Entrepreneur vs. Employee

Ah, yes, Entrepreneur vs. being an employee. The age old dilemma. The idea of being an entrepreneur is an enticing one. You're the boss. You're making the big bucks. You have your own business. You're on your way. And, to quote Dr. Seuss, "Oh, the places you'll go!" what with brains in your head and feet in your shoes. But then things can and do happen even to people as brainy and footsy as you. But I digress.

These days, it's never been easier to become an entrepreneur. Well, it's never been easier to take on the title, at least. Especially in an online world. The internet has literally brought the world to our fingertips. All you need is a website and an idea you think you can sell and you're an entrepreneur. Well, sort of. But there is a very big difference between someone with a website and an idea and a successful entrepreneur.

The truth is entrepreneurship is hard. It's a slog with no guarantees and it has left more than a few individuals worse off than they were when they started out. And the truth is being an entrepreneur is not something the majority of us can do. It is a path of literally abandoning all financial (and sometimes social) security in order to pursue an idea the success of which relies on people giving you their money for it. Being an entrepreneur tends to be about as stressful as it's possible to be. So there's that.

At the opposite end of the spectrum is life as an employee. All variables are known. Your schedule is set. You know when and where to be all the time. You have a payday and a life outside of your job. You're Johnny sorted. You're secure.

The only problem is that, generally speaking and unless you find an amazing company, the freedom and creativity of entrepreneurship is often traded in for the security and certainty of employment. It is a hard thing indeed to have both. So, what to do? Which path is best?

I think it helps not to focus so much on the external title in this case but more on the internal experience. Both cases, entrepreneurship and employment, involve the devotion of your time and skill in exchange for a financial reward, no? Both cases imply devoting large amounts of effort and sacrifice. And both cases can be called, for lack of a better word, work. So, assuming, you are able to meet the basic necessities of life (not always possible as an entrepreneur, by the way) the question should be not which path is better but which path is more satisfying for you? And this is a highly personal question.

As one who has succeeded on both paths, although to a somewhat smaller degree than the word "entrepreneur" tends to suggest, I would like to share my thoughts. A good start, I would say, is to take into account a few factors about who you are. Such things as:

Your skill set

Your interests

Your age

Your living situation

Because, like it or not, these are the elements that define your current capacity to change the course of your life.Let me explain my choices.

Your skill set: by this I mean the things you are good at whether professionally or socially speaking. This doesn't mean where you've worked or who you know. It means what you have invested enough time and energy in to get good at. This can include things like talking to people, writing, organizing things, drawing, listening, being empathetic, teaching, making things, learning things etc. All of these and more can, in the right circumstances, by incredibly marketable skills; especially if you know you have them (and a lot of people don't know their own skill set).

Knowing your skillset is important because it informs you of where you are in the grand scheme of business and life and what not. It also lets you know what types of industries and projects you probably would and (often just as important) probably wouldn't have a chance at doing well in. Skill set also crosses over into such things as personality and character type which are also vastly important in determining how best to further yourself toward the lifestyle you desire.

Your interests: knowing what you're interested in is important because being interested also means being motivated. And being motivated means you can effect change and progress not only in a shorter time but also while potentially enjoying it. The words "don't do it just for the money", it turns out, are extremely true; often brutally so. As human beings we need to be involved with things in an emotional way and to feel we are making a contribution we care about. While it may sometimes not be the best advice to simply "follow your passion" it is generally a good idea at least have something of an interest in what you do for work. Especially considering how much of your waking life you will devote toward doing it.

Above all, knowing your interests can give you a direction. And this is a huge step toward actually making something happening instead of sitting in your head and dwelling on vague aspirations and the many obstacles in your current situation. The mind is a funny thing and tends to bring us exactly what we ask for just in how we think about things. So, instead of thinking about the difficulties in your life maybe try thinking about your interests and what kind of work might actually help you pursue them and get paid for it.

Your age: this is something few of us like to think about. We are impermanent beings and time is the most fleeting resource we have. I often am amazed by just how true this statement really is. Consider the words of Pink Floyd from their classic song Time:

"Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain.
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today.
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you.
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun."

While this may come off as somewhat bleak in outlook, the underlying principle is true: time is fleeting and whatever you do or don't do will take it away from you never to return. So, factoring your age into your dreams of professional/entrepreneurial success is essentially like budgeting your finances. It helps you stay realistic and objective. If, for example, you are in your 30's and thinking of making a career change, going back to school for 4 years may not be the smartest move. If, however, you are 18 and your dream requires a degree, go for it. The point is to udnerstand your situation not only in the world but in terms of your lifespan. And this notion applies in both large and small ways as time is a continuous, uniform phenomenon. Whether we are talking about seconds or decades it all passes in the same way. So use it wisely. Structure your days, schedule things, break your goals down into steps that bring you closer to achieving them, "time block that", know what you are doing with your time and where it is taking you. Try to be sure your efforts are, day by day, helping you to be where you want to be. Think about your future and think about how much time things are going to take when you start them.

Your living situation: generally speaking you will never have as much time and freedom as you will when you are young and single. But then this is also generally the time where most of us have the most innacurate and dumb The more people and commitments there are in your life the more difficult it will be to effect any significant change without really rocking the boat. As a guy living in a foreign country with 3 kids and a small business to run, I can attest to this notion whole heartedly.

This isn't to say that you must let your dreams die if your living situation is anything other than the typical carefree college student's. I am simply saying you need to act accordingly if it is. Work smarter, not harder so to speak. And don't take gigantic effing risks thinking it will "work out". The market, in its unwavering objectivity, can just as easily leave your homeless and ruined as it can wealthy beyond your dreams. Try not to involve anyone other than yourself in the potential consequences of your endeavors should they fail. There is nothing sadder than a parent more or less ruining their children's childhoods simply because they were too hasty and dumb to think things through before acting on them. This can be a tall order and I will be the first to admit I haven't always been successful in fulfilling it. So this is what I tell myself to keep myself motivated: DON'T BE A DUMBASS.

Really, though the elements above focus on two things: clarity and objectivity.