Table of contents
🤨 I Need to Have All the Answers
Don't worry, you don't need to have all the answers at first. You just have to fill a need better than what currently exists.
You don't need the perfect idea, because success comes down to execution of that great idea.
⏳ I Need Experience
In his book David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell (love his writing) writes about how perceived disadvantages can actually be advantages. When it comes to entrepreneurship, less experience can actually be a good thing to help you find innovative ideas to old problems.
🚀 I Have to be a Risk-taker
Entrepreneurs may have high risk tolerance, but they're really risk mitigators. Their main goal with everything they do is to minimize the risks and maximize the rewards. We often see entrepreneurs do risky things, but in reality it's a calculated risk where the rewards far outweigh the risk. In short, a good risk:reward ratio.
For example if we have a 90% chance of losing a bet, it would be quite stupid for us to bet on it. But if it gives us at least a 1800% reward, our risk to reward ratio is 1:2, so in the long run we'll double our capital. In the same way, lottery games are statistically designed to have an extremely poor risk:reward ratio, which causes us to lose money in the long run.
💸 I Don't have the Time/Money to Go All-In
You don't have to. Many entrepreneurs actually continue with their other commitments until they're reduced the risk of the start-up before devoting more time into it. Going all-in at the early stages is a bad move because things are still volatile and the risk:reward ratio is too poor.
Try the Pareto principle (80/20 rule). 80% of the results come from 20% of your efforts. Find those 20% of things that are going to give you the best bang for your buck. It really takes lesser time/effort than you think.
⚒️ I Have to be Smart, Creative, and a Tech Genius
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
Entrepreneurship is a team sport, with a mix of business people, tech people, and designers. You can't be skilled in all areas. Even if you are, there's not enough time and energy to complete all the work that has to be done.
If you don't have technical skills, learn to manage people.
"Management is the most noble of professions if it’s practiced well. No other occupation offers as many ways to help others learn and grow, take responsibility and be recognized for achievement, and contribute to the success of a team."
- Clayton Christensen
Conclusion
Entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunities beyond resources controlled.
Pursue the opportunities to solve problems for someone, and be resourceful in managing the risks of your external constraints (time, money, skills).
No entrepreneur is the same. You don't have to be the best person in every aspect. You don't have to take unnecessary risks. Do you still want to be an entrepreneur?
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