In recent conferences, seminars, and meet up gatherings I’ve heard the common phrase, “you have to be crazy to be an entrepreneur.”
I think that is an understatement.
Just as a sports announcer once said ” the word concussion, when it comes sports injury, is too nice. Lets remember what it really is. Your brain moves. Its more serious than that word does it justice.”
When I hear ” you have to be crazy to be an entrepreneur ” I think, what does that really mean? From my perspective is means:
In order to be an entrepreneur you have to have a complete disregard for what people consider a normal lifestyle.
You give up your freedom in order to find…freedom. A serious entrepreneur has burned the bridge that leads back to employeeland. You will inevitably miss birthday parties, engagement festivities, weddings, baby showers, Bar Mitzvah, and Thanksgiving dinner. Why? You’re an entrepreneur! It is because you have a couple of screws loose, you just know that what you are doing is the right thing for you. Your vision of the future is at times the only thing that keeps you going. Crazy, yes. Insane…precisely by definition.
So when I think of crazy I think of the 12 hour working marathons I know all entrepreneurs go through. What happens after the 12th hour? You order a hamburger and you watch videos online just so that you feel conscious of the fact that you’re not wasting time. As a business owner you question the need for three square meals a day. While most live to eat you eat just so that you won’t have a headache and well… die. There is burning desire to succeed and accomplish your goal. You will stop at nothing and will spare anything that is near to your heart to arrive at your destination. Everyday breeds a new opportunity to meet a new person in your network who you can work with and join forces. Many painstakingly go after solid contacts that will lead to successful relationships where both parities have each others back. Because as crazy as you are, you will surely have moments of doubt. This is when someone equally as nuts as you helps you push the status quo.
A great post by the great Allan T Young: THE START-UP MYTH. We all should be fighting for reaching scale and building value.
Often times when money runs out and different directions seem endless, it is the comradery amongst your fellow entrepreneur that often gets you through tough times. Also, there is a handsome group of people who have actually seen the light of which many dream about. It is a lovely, bright and shining light of strong exits, steady incremental growth, a P/L ratio you can be proud of, and a freedom that rings throughout your day. It is the type of light that wakes you up in the morning and allows you to reflect on how grateful you are for everything in your life. You’re thankful for the family, of which you have no idea why they are still around, the friends, and the foundation to live the life you dream of. This light reflects your unreasonable desire to always keep going and to hurdle over anything that is in your way. It is that light that will get you through the day, the meeting, the networking event, the business plan writing stage, the funding of your company, the bitter arguements, the ” I want my money back ” calls from clients, the ” why did I hire that person ” thought, the doubt and the despair. It’s that light that will help you enjoy the successful re-write of your executive summary, the well designed 10 page deck, a successful cold call closing ratio going from 2 out of 10 to 4 out of 10, the moment in which you realize your plan has come together beautifully, the second a prototype gets overnighted to you from China, the 8 referrals you got from a client because of the quality service you provided, the holiday season gifts you get from a customer of 10 years, and the high mountain and high profile mega deals that took 18 months to close.
So when you are about to utter the words ” you have to be crazy to be an entrepreneur ” have a little bit more respect. Crazy doesn’t even begin to explain it.
