David Askaripour at Mind Pedals blog posed this question to the readers:
How Much $$$ Would It Take You to Stop Being an Entrepreneur?
Hey, what’s in your suitcase?
There is a 10 million dollars cash in this suitcase.
What’s it for?
It’s for you! If you give me your company and sign a contract to never start another company, never push forward with another idea, and to basically be complacent and give up business altogether… I’ll give you this cash. What do you say?
It’s true, there are two types of entrepreneurs in this world: the ones that do it all for the experience, to make a difference and to solve a problem and the ones that do it all for the money.
Personally, I’m the former of the two. I want to come up with a solution to that quirky problem that no one thought was actually a problem until they came across my service/product.
I want the experience of being my own boss, of working from the garage and running the show. There’s something inside of me that longs for that feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment.
My motivation is that feeling, not the money.
Having said that, money is not bad either and it will come with success. It’s bad when you think it’s all about the money.
David finishes his thoughts with:
Their “end” is money and their business is a means to that end. True entrepreneurs have no end. They would rather die than throw in the towel for life and accept 10 mil’.
How about you?
Being an entrepreneur is about spirit. It’s about the desire to take a simple idea and nuture it until it blooms into a tangible medium that the rest of the world can use and appreciate.
Being an entrepreneur is about challenge. It’s about working without a safety net, and still bravely pushing yourself to reach unreachable goals.
Being an entrepreneur is about perspective. It’s about having the unique ability to see that there is life outside of the corporate world. It’s about recognizing that suits, ties, and cubicles do not have to be in everyone’s future.
Being an entrepreneur is about faith; faith in oneself and one’s ability to go against the norm.
Great responses guys!
Dimitry, thanks for the awesome article. It has continued to make me think even further about entrepreneurship and how it fuels my life, not the money.
Rob and Joel, those are some brilliant response that have enlightened me. I don’t know you, but based upon your definitions of entrepreneurship… I have more respect for you :)
Rock on guys!
Dave
Part of what makes entrepreneurship exciting is the potential of a big payout in the end. Just like many other founders, I want to create something that makes me successful.
As nice as the payout is, however, there is NO way I’d sacrifice a lifetime of opportunity and excitement for a suitcase of money, even for a billion.
Why? Because the exit only plays a small part in the entrepreneurial process. Take away that process, and you take away all the thrills, excitement, challenges, and creativity that go with it. Experiences that can’t be bought, no matter how much money you have.
@christian: does your “big payout” extend to non-monetary?
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about 1 year ago
This is an interesting idea that you have raised and one I’ve thought about before, though perhaps not in the same way.
The primary motivation of why I do what I do isn’t the money, that’s a nice “side effect” if you will. What interests me more is the challenge, the problem solving, the use of my brain for “good”. I spent six months in a rotation (I’m a graduate engineer with an Australia electricity distribution and retail company) that was not challenging my brain. As a result I bit the bullet and headed two hours north on the highway, away from family and friends, to undertake my next six month rotation at what has been described as one of the most technically challenging locations in the company. It most definitely has been a worthwhile experience.
On to a bigger question that you posed – that of retirement from challenge for money, no more ventures of any description. Regardless of what I was thinking that is not something I could ever do, nor would I ever want to (and ten million wouldn’t even get me thinking about truly taking it). It would be a different ball game if the contract was a limited time (say a year or two) and only in the area that the business originally was in (strict definition that one, in the contract). Without those two I couldn’t accept.
Money is only a means of living, it is not the sole reason to live. What is mine? Thirst for knowledge and a desire to be challenged in whatever I do by the best people in that area. Am I on track? Given who I enjoy hanging around, talking with and making friends with I would hope so.