Thinking they have to be passionate about the industry they want to venture in. You really think a recycle center owner for example was really passionate about recycling trash before opening up? Most weren’t. Also Thinking that they have to come up with a brand new concept/idea for a business. Thinking that they can start a business with no particular skills or connections or any competitive advantages. Not bothering to research and understand the concept of supply and demand & competitive advantage.
this post was submitted on 26 Nov 2023
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This is what I was gonna say. You don’t have to be passionate about your business/work/career. You just have to be good at it and make sure it doesn’t make you hate waking up in the morning.
It's a damned if you do, dammed if you don't type of response.
Most of the arguments, advice, or any other talking heads or resources related to business make these exact points, and then beat people over the head when it doesn't work or if they don't do it exactly right.
Also Thinking that they have to come up with a brand new concept/idea for a business.
This is beat into the head of most "how to start a business/marketing programs" - make something new, or find some novel way to set yourself apart
Thinking that they can start a business with no particular skills or connections or any competitive advantages.
Again, the whole hustle culture and talking faces like Russell Simmons, Robert Kiyosaki and the like push the narrative of "smart people with skills get jobs working for the business owners who can make friends and connections"
Whenever you see a billionaire or celebrity talking on TV about how they made it, they never give any technical advice, it's "never give up and believe in yourself".
So yeah, skipping the whole "skill" part and trying to reach out to make connections ends up taking priority.
I dont disagree with you that people should consider these things, but the whole narrative behind hustle culture and entrepreneurs as a whole is that you aren't shit if you aren't one, and all you have to do is get started and believe in yourself, forget the naysayers, so you will have a lot of people who start businesses and interact with people with those idioms as their foundation.
The competitive advantage is huge - a question I ask myself as I think about new ventures is ‘what unfair advantage do I have’? And the answer is almost always not much - If I come up with something that seems like a competitive edge I like fire-testing it with friends who have successfully launched companies - they usually have good questions about whether the advantage I see is real, important to the market, etc
I don’t see enough people talking about this, but basic business etiquette is very important.
I see a lot of young guys get into business and try to use some weird ass tactics to get what they want, like being overly aggressive, flat out lying, or acting like the person they’re speaking to isn’t even an actual person.
I have a decent following on my more public facing social medias, and the DMs I get from young people trying to sell me stuff is straight up abysmal. My request folders are essentially masterclasses on what NOT to do.
that's a pretty harsh generalisation about the entire lot of "young" ppl trying to make it
That's not a generalization. That's an anecdote.
Well said, but also maybe with a splash of hyperbole. Literally everyone is hyperbolic these days.
I see what you did there
I hear you this is often what we see in the real estate world
What industry/ line of business are you in?
I think the manosphere grind set people are a big part of the problem. If you’re always trying to be some sigma male that’s always in charge and calling shots when you actually need to be getting help and building relationships, you’re gonna have a bad time.
Not knowing the difference between want and need. They may want many things, but often don’t do the things that they absolutely “need” to. Example, an acquaintance of mine really wants to get into business. But, never really gets to doing what he needs to. And what every entrepreneur needs to do is actually get their hands dirty. Entrepreneurship isn’t sitting at a beautiful desk and watching the skyline from your corner office. It’s actually about getting your hands in the mud, getting on the phone, meeting anybody who’s willing to take a chance on you, sleepless nights and always remembering that you eat last. Sure, this happens at a mesmerising corner office too, but that comes later, and when you’ve made it, and earned it.
Lots of ideas, no implementation
100 percent. I’ve made this same mistake. My strengths are more in strategy and planning and general backend stuff.
I spent 8 months “perfecting” something that was ready enough after 2 months.
Ready “enough” is the key word. You’ll never be perfect and ready. Just get started.
Action above all.
Yes. Action first, as soon as I can think of the absolute best name first. I know P&G spends millions on branding so it must be important to get the name perfect.
Yes 🥂 and your first Logo is likely good enough for time being. You can ALWAYS change/revamp it at a later date.
As someone with lots of ideas, it boils down to money
Everything, because all of them (us) are learners and beginners. The only mistake you cannot admit is not to take a mistake as part of that learning process
Spending too much time on “preparation”. Stop reading more business book and just start the damn thing ffs
They think being an entrepreneur is a choice or a job title.
Temporarily broke millionaires in their mind. In reality, unemployed with ideas and no execution.
Every time someone calls themselves an entrepreneur I want to throw up a little. Sure, you can have an entrepreneurial lifestyle, take entrepreneurial risk, but you're still a broke schlub until it turns into a real business, and even then, 33% of the time it's dumb luck.
Perfect. I often say "Entrepreneur is just a fancy way of saying you're unemployed."
Perfectionism - if something is good enough/ MVP, put it out in the market to test.
Most often it’s ignoring the fundamentals.
For example, trying figure out how to borrow money without first determining if the concept or idea can support debt.
Start up a business without understanding basic accounting and financial principals or business math (i.e. break-even).
Never getting started and also being too scared to do so
How can I escape this fear?
Too many to list. But expecting to get rich quick with zero work is probaboy at the top of the list
Not listening to good advice is another. They ask for advice and then think they know better than the good advice they get.
Also, most are too entitled and afraid of hard work.
Spinning wheels sand being to afraid to do anything. Oh and coming here to Reddit asking advice about everything, what to do, what to spend money on, what business to start, buy, invest in, on and on with the questions.
100% true
They sweat the small details.
I run tons of experiments before I both to get a business license or form a legal entity. Sometimes it's better just to test the idea before you come through all the red tape.
Many entrepreneurs also make the mistake building it before they understand the demand for their product or service. It should be the other way around. Establish where the demand is and then build the product to fit it.
I don't know if I'd call it a mistake, but what they do is, they see people with the "entrepreneur" identity, and they want that identity, but they don't actually want to do the day-to-day stuff entrepreneurs do. They don't actually like doing entrepreneurship. You see this same thing in the arts a lot, people wanting to "be artists" or "be musicians" or "be actors," but they don't actually like making art, playing music, or acting.
There's a lot of the same thing in the filmmaking subs I'm on. People post in there about wanting to be great directors, and their posts are all like, "I have wanted to be a director for years. I watch films by Tarantino and Nolan and Spielberg and I find them so inspiring. I want to be like those guys. Despite wanting to be a director for years, I have never actually made a single film of any kind. Yes, I have owned a phone with a high quality camera built into it for my entire adult life, why do you ask? I don't see how that's relevant."
Generally speaking:
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Too much buy in to founder mythology
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Thinking idea is everything
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Partnering with friends
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Not starting
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Thinking their personal brand matters
Trying to market their product to EVERYONE instead of focusing on one niche!
They get into a field they think they know and is easy to manage, then quit when they realize it's much harder than anticipated.
I have ten k what business should I start?
Drop out of work and high school to chase quick money. Study as long as you can. Get a job and learn on someone else's dime. If you're impatient, entrepreneurship isn't for you.
Underestimating how difficult things can be.
Full of ideas, no execution
So, when it comes to wantrepreneurs, one common hiccup is getting stuck in the planning phase without taking the leap into action. Overthinking and hesitating can be a major roadblock. It's totally understandable, we all want things to be perfect before diving in, but sometimes, you've just got to embrace the messiness of starting something new.
Another pitfall is trying to do everything solo. The superhero mentality can be tempting, but building a successful venture often requires a solid team. Don't be afraid to delegate and seek collaboration. By the way, speaking of personal growth, a friend recently shared a career quiz with me. It played a significant role in my journey.
A severe lack of financial literacy.
Building things, nobody wants or is willing to pay for. Basically, there is no market need.
Not solving a real problem for a specific ICP.
Trusting too much in the conventional way of doing things needing (passion, interest, even skills etc.) to build a profitable business.
Zero implementation
If I were to point out something that I have noticed commonly in this crowd is ideas without thoughtful, actionable plans. I think that good ideas are not hard to come by. The difference between entrepreneurs and wantrepreneurs is that entrepreneurs spend a lot more time developing their plan - cost/benefit analysis, answering what/how/why, 80/20 decisions, etc.
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