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Entrepreneurs anonymous

economist.com

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Re: Entrepreneurs anonymous

#51

Post by maaku »

jcavin wrote: post #49

I really like the part of the article that talks about taking breaks. Entrepreneurs = work hard. I am a big believer in working on nights when others are having a good time, but you got to take care of yourself. Burning out only slows you down ultimately. I like to surround myself with family and activities I love to recharge my battery. Often when I come back to working on my project the creative ideas come flowing…

> Entrepreneurs = work hard

Not if you're picking your battles, planning ahead, and executing right.

[I assume you mean "work late". There's nothing wrong with working hard, 9-5, 5 days a week.]

The entrepreneur is the responsible one that will work hard and work late when he has to. The trick is never having to.

Re: Entrepreneurs anonymous

#52

Post by jarnold »

sumedh wrote: post #44
throwaway8137 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I shouldn't have mentioned this. I was trying to be as honest as possible with myself, and that is one of the images that comes up. But what I really meant was financial independence (working only when I want to). I have a family, so I can't save every penny, I am already payed at the higher end of market rate and I could never ever work in corporate job.

> I have a family Its going to be 10x harder for you, if you have a family. Why dont you start working on weekends/spare time on your idea, if you get some traction then you can think about quitting your job.

I wholeheartedly disagree. A much more important factor is how ready you are and what kind of support structure you have to start out with. If that is later in a career (and when you have a family) so be it. It's the right time.

Founded current company with two young kids and just had a third. Pulling together the right team way more of a factor than having a family.

Re: Entrepreneurs anonymous

#53

Post by vldx »

porter wrote: post #4

I used to encourage everyone I know to quit their job and start a company. Now, after having done just that, I no longer recommend this path. Not because I regret doing it. In fact, I think it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. But the road is, as the article says, about as romantic as "chewing glass." Sure, there are wonderful days when things are working even better than I had planned. But then there are…

In this context, I find Charles Bukowski's poem [1] "Roll the Dice" resonating. I love to re-read it over again from time to time and remind myself that it's a long-term plan and a massive grind.

[1] Roll the Dice - https://vimeo.com/78472610

if you’re going to try, go all the way. otherwise, don’t even start.

if you’re going to try, go all the way. this could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives, jobs and maybe your mind.

go all the way. it could mean not eating for 3 or 4 days. it could mean freezing on a park bench. it could mean jail, it could mean derision, mockery, isolation. isolation is the gift, all the others are a test of your endurance, of how much you really want to do it. and you’ll do it despite rejection and the worst odds and it will be better than anything else you can imagine.

if you’re going to try, go all the way. there is no other feeling like that. you will be alone with the gods and the nights will flame with fire.

do it, do it, do it. do it.

all the way all the way.

you will ride life straight to perfect laughter, its the only good fight there is.

Re: Entrepreneurs anonymous

#54

Post by WWKong »

porter wrote: post #4

I used to encourage everyone I know to quit their job and start a company. Now, after having done just that, I no longer recommend this path. Not because I regret doing it. In fact, I think it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. But the road is, as the article says, about as romantic as "chewing glass." Sure, there are wonderful days when things are working even better than I had planned. But then there are…

"And yet, there's an amazing satisfaction that comes from entrepreneurship that you just can't get by working for someone else.".

Are you sure about this? For everyone? How?

Re: Entrepreneurs anonymous

#55

Post by cageface »

maaku wrote: post #48
cageface wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The thing I've learned from trying to be independent for four years is that you always have to answer to someone. Whether it's a boss or customers or business partners or the platform provider you depend on you are never truly "free".

I don't buy this. As CEO you have the right to say "You know what Big Important Customer? You're a dick and I don't want to do business with you." That is a strategically stupid thing to do. You may not ever actually do it. But being able to do that without having to answer to anyone but yourself is enough. There's a very real psychological difference.

How is this any different from telling your boss to go fuck him/herself? Many small businesses depend on one or two big clients for their livelihood.

Re: Entrepreneurs anonymous

#56

Post by cageface »

graeme wrote: post #30
throwaway8137 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do a short interview with them to understand their motivation. Could you please try me? I have a good job as a software engineer at a successful start up. I am introvert and somewhat shy (although less then I used to be). I don't think many people could imagine me as a CEO. Nonetheless here are the reasons I want to start a company: - I want to do something meaningful. I don't mean curing cancer, but having small,…

None of these sound like great reasons. I'm four years into starting a business. Here was my motivation: * A burning desire not to work for anyone else. * A desire, not to retire, but to free up time for all the other things I want to do. Chiefly learning. It is impossible to to convey, in writing, how badly I wanted these things. I had had a small taste of the working world, and couldn't bear the thought of it. I wa…

A burning desire not to work for anyone else.

Thing is, you're always working for someone else. A boss, a customer, an investor etc.

As far as I'm concerned the only really good reason to do your own thing is that you get to choose what to work on, provided what you want to work on is actually financially viable.

Re: Entrepreneurs anonymous

#57

Post by [deleted] »

ChrisNorstrom wrote: post #34
thegenius wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It wasn't so simple for me to tell myself that and feel better as I wish it were. For example, one of the people who won't speak to me anymore is a family member who was my biggest hero growing up and the reason why I got into computer programming. I was very angry that he stopped talking to me, and he gave me all sorts of excuses as to why, but his criticisms told the truth of what was really bothering him. Over tim…

Please, please please write more of this. This is one of the most fascinating things I've read. I've never heard anyone talk about this aspect of success before.

[deleted]

Re: Entrepreneurs anonymous

#58

Post by throwitzawayz »

rdlecler1 wrote: post #41

We suffer from strong survivor bias. Each day CrunchBase sends me a list of companies, most that I've never heard of and many that I can't understand how they're being backed, and it reinforces the idea that you can go out and build a great product and VCs will rain money down on you on your path to success. However these are the exceptions that prove the rule. Some advice from someone in the trenches. First, assume…

Entrepreneurship is hard and I know it from experience, but have you ever taken care of someone 24 hours a day? An alzheimers patient or a developmentally disabled child?

My dad has AD and I'm his primary caregiver and compared to caregiving, entrepreneurship with all its pain is literally a fucking joy. Happiest part of my day even when making $0. I've failed at entprenreurship badly for a 2+ years but psychologically I have none of the pain associated with it because I know how much harder life can be.

Don't get me wrong, if I had the chance I would walk away from both but once you've experienced the toll of careigvng, you quit complaining about how hard entrepreneurship is.

I sometimes think that all wannabe entrepreneurs should work as a fulltime caregiver at an old age home or childrens ward at a hospital for 2 weeks. It would lessen the "pain" of entrepreneurship 10 fold.

That would reframe a lot of the pain away and help you focus on what needs to be done to market/sell a product and build it.

The truth is that the "pain" is 100% psychological and most children bought up in middle class and above families have never experienced what it means to have nothing.

Entrepreneurs who have grown up poor don't even understand what I'm talking about when I try to explain this concept.

So volunteer in the peace corps and it'll take away 100% of the pain of entrepreneurship and help you focus on executing.

Re: Entrepreneurs anonymous

#59

Post by tonyedgecombe »

ggreer wrote: post #29
thegenius wrote: post #21

The hardest thing about entrepreneurial success for me personally is the envy it has generated. I wasn't prepared for it. When I first started seeing results in my business, I quit my job and was able to spend a lot of time doing whatever I wanted. My wife would post pictures of us constantly going on day trips and vacations. It pissed some important people in my life off, and they became very passive aggressive towa…

I'm sorry some of your relationships suffered due to your success. I doubt I've been as successful as you, but some people have reacted similarly in my life. I think it can help to view some forms of envy as a mental illness.[1] It's not your fault they're behaving that way, so don't take it personally. If these people are important to you, keep trying to reach out. They might come around eventually. 1. It's importan…

Is there a good form of envy?

Re: Entrepreneurs anonymous

#60

Post by thegenius »

ggreer wrote: post #29
thegenius wrote: post #21

The hardest thing about entrepreneurial success for me personally is the envy it has generated. I wasn't prepared for it. When I first started seeing results in my business, I quit my job and was able to spend a lot of time doing whatever I wanted. My wife would post pictures of us constantly going on day trips and vacations. It pissed some important people in my life off, and they became very passive aggressive towa…

I'm sorry some of your relationships suffered due to your success. I doubt I've been as successful as you, but some people have reacted similarly in my life. I think it can help to view some forms of envy as a mental illness.[1] It's not your fault they're behaving that way, so don't take it personally. If these people are important to you, keep trying to reach out. They might come around eventually. 1. It's importan…

I want to comment on this. While many people do envy Elon Musk, you're talking about the ones who admire him, and there is a big difference as you mention before that.

I don't know why I'm wired the way I am, but I'm just not susceptible to envy--at all. However, I hardly think that most people successful or otherwise are like me. In fact, I'd say a good bit of successful people are so because of their envy.

Envy is the worst of the 7 deadly sins. It's like Charlie Munger says, "It's the only deadly sin you're not going to have any fun with."

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