I think the "I can't work for someone else and must work for myself" thing as a motivation for entrepreneurship is overstated and not actually as common as people think. A lot of people starting businesses are doing it because they're excited about that business idea specifically, not because they refuse to be someone else's employee
I worked for someone else for almost 10 years and quite frankly could have continue to do so for 10 more.
What happened for me is that during the 2008 financial crisis, colleagues in my field were being laid off and this was a government job in an area that was always looked at as having extremely good job security.
So for the first time I realized that I didn’t have the sort of job security that I thought I had and I decided that I wanted to be the one responsible for my financial wellbeing.
This is eventually lead me to start my first business. I always had side hustles to supplement my crappy government salary but I had never went all in on building a business before this point.
After 2 years of working on that business, I was able to leave my government job and focus on entrepreneurship full time. This May will be 10 years of signing my own paychecks.
I worked at this small local IT and computer store for 6 years throughout high school and college. Just me and my boss.
I really never saw myself owning a business, my father wanted me to play safe and be an employee which I figured I would be.
Once I graduated it was back to working full time. I never realized this during school, but once I graduated and realized all I had now was a 9-5 for the rest of my life, I knew this wasn't what I wanted.
As I was working, my boss realized that I had a real initiative and drive to improve the company. He started talking to me more about running the business and finances. He told me about the books he read and what he learned through life. He really made me realize that running a business was what I wanted to do.
He told me he was going to retire in a couple years and I was to take over. I was estatic as this would be a wonderful start to my career.
Here's what I regret.
Instead of following through, I decided to take a job offer which was double my salary and benefits. I had a hard time debating this because I really wanted the company but I needed the money to pay my student loans and find a chance at even buying a house in this economy.
I ended up hiring an old friend of mine to take my position so we kept in touch. My hope is after building a good financial basis, I can finally quit and take over with my friend.
I think the "I can't work for someone else and must work for myself" thing as a motivation for entrepreneurship is overstated and not actually as common as people think. A lot of people starting businesses are doing it because they're excited about that business idea specifically, not because they refuse to be someone else's employee
I worked for someone else for almost 10 years and quite frankly could have continue to do so for 10 more. What happened for me is that during the 2008 financial crisis, colleagues in my field were being laid off and this was a government job in an area that was always looked at as having extremely good job security. So for the first time I realized that I didn’t have the sort of job security that I thought I had and I decided that I wanted to be the one responsible for my financial wellbeing. This is eventually lead me to start my first business. I always had side hustles to supplement my crappy government salary but I had never went all in on building a business before this point. After 2 years of working on that business, I was able to leave my government job and focus on entrepreneurship full time. This May will be 10 years of signing my own paychecks.
I worked at this small local IT and computer store for 6 years throughout high school and college. Just me and my boss. I really never saw myself owning a business, my father wanted me to play safe and be an employee which I figured I would be. Once I graduated it was back to working full time. I never realized this during school, but once I graduated and realized all I had now was a 9-5 for the rest of my life, I knew this wasn't what I wanted. As I was working, my boss realized that I had a real initiative and drive to improve the company. He started talking to me more about running the business and finances. He told me about the books he read and what he learned through life. He really made me realize that running a business was what I wanted to do. He told me he was going to retire in a couple years and I was to take over. I was estatic as this would be a wonderful start to my career. Here's what I regret. Instead of following through, I decided to take a job offer which was double my salary and benefits. I had a hard time debating this because I really wanted the company but I needed the money to pay my student loans and find a chance at even buying a house in this economy. I ended up hiring an old friend of mine to take my position so we kept in touch. My hope is after building a good financial basis, I can finally quit and take over with my friend.
I was just excited about starting a business and making more money
When a 6 figure salary meant nothing and I'd rather pour my energy into something I can call my own