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Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy

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Re: Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy

#81

Post by rday »

BjoernKW wrote: post #74
mtberatwork wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Or you can start a consultancy, very classic business, low risk. Low risk? Consultancy/freelance businesses are very high risk. Easy to start, very difficult to maintain.

I can't imagine a lot of businesses that come with lower risk attached than consulting: You don't need equity. Profit margins are high. Depending on your particular expertise your services will be in demand for years to come (anything software-related). If you do it right you can work for several clients at the same time. At least you can always have a full sales pipeline so losing a contract won't be an end-of-the-w…

I would love to see your consulting model. You speak as if keeping a full sales pipeline while making multiple clients happy is a simple thing.

I'll agree that a single person consultancy is 0 risk. I can accept a job offer tomorrow and stop accepting new clients.

But growing your consultancy is just as risky as any other business, if not more so. You don't have a wide range of low paying clients, like a SaaS model. You have a few high paying clients. Any one of them leaving (or not paying) directly affects you and your employees.

I live in Washington DC, so I see this constantly. A large government contractor loses a re-bid on a contract, and they fire the team that was working on it. Fire them!

Not speaking for anyone else, but having to fire people every time a contract goes away sounds risky to me.

Re: Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy

#82

Post by [deleted] »

mgkimsal wrote: post #40
cm2187 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was at university (a few years ago but not that long ago), the majority of the other students only had one idea in mind, becoming a civil servant, doing 9 to 5, job for life, no pressure, lots of holidays and free time to do other things, and early retirement (I am not even kidding, 20yo students looking forward to retirement). Working hard, creating jobs, professional success clearly wasn't on the list. I'd r…

The people I know that have fallen in to the "entrepreneurship porn" trap all focus on the "no pressure, free time to other things, early retirement" based on the millions they'll earn. No one who's really fallen hard ("we're gonna be the next Facebook") is heading in that direction because they're interested in "creating jobs". And... they may say "working hard" but often the real hard stuff comes up... they fold an…

[deleted]

Re: Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy

#83

Post by beachstartup »

bobby_9x wrote: post #61

"Money won’t make you happy" I disagree with this. I've been running my own company for a little over 5 years. Not having to worry about my rent and being able to live a comfortable lifestyle has made me really happy. If I made $100 million and didn't ever have to worry about money again, I definitely would be happier. It's the peace of mind that I'm working toward. But, the money isn't the main thing that makes me h…

the same exact lessons can be applied to any long-term goal such as fitness / weight loss. some people "get it", others just don't.

Re: Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy

#84

Post by SeanDav »

FLUX-YOU wrote: post #69
SeanDav wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "But how do we know if it is in our blood? That is probably the hardest part" I would say if you have to ask that question of yourself, then the answer is self evident.

That's just setting someone up to fool themselves or others. Really you need competent peers to tell you.

I have known a few entrepreneurs and invariably they showed they were such by their behaviour, attitude and approach. They did not need someone to tell them or need to stop and ask "Am I an entrepreneur?", they just got on with being one. The same applies to a cartoonist, or comedian etc. Often in fact these people do it despite advice from competent people and even their loved ones. Advice like: "What, why give up your place at an ivy league university to go open a car wash, that is just crazy!".

Re: Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy

#85

Post by rmellow »

logingone wrote: post #49
SFjulie1 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not alone Made my startup worked hard. Got contracts. Customers forgot to pay. It sucked. And in my country it was normal. It was not Africa. It was France. Big corporations do whatever the fuck want even if it is illegal. Trades dispute are regulated by "peers" tribunal dating from middle age that are crooked. And newspapers, teachers and politics that never had a job were pointing fingers randomly at problems.

There's been something related in the UK recently - Tesco not paying their suppliers. "...dating from middle age..." I've been noticing increasingly, while technology is buzzing ahead, just how many mechanisms and interactions in society are unbelievably outdated. Is this what sociologists are supposed to be advancing? What are they doing?

They are too busy with the low hanging fruit of demanding political correctness.

Re: Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy

#86

Post by jclos »

cm2187 wrote: post #27
borplk wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

can you elaborate on that?

When I was at university (a few years ago but not that long ago), the majority of the other students only had one idea in mind, becoming a civil servant, doing 9 to 5, job for life, no pressure, lots of holidays and free time to do other things, and early retirement (I am not even kidding, 20yo students looking forward to retirement). Working hard, creating jobs, professional success clearly wasn't on the list. I'd r…

You make it sound like having different life objectives than you is a shameful thing. What is wrong with some people preferring to invest in time rather than this (very personal) notion of professional success because it makes them happier?

Re: Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy

#87

Post by rmellow »

padobson wrote: post #9

2. You don’t need to be Facebook This should be number one - or even just the whole article. Any startup, or a career in general, should not be an end unto itself, but a vehicle to A) fulfill your basic needs and B) get you what you want. While I believe entrepreneurship is often the best way to get both of these, shooting to be the next Facebook is unnecessary. You could keep that corporate job, build your credit, a…

"9 out of 10 startups fail"

I don't expect accuracy on this statistic, but everytime I hear it I wonder how many of those were prepared to run any sort of business. Execution matters, but aside from that, perhaps the hypothesis many of them were validating was not sound at all. I realise most of these concepts, especially what constitutes an insane hypothesis is in the eye of the beholder, but it's definitely relevant if one seeks to use the "9/10 startups fail" as a measure of risk.

Re: Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy

#88

Post by lettergram »

rday wrote: post #78
jerguismi wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What kind of risk do you mean? At least you don't need capital.

I've been running my "consultancy" for over 5 years. Roughly 15% of my annual revenue is lost to non-payment. Customers pay late all the time . Literally. I've never had an invoice paid on time. Customers cancel projects right before they start, or pause projects half way through to focus on other areas. Due to these situations, I try to always have 3 months of salary in the bank. I never do, but I try. If you are pa…

Have them put money in an escrow account. I have done freelance work since I was a kid and one thing I've always done was ask for money upfront, maybe not in my hands, but held by a 3rd party. Losses of 15% seem a bit high too me.

Writing software for someone else is kind of like painting a scene from someone's dream. There is a good chance you wont hit 100% of what they were looking for, and your goal is to make them just happy enough to pay you. If they part with their money already, they are much more likely to accept what you give them, than if they haven't already bought it.

Re: Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy

#89

Post by ommunist »

bobby_9x wrote: post #61

"Money won’t make you happy" I disagree with this. I've been running my own company for a little over 5 years. Not having to worry about my rent and being able to live a comfortable lifestyle has made me really happy. If I made $100 million and didn't ever have to worry about money again, I definitely would be happier. It's the peace of mind that I'm working toward. But, the money isn't the main thing that makes me h…

Not everyone can run the business. I tried, and I can say I do not have enough guts to do do that hard things you should do sometimes. Like breaking promises, firing nice, but toxic to your business people, and many more unpleasant stunts.

Re: Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy

#90

Post by kazinator »

bobby_9x wrote: post #61

"Money won’t make you happy" I disagree with this. I've been running my own company for a little over 5 years. Not having to worry about my rent and being able to live a comfortable lifestyle has made me really happy. If I made $100 million and didn't ever have to worry about money again, I definitely would be happier. It's the peace of mind that I'm working toward. But, the money isn't the main thing that makes me h…

"Money won't make you happy" is someone's naive, illogical reversal of the underlying, relevant truth: Lack of money will make you fucking miserable.

Sure, just because luck of money will make you fucking miserable doesn't mean that the abundance of money will solve all your problems and make you happy. However, that is largely irrelevant because most people don't even have that "problem". Someone could hear that silly adage thousands of times throughout his life, and never find out first-hand whether it is true. Proverbs and adages should have broad applicability.

The saying "money won't buy you happiness" (and its various other versions) has a purpose: it expresses a kind of exasperated defeatism over not having money and trying to be content anyway. It's a version of the human behavior which is exposed in that true piece of wisdom known as the Sour Grapes Fable. The fox cannot reach the grapes, so they are declared sour (i..e If I did reach those grapes, it wouldn't make me happy, because they are sour! We just have to identify the struggle for grapes with money. Most of the time this "cannot buy happiness" adage is not only heard by those who will never experience first-hand whether it is true, but also uttered by those in the same boat.

There is a universal truth in it and it is that there exists a human predicament of not being satisified with what one has. It's not always possessions. Someone who has lots of possessions might be dissatisfied with something else in their life, and not necessarily the quantity of stuff. Perhaps he or she seeks to be more learned or skilled in something, or to have a different personality. Or to make some mark in the world other than being remembered as someone who had lots of stuff. I can tell you that if you have more money you will be happier in a sense, but you will still strive to achieve some other satisfactions.

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