A Mogul To Be

What motivates one to become an entrepreneur?

December 4th, 2006 by Robert

Ever wonder what makes one decide to start their own business? There are several common threads that lead to entrepreneurship, from frustration to having fun to plain boredom. Do you fit into any of these categories? If so, maybe you are ready to start your own business!

Sure most people understand that owning their own business usually means working harder and longer hours, so what motivations are common?

I Can Do It Better Than You

When someone chooses to go into a related career field it means they want to do it better, provide greater value or have more impact than they could by working for someone else. There is also a certain comfort factor by sticking to a known business, after all you already have experience so why not put it to good use?

I recently saw an interview with Bobbi Brown, a former makeup artist, where she said she was tired of mixing various cosmetics on her own to get what she wanted, so she found a chemist and made a single lipstick. She sold 100 in her first day and the rest is history. She is now the 6th largest cosmetic company in America and Estee Lauder bought the company in 1995.

No One Will Listen To Me

You see this one in technology sectors quite often. Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the founders of Google, are a great example of this. They tried to sell their search algorithms to the big players at the time with no luck — everyone said search was going nowhere — so what did they do? They found an angel investor who gave them $100,000 and created their own company. Now look at them…

This one happens a lot in large corporations. It is usually the employees who are in the trenches or working close to customers that see the best business ideas, but because of the corporate mentality and many levels of management, their ideas never go anywhere or they are either afraid they won’t get credit or won’t be heard.

OK, it may be that no one will listen to you because your ideas are bad, but the most passionate of people usually have good ideas.

I’m Tired or Bored

Some people are just tired of corporate life or plain bored with their current job. These individuals tend to start small businesses that lean toward the ‘fun’ side of things like bakeries, gift shops, etc. where they are more hands-on. Maybe they have a hobby of making cakes for friends and family and decide to that, or make a pumpkin pie and use that as a business starter. In other words, they take their hobby to a new level. In this case they are not necessarily looking to have some big conglomerate, but more of a mom and pop type of shop.

There is a group of people who rise to the top of a big company and decide to start over. They have a wealth of experience and apply it to a new, more exciting venture. They are looking more for the challenge and excitement of a new opportunity.

I See A Niche Here

Some of the most successful businesses are those that fill a void in a given market place. This is widely seen in large vertical markets where there are a few big players that dominate. The problem is that some of these players provide too much and miss out on an opportunity. Whether it is not listening to customers, too much focus on a larger picture or whatever, they often leave room for a small business to come in and fulfill that special need.

The real power, and thus motivation, in this type of business is that this niche can become big enough that the company can expand and start to either challenge the bigger companies or they become ’seen’ and a bigger company will buy the smaller company to fill out their offerings. This is really prevalent in software markets, but occurs everywhere.

Why Should They Get All The Money?

Money is rarely the only motivation for going your own route, but what a motivation it can be. In combination with one of the other motivations, especially the No One Listens To Me and I Can Do It Better, the prospect of monetary rewards can be hard to to ignore. While not all new businesses will end up making millions for their owners, sometimes it isn’t the desire to make millions, but rather be ‘very comfortable’. I know several small business owners and none of them are millionaires, but all of them are quite comfortable with their financial situation.

I Don’t Know Enough To Know Any Better

Ah yes, ignorance is bliss isn’t it? Sometimes knowing too much is a hindrance more than anything else. While rare, this type of motivation usually strikes the young — say under 30 — crowd. The drive, excitement and even idealism of one’s own business has lead to some of the best and biggest ventures out there. You have heard of Microsoft right? Of course you have, and Bill Gates is widely known to have driven that company from very early on. Steve Jobs with Apple, the founders of Google and many, many others have started companies before they ever worked for someone else.

You don’t have to be young to fall into this category however. I’ve seen interviews with successful business owners that completely switch career fields with very little knowledge on their newly chosen profession. These seems to happen a lot for people opening restaurants and candy shops. It just seems like a great idea. Many said that they wouldn’t have done it if they knew beforehand what it took, but they were glad they made the leap.

 

Have you started your own business? If so what motivated you? If not, what would motivate you?

Like what you read? Don't miss anything, subscribe by RSSl!

   Post in Daily