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Don't get an internship. Start a business.

sean-johnson.com

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Re: Don't get an internship. Start a business.

#11

Post by guylhem »

The article is spot on. I create a consultancy during my studies, in ... 2001!!

Best learning experience ever- tough times help make a tough mind, and the best part is after university cost and life cost, it even left a profit. My clients were satisfied, and kept coming back for more - which made me raise prices (market demand you know).

And what can I say about the referrals- that really make one feel proud, because it means you did a good job not only by your own standards, but also by the other person standard, enough than he feels like taking a risk and recommending you to friends & family.

Basically, internship is passive. Entrepreneurship is active.

If you want to be a salaryman, you should really do an internship.

If you don't, you know what you have to do.

Re: Don't get an internship. Start a business.

#12

Post by guylhem »

ank286 wrote: post #7
calinet6 wrote: post #5

Are you insane? Yeah, you'll learn by doing. You'll probably learn by failing. That's all well and good, you'll likely learn a lot. But you can learn this also by interning at an existing business, learning how they do things, learning what they do wrong and what they do right. You'll bask in the experience of people who have already done this, and from their partners and connections. If you want to learn from a star…

I couldn't get myself to click on the article. It just sounds like a bad idea. Industry experience is so valuable even as an entrepreneur. You learn about the efficiencies and inefficiencies of industry and it can only help you run your operation better.

Wrong. You learn even better when you figure things out by yourself.

It's called "outside of the box" thinking for a reason. If you join the box, it ain't outside the box.

Re: Don't get an internship. Start a business.

#13

Post by jonathanjaeger »

ank286 wrote: post #7
calinet6 wrote: post #5

Are you insane? Yeah, you'll learn by doing. You'll probably learn by failing. That's all well and good, you'll likely learn a lot. But you can learn this also by interning at an existing business, learning how they do things, learning what they do wrong and what they do right. You'll bask in the experience of people who have already done this, and from their partners and connections. If you want to learn from a star…

I couldn't get myself to click on the article. It just sounds like a bad idea. Industry experience is so valuable even as an entrepreneur. You learn about the efficiencies and inefficiencies of industry and it can only help you run your operation better.

Well.. it depends what business and what kind of internship. There's so much variance in people's experiences in internships it's so hard to just bucket everything under "internship".

Re: Don't get an internship. Start a business.

#14

Post by guylhem »

blt wrote: post #10

I feel bad for the people whose houses he painted. This guy probably did a shitty job. They're going to need to repaint sooner than they should. Guess we're supposed to be proud of him for swindling/pressuring people into buying a subpar service. Not to mention the employees who are lured into half-baked businesses and lose months of their lives to an incompetent "entrepreneur".

This says more about you than about the OP.

If you love to do a good job, and you find yourself without experience, you will spend more time on it, taking care about the details a professional will know to overlook.

Re: Don't get an internship. Start a business.

#15

Post by pavel_lishin »

guylhem wrote: post #12
ank286 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I couldn't get myself to click on the article. It just sounds like a bad idea. Industry experience is so valuable even as an entrepreneur. You learn about the efficiencies and inefficiencies of industry and it can only help you run your operation better.

Wrong. You learn even better when you figure things out by yourself. It's called "outside of the box" thinking for a reason. If you join the box, it ain't outside the box.

> Wrong. You learn even better when you figure things out by yourself.

Assuming you figure out the correct answer.

Re: Don't get an internship. Start a business.

#16

Post by jabbernotty »

smokinjoe wrote: post #9

I tried sub-contracting and I didn't know what I didn't know. It was a disaster. I didn't even have to worry about getting clients and I still didn't succeed or really take much away from the whole experience other than piles of stress.

Would you mind expanding on your experience? I would really appreciate it.

Re: Don't get an internship. Start a business.

#17

Post by gailees »

calinet6 wrote: post #5

Are you insane? Yeah, you'll learn by doing. You'll probably learn by failing. That's all well and good, you'll likely learn a lot. But you can learn this also by interning at an existing business, learning how they do things, learning what they do wrong and what they do right. You'll bask in the experience of people who have already done this, and from their partners and connections. If you want to learn from a star…

I think it really depends on what your aspirations are. If I want to become the best engineer, then industry experience is crucial; if I want to eventually become a successful entrepreneur in the B2C space, then I think the OP has an extremely valid point.

Re: Don't get an internship. Start a business.

#18

Post by jiggy2011 »

This seems to be the trendy advice to give to young people now, "go start a business straight out of college!".

But speaking as somebody who relatively recently set one up, this seems to ignore how expensive it can be to get even a simple business off the ground without someone willing to help bankroll you to begin with.

No, you don't need millions of dollars but you probably need at least a couple of thousand $ spare to cover your living expenses for a few months + whatever up front costs you need to fork out on.

You get problems like clients who pay very late, or for whatever reason try and not pay you at all. And since you're the new guy with no track record people don't want to give you much up front and know you're going to struggle to lawyer up so put you at the bottom of the payment list.

Not the sort of money who somebody who is likely without savings (and who probably also has debt) is likely to be able to spare.

Also the advantage of having a job before you go out on your own is that you already have some track record with a company people have (hopefully) heard of as well as more connections and hopefully knowledge that you have acquired on someone elses dime.

Re: Don't get an internship. Start a business.

#19

Post by MicahWedemeyer »

I've heard this expressed several different ways, like creating your own job or learning by jumping right in, and it always completely ignores the value of professional experience.

Internships and first jobs are all about learning the realities of the work world and building up your professional network. If you're trying to build a B2B SaaS app, it really helps when you understand at least one of those "B"s instead of just guessing.

There will always be anecdotes of "I started my first business at 14 and have been my own boss ever since" but my (anecdotal) experience shows that most successful entrepreneurs are people who leverage their professional experience and network in order to get their first customers, co-founders, and so forth.

Re: Don't get an internship. Start a business.

#20

Post by fumar »

ank286 wrote: post #7
calinet6 wrote: post #5

Are you insane? Yeah, you'll learn by doing. You'll probably learn by failing. That's all well and good, you'll likely learn a lot. But you can learn this also by interning at an existing business, learning how they do things, learning what they do wrong and what they do right. You'll bask in the experience of people who have already done this, and from their partners and connections. If you want to learn from a star…

I couldn't get myself to click on the article. It just sounds like a bad idea. Industry experience is so valuable even as an entrepreneur. You learn about the efficiencies and inefficiencies of industry and it can only help you run your operation better.

I think your right about learning,"efficiencies and inefficiencies of industry and it can only help you run your operation better."

I have had a couple of internships. One stood out as the best learning experience. It was great to learn sales/client relations. But, most internships focus on only on role.

This is were starting a your own business makes a difference. I co-run a dog treat business. I have learned more in a year than in school or interning.

I advocate doing both. During my internships, I am always asking "why." I am curious to learn why things work a certain way. Running my own business I tend to ask "how." How can I accomplish X task(s).

Obviously, there is crossover. But, I doubt I would have been able to get a business of the ground without some experience.

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