The life of an entrepreneur is different. I have worn the hat of an entrepreneur for most of my adult life. Three stints of in a corporate role – one of 10 years, one of 5 years and my original stint of 4 years with a Fortune 50 company. My last two roles were fast rides to the C-Level in what I call a quasi-corporate role. They were quasi because both of the latter J-O-Bs were in companies organized and acting like corporations but really controlled by the founder/entrepreneur as an active CEO. I had the good fortune to work with very very successful (financially) CEOs. Both of them won Entrepreneur of the year awards and both of them received numerous national and international awards and recognitions for being “successful entrepreneurs”.
When I look back– I kind of laugh and say wow I got the best of both worlds and unfortunately the worst of both worlds! I guess I have the right to actually put myself in the position of an expert having become a student of both the world of an entrepreneur and the world of a corporate J-O-B holder. Of late, as things get busy again the shift happens from thinking to doing, I could not help reflecting on how the life of an entrepreneur is different. As I have mentioned in the past, much of what I write is driven by my own experiences (positive and negative). There may be some overlaps with what I have written in the past, but hopefully, there are enough new thoughts that can be useful to you.
Having a Vision and a reasonably clear perspective on where one is headed over the long-term is critical. At the same time, it is not that important to know the exact roadmap that will evolve over time. More often than not, people get it wrong they focus too much on the near-term and not enough on the long-term rationale of why they are in the business they are in. I call that the “why of the business”
Your vision must be driven by a set of core beliefs (Values) only then will it stand the test of time, criticism and competition. This vision must define a future that is different from the present. The entrepreneur must be able to convince others that the future can be created. The beliefs must be based on a series of logical arguments, and not just a fancy dream.
Your Vision and your Why must be congruent with your values! As an entrepreneur – this is the single most important thing you must get done and stay the course with! As the entrepreneur/owner it is easier to get right and keep right. The need to share it and keep others aligned and supportive is not sometimes necessary. This is so apparent when you have a foot in both the corporate world and the entrepreneur business. Corporations spend millions of dollars every year going through Mission/Vision/Values and strategic planning retreats. Their goal is to first get it, make sure it’s the right thing for the company and then ensure that it gets rolled out with complete buy-in by the employees!
The entrepreneur’s requirement is really simple, it is critical to get the basic vision right for themselves. The vision must be something that makes the entrepreneur wake up every morning, irrespective of how the previous day was. It must be the personal dream that supercharges the entrepreneur and keeps them going when employees might “call it quits for the night”.
I think I have opened Pandora’s box for the comparison of the two – Corporate and Entrepreneur in detail. And then we will have some fun identifying the good, the bad and the ugly of the quasi-corporate!
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