The Startup Universe
We live in a changing world where just about everyone wants to be starting something. We have evolved into a generation of savvy entrepreneurs, business owners and empire builders, who can bootstrap their startups with nothing more than a simple idea, a meagre self-funded budget and a bucket load of effort and hustle.
Technology has made that easier still by lowering the barriers of entry and accelerating the ability to quite literally get started in an instant. Getting a new venture up and running on the side is now easier, cheaper and more accessible than ever before. This increasing simplicity has had the beneficial impact of enabling the masses of eager “wannapreneurs” to tentatively dip their toes into the dark murky waters of business ownership, self-reliance and entrepreneurial freedom, with ease.
Nowadays, the entrepreneurial spirit is everywhere. It’s no longer the remit of the lone isolated maverick disruptor or inventor. Today’s entrepreneurs can be found across a diverse range of social types, classes and industries. From specialist consultancies, mums running table top businesses between school runs, right the way through to revolutionary fintechs, exclusive personal trainers, raw food specialists and everything in between. Think of just about any niche or micro niche and chances are there’s a group of entrepreneurs out there leveraging the opportunity right now.
Entrepreneurialism is not just the playground of the lifestyle “freedom seeker”. We also have a thriving world of “intrapreneurs” who are driving the entrepreneurial spirit, culture and thinking right to the heart of the companies they work for. Intrapreneurs are the champions and evangelists of the businesses that employ them and are no less effective than their solo entrepreneurial cousins. They build their own personal brands, create assets, build intellectual property and become industry influencers, providing serious products and service offerings that are highly sought after within their chosen markets. Initially that was exactly the route I took and it’s a position that has continued to organically grow and evolve into a number of lucrative diversified business interests.
We live in exciting times where anyone with an idea, a bit of hustle and effort can jump into the rapids of business ownership, steer their own ship and achieve greatness along the way. But, and of course there is always a but, there are rules to the game. These rules are the strategies, principles and lessons that, once learned, will not only make your startup journey a much easier ride but will ensure you have more fun along the way. And please remember above all else, this stuff is supposed to be fun. Why else do it?
In today’s dynamic economy, more and more people are moving away from, or in some cases being pushed out of, traditional employment into more exciting entrepreneurial environments. These new entrepreneurs are quickly learning to adapt by abandoning perceived job security and the ageing practices of humdrum corporate nine-to-five existences. They are eagerly seeking more exciting but often more unpredictable paths where the lure of freedom and choice count for much more than just a hefty paycheck.
Even the stalwart and monolithic legacy businesses are slowly realising that the inflexible working practices of old are no longer tenable in the new fast-paced digital world. Attracting talented resources and constraining them to siloed existences within rigid, and often restrictive, organisational confines is becoming much harder to do as the landscape of how and where we choose to work continues to radically shift.
Power in the marketplace is rapidly tipping back in favour of “intellectual creators” and those who have the skills, knowledge and experience to solve the most critical challenges faced by businesses. The new entrepreneurial breed is quickly evolving from easily replaceable commodity resources into well informed, sought after business service providers, leveraging their own personal brands, intellectual property and commercial assets.
Flexibility, dynamic lifestyle and freedom have quickly become the entrepreneur’s currency of choice. Today’s entrepreneurs know their value in the marketplace. They know what they want and more importantly they are learning how to achieve it. Perspectives have altered and working practices have evolved. Over the last ten years we have become far more educated about how to develop independence by working for ourselves, becoming more self-sufficient and designing lifestyles that complement our individuality, talents and desire for freedom.
Enlightened entrepreneurs and forward-thinking proactive businesses know that relationships nowadays have to be ones of collaboration, contribution and co-creation, where achieving common goals and delivering holistic equitable value is the only productive outcome. The old restrictive employee and employer relationships are quickly diminishing. Today these engagements are much more like traditional business to business relationships, where each entity forms part of a cohesive interdependent network that relies upon each other to deliver enhanced customer value.
In future those with valuable subject matter expertise, experience and knowledge will build their own personal brands as businesses. They will no longer maintain monogamous relationships with one employer, but will instead deliver their value and expertise to any number of different organisations and this is an area where many significant opportunities can be found for the army of budding entrepreneurs out there today.
What are you waiting for, really? I hope it’s not to be picked or for someone else’s approval?
How To Become A Startup Pro – On The Side – Book 1
The first book in my new How to Become a Startup Pro On the Side” series is available to order right Now on Amazon. Each book also comes with access to free startup training.
“Essential reading for any creative Entrepreneur – Business Week
“If you’re a new entrepreneur, creator or business professional looking start your own business “How To Become A Startup Pro on the side”, will get you there a whole lot quicker” – Nate Simons – Tech London
Here’s just a small snippet of what you can expect to learn