3 Common Misconceptions About Being An Entrepreneur In A Startup

by Startacus Admin

3 Common Misconceptions About Being An Entrepreneur In A Startup...

We previously featured Kate Jackson and TableCrowd so we were delighted when Kate offered to write a guest post for Startacus on the subject of '3 Common Misconceptions About Being An Entrepreneur In A Startup'. Over to Kate: 

I left my role as a commercial solicitor in a top City practice around 6 years ago and have since co-founded two tech startups, ClickTonight & TableCrowd. Having made this move, means I am often the first port of call for friends who have an idea and wish to start their own businesses. Having talked many ideas through with numerous friends, a pattern started to emerge with their expectations - and with my advice, based on my own experiences. I wanted to share the top 3 common misconceptions.

1. “I’m fed up of making money for someone else, I want to get rich myself”

I wouldn’t suggest embarking on a startup if making money and getting rich is your main objective. If you want to get rich and sustain a comfortable lifestyle, stay in paid employment. Many peers I speak to plan to leave a well-paid profession, where they earn a salary which increases year on year, with the addition of a bonus thrown in if they’re lucky. I prompt them to do the maths and weigh up the odds – taking into account the stat commonly thrown around that only 1 in 10 startups succeed. Sticking with paid employment is a more sensible route to take if the priority is to be wealthy. 

When I started my first business with starry eyes, I thought I’d be rich by the end of the year! I’m now six years in. I think it is important to start your own business because you want to change something, grow something or make the world a better place - cheesy I know but it’s true. It’s ‘odds on’ that you’ll have a lot of fun and memorable times with your own business but the odds are a lot shakier on whether you’ll make a bucket load of cash. When you generate that first pound of revenue and you are chuffed to bits with yourself, remember that the ‘opportunity cost’ is probably at least 6 months wages!

2. “I want to be my own boss”

Yes, on paper it’s true, working for yourself you are your own boss, but it might not be as liberalising as you hoped.  A boss can take many shapes and forms, and just because you don’t have a boss assigning clients, cases or workloads you to, you will still have people to answer to. And when it is your own business, you will have way more people to answer to - your clients and customers, your team and possibly investors, will all want a piece of you. You’ll notice a shift for sure but it’s the same principle, just a different form.

3. “I want to make a life style choice and have more flexibility over my working life”

If you are looking for a good work-life balance then having your own business isn’t necessarily the route to achieve that goal, especially at the start. I work way harder now with far longer hours than I did as a lawyer - and I was a diligent and hard working lawyer! You do have flexibility over your hours however, and in my case I get to choose which 6 days and which 14 hours each day I work….

It is hard for sure, and you should enter it with your eyes wide open. But it’s not all doom and gloom; it’s fun. Every day is different and you’ll never be bored which, if you’re reading this whilst working for someone else, might well be more than you can say for your days right now.

TableCrowd is a real life social network where you can meet people over food. If you are thinking of starting your own business or have already done so, why not join one of TableCrowd’s startup dinners to share ideas and experiences with other entrepreneurs.  Details here: http://www.tablecrowd.com/crowds/the-startup-engine


Cheers Kate and a good read! If you like this post you might also like some of our other guest posts, such as...

• 5tips for getting new clients and new business 
• Tips on building value into your Enterprise
• Learning How to Pitch

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Published on: 17th August 2013