Breaking from the plan: entrepreneurs
moneyrelations :: Sep.05.2007
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A few weeks ago, bored and channel surfing, I caught an MTV episode of Daniel Negraneu’s bio. For those not familiar with the name, Daniel’s a top professional poker player. A poker player featured on MTV? I think that’s just a testament of how huge the game has become and how this guy utilized his personality, charisma and street smarts to branch into other avenues such as TV and computer games. This from a guy who never finished high school but knew what he wanted to be and did it.
Over at one of my favorite blogs Dosh Dosh, was a case study of a teenager named Ashley Qualls founder of WhateverLife.com. Sigh, I never heard of it so I guess I’m not cool. It targets MySpace page layouts for teenage girls. She rakes in over 70k a month and has made over a million dollars.
And what about that teenager who unlocked the iPhone from AT&T? I think he got a car and a couple of consulting gigs. Graham Langdon from the Million Dollar Wiki is another young entrepreneur on the cusp of riches. I jumped on his bandwagon too, to see what I could learn from the ride.
You hear these stories all the time. Youngsters making it big by doing things they enjoy. On the flip side, you hear how the previous generations want to retire early. How did we ever lose our zest and zeal?
I’m going off on a tangent here but bear with me. This reminds me of something Warren Buffett said which I’m going to paraphrase. Being an investor known for buying a few outstanding companies, he recommended extreme diversification for non professionals which he estimates to be 98-99% of investors. I agree with this. At this point in my life, I do not have time to devote to studying annual reports and companies and that is why I mainly invest in index funds. However, I do know that I’m settling for wherever the market takes me. This is the backup plan which is good for the masses if you want to be average. It is my hope to break out of the pack.
I believe society funnels us into another backup plan: finish high school, get a degree, get a job. Again, I won’t argue with this plan either but I just can’t help but admire people who are brave enough to venture out of the fold – to be creative and their own person. I don’t doubt for a minute that the path of an entrepreneur isn’t difficult or scary, fraught with individual problems and intricacies which are huge burdens to bear. There is no singular text book to guide the way. However, I can imagine the personal satisfaction. I do not believe these are people who dream of the day they can retire but very much the opposite – how they can build and expand their business. How many of us can say different after following the backup plan and going no further?
Career ::
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I don’t mean to hog all your ‘comments’ space this week, but I can’t not comment on this post. I’m sure every entrepreneur would have a lot to say. I jumped out of my career 4 years ago, and started my own business. And what you said is totally true: I simply NEVER wake up with a sense of dread about what I’m going to do, or long to retire (ugh! boring!) and I swear, if I won a lottery, I’d invest most of it in my business, and keep going on it til I die. On the other hand, I read the Cdn bloggers about money, and just long for the days when I was socking away into my portfolio instead of reinvesting all my eggs in the one basket of my business. And the complexities … when DO I sock the money back into my own business, or Should I be putting it into my RRSPs etc. The guideposts and familiar markers of ‘doing the right thing’ just dissolve when you strike out on your own. I’ve concluded that a whole lot of being smart with money is keeping your wits about you and developing all kinds of resources to navigate through wherever life takes you, as much as anything! I’ll die knowing I gave something my ________ best shot; I hope I die with a hefty financial legacy. Time will tell!
Nancy, comment away! Congrats on taking so much personal pride in your business! The point I tried to get across with my two previous posts was that self improvement is the key to success. I mean, look at those kids… little education, no business experience, and an age barrier. It was all self motivation that drove them to be successful. So, my hat off to you for making the career change! I’m still waiting for my moment of inspiration…