You Are an Entrepreneur, Too

The April round of GRIT is almost 2/3 over. Who's thinking about joining me next month?

Today, we consider entrepreneurialism.

I’m an entrepreneur. I own a small business, I invest in real estate, and I have a couple of side hustles.

It’s been 15 years since I held what most people would call a “real job.”

Most of you already knew that.

Here’s what most of you didn’t know: you are also an entrepreneur.

You'll say,  "I get a paycheck every week, I have benefits, and I get two weeks paid vacation plus holidays. How does that make an entrepreneur?”

Well, let’s take my current size hustle as an example, just because I’m having so much fun with it. On my website, www.sociallydistantclothing.com, I'm selling t-shirts.

Three weeks ago, that website didn’t exist.

Three weeks ago, the products didn’t exist.

Three weeks ago, the graphic designer in India didn’t exist. Well, he was alive, but you know what I mean.

Three weeks ago, the customers didn’t exist.

Etc, etc., etc.

I built all of that from scratch. I’m responsible for all the products, all the customers, all the expenses, and all of the profit (that I hope to make someday).

I’m responsible for every single aspect of it, and whether I build it into a money machine or a money pit is 100% up to me.

This, for some, is the big draw to entrepreneurialism.

For others, it’s the big drawback.

I get that. There’s something to be said for the security of a regular paycheck.

But looking closer at the side hustle, I have to wonder if it's all that different from my life.

Twenty years ago, my kids didn’t exist. Nor did my wife, the dog, or the house we live in. Neither did my company exist, nor did the cars I drive, the investments I hold, or most of the friends I have.

My life, 20 years ago, is barely recognizable as compared to my life today. And, good or bad, I’m responsible for every single aspect of it. Just like the T-shirts, whether I make it a success or a failure is up to me.

When it comes to a paycheck, we can escape the pressure of being responsible for our income by getting a “real job,” but the same cannot be said of our lives. We can work for someone else, but there’s no such thing as living your life for someone else.

We are all 100% responsible for our own lives. Our success or failure starts with us, and it ends with us. We are the president, the CEO, the COO, the sales staff, the marketing manager, and the accountant of our own lives.

We are all of it.

Which is why, like it or not, you are an entrepreneur too.