hosting fees. You don’t have to go beg at the bank or get on your hands and knees in front of a venture capitalist, you can get crowdfunding. You don’t have to know everything about business and entrepreneurship when you are starting, you have the entrepreneurship blogs. The barriers to entry to becoming an entrepreneur are so low now that it’s actually a viable career option.
“But I don’t know anything about becoming an entrepreneur. Besides, you can’t learn to be an entrepreneur, it’s just something you are or you’re not.” I hear this all the time, and to be quite honest, it’s absolute nonsense. Entrepreneurship can absolutely be taught. The key with learning anything though, is application. Application is essential when learning to become an entrepreneur. “But what if I screw up and fail?” So what if you screw up and fail! At least you would have tried! You can always try again. Bruce Lee said, “Don’t fear failure.” Not failure, but low aim, is the crime. In great attempts it is glorious even to fail.” If you’re not starting a business because you’re afraid to fail think of this: What if you get laid off and can’t find another job for a year. Placing your faith in someone else to provide you with income is a lot scarier to me than controlling my own income. If I fail, I’ll just start over. Remember, failure can elicit a great deal of wisdom. Not the least of which is how much more enjoyable it is to win.
In my estimation, over the last 5 years, small business owners have employed approximately 10 percent of all people working in North America. Virtually all new jobs created in the last year have been a result of small business employing more people. Entrepreneurs drive the economy. They are the sparkplug that gets the economic engine of the world moving. Don’t you want to be included in the exclusive club of people that drive the world economy? Think about this for a second; none of the modern luxuries that we enjoy (electricity, the telephone, the internet, etc.) would exist were it not for entrepreneurs. More people are becoming millionaires today than ever before. I think it’s important to remember that entrepreneurs like Thomas Edison, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Richard Branson started out where you are today, just someone with an idea. If they can do it, why can’t you?
Mark runs My Young Entrepreneur, Where Young Entrepreneurs Learn to Kick Ass. Mark is a graduate student and youth entrepreneurship advocate. When he’s not studying, he’s reading, writing, and speaking on the topic of youth entrepreneurship. My Young Entrepreneur is dedicated to helping young entrepreneurs learn all they need to know to kick ass in the business world.
