Wannabe Entrepreneur

Waking up one morning in the winter of 1985, fear consuming my body, I thought, “How can I continue to do this for another 35 years?” Normally a hard worker, conscientious of my responsibility to those who rely on me, especially when getting paid, perhaps that dreadful morning was the result of not fulfilling my commitment.

I was working for a major corporation, one whose acronym is recognizable to millions of people. It was considered a privilege to land a job there, like being accepted into an Ivy League college, yet I couldn’t make it work for me. As a software developer for a ginormous project that was going nowhere, I found that I couldn’t connect to it. Bored and frustrated, I did the unthinkable—I left. But before I did, I began to think of my backup plan.

“Income?… Hmmm… What if I can’t resume my desire to continue with computer programming?”

“Real estate investing. Aha! I can do that.”

Sooo… I took a course (the ones that people take when preparing to get a real estate license) and began my search for a rental property when it occurred to me to buy my own house first; and I did. My closing date was a month after turning 27 years old, which was relatively young in the high market Washington/Baltimore area—a sign of my wannabe entrepreneur tendency.

Still interested in investing in real estate, I continued the search for a second house and convinced my brother to try the “land lording” business, too. He would get on board and take off; me—I got happy with my new job at my new company and my real estate excitement dwindled. But there was still this feeling of wanting to do something that would provide income based on my own creativity (which I thought I had.)

I will spare you the details of the two businesses that I tried and never managed to get going; but I will say that neither involved multi-level marketing, i.e. Amway, Mary Kay, etc.

So after discovering that working a 9 to 5 job (with occasional overtime, stress, and traffic issues) and simultaneously launching a business is not for the faint of heart, visions of a career change began to occupy my mind. “Can I teach kids at a school? Or maaaybe I’ll pack up for an adventure in another country!” Funny, just when I began to give serious thought to the “move-to-another-country thing,” Darling Husband appeared on the scene and the ultimate adventure began. (Mom’s prayers were answered.)

Yes, marriage and children changed my course again. The 9 to 5 was replaced with the 24/7. There would be no more business experiments, unless you count my brief interest in eBay.

In an article for PsychologyToday, Art Markman, Ph.D., said, “Starting your own business is difficult. You have to put in long hours. You have to be prepared to fail.  A high percentage of new ventures do not succeed.  You have to be willing to change course if things are not working out as expected.”

He also said, “Not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur.  For decades, psychologists and business researchers have explored whether there is a collection of personality traits that is associated with starting a business.”

I’ve wondered about that, too—who’s cut out to be an entrepreneur? There are the obvious people—the Oprahs and Bill Gates’ of the world, but what about the average Joes and Marys who run small businesses. My neighbor owns an occupational therapy business with several employees, plus she has a small eatery franchise. Did she want to “be her own boss,” feel that she had to “do what she loved doing,” or want to “make more money?” Tons of people have these desires, yet only a small percentage of the wannabes pursue it, and of those who do, an even smaller percentage are successful.

Entreprenuers have always fascinated me. I used to read their books, but now watch shows like Shark Tank. I even enjoy The Antique Road Show which is indirectly entrepreneurial, as people dig through their stuff hoping to find something valuable.

So is it mainly about money? Or are entrepreneurs satisfying a need for independence and/or creativity? Is it the thrill of the chase? Hmmm…

I don’t know if I’ll ever invest time in another business idea, though it’s possible. What I’ve learned is that goals of other sorts can be just as rewarding—although you’re more likely to be spending money than making it.

Now I’m on the 5 year plan of learning something that satisfies the wannabe entrepreneur, dreamer, and adventurer spirit in me. I just reached five years of horseback riding lessons, so on to learning Spanish. Check with me in 2018.

Oh, by the way, I have the utmost respect for all people who are hardworking and loyal to their jobs; not just entrepreneurs.

Have you ever owned a business or do you own one now? What was/is your experience? If not, would you like to start a business?

Yeeeee Hawwww  Amigos!

10/3/13 addendum:

Tabor’s comment had a good question about horseback riding, one that I hear sometimes, regarding the length of time it takes to learn to ride a horse. Learning how to relax into the saddle (not bouncing), posting, trotting, riding on a diagonal, and riding in a two-point position are all things I learned within ten or so lessons. Trotting in a figure 8 and cantering would soon follow, and within the year, jumping.

The learning continues because so many factors are involved. The size of the horse makes a difference. I do better on the larger horses. The speed makes a big difference. The horse in the jump on the video can be very fast, therefore, I had to control her speed and keep my head up, otherwise, I’d have been likely to get thrown off. Other things, like trail rides, pose different challenges: what to do when your horse decides not to go over the creek, hanging on (but giving free rein) when your horse is running up a hill (fun!), how not to let your horse run down a hill, handling a spooked horse, and so on. It seems that every lesson presents a surprise move by the horse that challenges the mental aspect of riding; in other words, knowing how to react quickly.

So as long as you’re dealing with an animal, the learning never stops. Thanks for bringing this up Tabor.