The General Rule In Startups Is That There Are No General Rules

What’s the secret to success in entrepreneurship? Passion? Persistence? Doing what you like? Maybe it’s having a great business plan? I’ve written here that empathy might be the most important. But that’s a generalization too. What do you think?

Not One Way

Flickr cc Anna Kuksma

Here’s the problem with that: there are no general rules. Scratch under the surface of entrepreneurship and you’ll find lots of people willing to put forth one characteristic or another. You can find examples for anything.

The people who strike off on their own are by definition people who split off from the group to do something different. So they don’t come in flocks, Generalizations don’t apply. I know people who fell in love with technology, a market, doing something they like to do, or even one or two who set out from the beginning with the specific goal of making millions of dollars. And I know people who started their own business mainly to be independent, set their own hours. I know people who did it just to prove that they were right when they said it could be done.

What reminded me of this was Susan Solivic’s What is Your Motivation? on Up and Running a few weeks ago. Writing about what makes people start companies, she suggests there are lots of different reasons.

Exactly. I agree.

(Image: Denny Onasta/Flickr CC)

Comments

  • Annie says:

    I think that freedom is the big reason people want to be an entrepreneur. It is not just creative freedom but also the ability to control your time. Calling your own shots is something very appealing to many. However, if you are not successful in your endeavor than you you will have all the time in the world to do nothing.

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