Here’s a link to a blog post titled “Having a job is riskier than you think.” It’s a post written by Paul Singh on www.resultsjunkies.com. As of the post I had never heard of Paul or the blog. But now I am a fan.
The message is pretty clear. In order to grow, and move forward, you need to think entrepreneurially, and develop an appetite for innovation. Freelancing on the side isn’t as hard as people think, and it’s riskier putting all your eggs in the employment basket, especially when you’re not on the revenue-producing side.
Burning the Boats Behind You
In Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich” he talks about a great warrior who was sending his men into an outnumbered battle:
“He loaded his soldiers into boats, sailed to the enemy’s country, unloaded soldiers and equipment, then gave the order to burn the ships that had carried them. Addressing his men before the first battle, he said, ‘You see the boats going up in smoke. That means that we cannot leave these shores alive unless we win! We now have no choice- we win- or we perish!’ They Won.”
Part of the winning mentality is putting yourself in a situation where you have to succeed. Burning the boats behind you isn’t about angering former, or current, employers, but putting yourself in a situation where you have some stake in your success. If you prop yourself up on a false sense of security due to employer loyalty, you’re bound without an exit strategy.
Entrepreneurship Isn’t That Risky
A lot of people think going off on their own is a huge risk. But it’s really not. Trying to find one person to pay for a service you’re offering is hard. Finding enough people to pay for your livelihood is even harder. But deploying a strategy to find customers isn’t a risky endeavor. If you put your mind to it you could probably launch a product in 24 hours. And you could probably get a customer within a month.
You don’t have to burn the boats behind you, i.e. you can have your cake and eat it too. After work, or on weekends, are perfectly acceptable times to launch your entrepreneurial idea. There’s time to make it happen, and there are tons of opportunities for new ideas in the market.
Although Napoleon Hill gives an extreme example, you can start small and achieve your dreams while fully employed. Entrepreneurship allows for an escape from employment dependency and if you ever find yourself outnumbered in a battle, you know you can win. It’s riskier to have a job with no escape than starting to build your escape through entrepreneurship today.