After playing soccer, I turned down an acceptance to grad school. I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do. I had a friend whom I played soccer with who had joined a startup, and I joined him there.
I fell in love with the startup vibe. Every day was dynamic. Every day, I felt like I was doing something to help them move the needle.
When we realized that everything we were doing in this startup could be applied to a different business, we went out on our own. We got a $10,000 loan from a family member to buy a computer; we worked out of my one bedroom apartment; we established a sell-to-live, then deliver-to-live model; we had one piece of collateral – a business card we made a Kinko’s. We had no investors. We had no advisors. It was day-to-day. The whole thing was about as true a garage start-up as possible.
Learning every new process on our own was like drinking from a firehose.
I will always say that it’s worth every bit of it, but people don’t highlight enough is how hard it is. That’s a disservice to entrepreneurs who deserve credit for what they’re doing. It’s also a disservice to potential entrepreneurs swept up in media coverage of entrepreneurship who are convinced it’s a relatively straightforward and easy path.
The Reality of Being an Entrepreneur
I started out as an entrepreneur in a city like Charlotte in the late ‘90’s where more traditional work roles abound from prominent industries like finance. I would go to my daughters’ preschool events, and the inevitable question of what I did for a living would come up. When I would say “entrepreneur” or “I work with a startup”, I could almost feel the gross generalizations made about my career. ‘Oh, you couldn’t get a job at the bank,’ as though all of this was a default option and not a choice.
If I know anything about entrepreneurship, it’s this: entrepreneurship is a choice. People fail to talk about how big the challenge of an entrepreneurial venture can be – literally, figuratively, emotionally, and spiritually. But, in the same respect, people fail to talk about just how much of a conscious decision you’re making when you choose to pursue this life.
Yes, it’s changing because of the rising presence of the successful entrepreneur; yes, it’s a tough ride with a lot of tough, ugly moments we don’t talk about, and, yes, it’s the greatest conscious choice you’ll make for your current life and your future.
P.S. When you are ready, here are a couple of ways we can help you:
Join our Entrepreneur’s group.
We created The FĒNX for entrepreneurs who are committed to scaling their business and their LIFE, especially in times like these. Join us for a $1 dollar trial (30 day trial with NO STRING ATTACHED, cancel any time) to start scaling today. Join the trial here: The FĒNX $1 Dollar Trial
Apply to work directly with me.
When you are ready to pursue a really big future (scale, freedom and the option for a life changing exit) by working directly with me, my team and a small, heavily vetted group of founders in my private masterminds, APPLY HERE to learn more about Mac’s Private Mastermind and we’ll send over some details to get you started.
