I am excited to share this guest post from Sunny Verma CEO of TutorBright, one of the world's leading in-home tutoring companies that provides world-class mentoring. Sunny is passionate about helping keep school-aged kids happy by boosting both their self-esteem and their grades.
Sunny has built a thriving business and he is here to share some of his wisdom with us today. Now, its over to him.
On the surface, there isn’t a great deal of difference. When we think of the typical early-stage entrepreneur and someone looking for work, a similar person presents themselves: we see someone who refers to their parents as “roommates,” eats KD and ramen noodles on a daily basis, rarely goes out, and often asks themselves – “when is this going to get better?”
It’s true. Young entrepreneurs live a similar life to someone looking for work, and may be indistinguishable from them on paper. But speak to both, and I’ll wager that you will get an entirely different perspective on work and life. An entrepreneur may not make any money and may live with their parents in the early years, but their mindset and approach to life will convince you that they’re quite far from being unemployed.
Here are the three most striking distinctions between an entrepreneur and someone without work.
Purpose and Vision
When you don’t have a job, looking for one can feel toxic and hopeless. Like wandering through a dark, unforgiving forest looking for fruit, the process is often filled with hopeless searching and settling for something less than ideal, or nothing at all.
Entrepreneurs see the dark forest and wonder how they can hang lanterns from the trees and pave a path through it.
They forgo the promise of fruit and see what else the forest has to offer, promising themselves that they’ll do whatever they can to bring this to the world. Fruit is great – but what about honey, wildflowers and lumber? When an entrepreneur decides that they are willing to pursue their idea, they will mentally, physically, emotionally commit to it, much more than they would to a job they may have not been that keen about in the first place. They ignore the fruit-pickers and focus on a different vision of the world.
This is because most millennial and Gen Y entrepreneurs’ ideas have the ability to massively impact the world. Although to the average person the idea may seem fruitless (no pun intended), entrepreneurs have a narrow vision that will deflect criticism. That’s why someone like Elon Musk will boldly announce that humans will live on Mars, and keep pushing boundaries, while the rest of us think he is out to lunch.
Even when there is no money, and a minimal likelihood of success, entrepreneurs have a reason to get up in the morning and stay up late. Entrepreneurs see something the average person hasn’t seen yet, and they care deeply about showing it to them.
Hustle
When you are broke, unemployed, and hungry, looking and applying for jobs is a difficult and stressful thing to do. It feels hopeless and discouraging. Procrastination sets in, and the Netflix marathons begin.
As an entrepreneur, when you have your “ah-hah!” moment and are willing to commit to it, nothing gets in your way. You forget to eat, sleep, and even sometimes shower. Your family and friends wonder where and why you are hiding. You are committed to bringing your idea to life, and with this commitment comes an extreme dedication to succeeding. Everything else seems pointless.
Hustle and hard work become the motto you live by, and you wear it with pride.
When your friends talk about the weekend ahead, you brag about how your Monday starts on a Sunday. As an entrepreneur, especially in the early years, there are no breaks and you consider this a badge of honour.
Sense of Community
Being unemployed and looking for a job can feel extremely isolating and, sometimes, embarrassing. This feeling of unacceptable pushes people into a sadness which can lead to temporary depression. It can be overwhelming and a difficult chasm to escape.
Yet when we consider entrepreneurship, even the smallest, nascent startup, it has never been easier to feel like you are a part of a massive, ambitious community. There are dedicated online and offline communities, blogs, and magazines to share ideas, best case practices and, of course, motivational quotes.
Co-working spaces are on the rise and make it easy for any one-person-startup to join, giving them a sense of place. Networking and learning events occur on a regular basis. All of this gives the purposeful and ambitious entrepreneur a place to feel normal, and even more, a place to feel constantly inspired.
Twenty years ago, being an entrepreneur practically meant the same thing as being unemployed. Today, on paper (and according to your bank account) it may look identical, but there are vast differences.
Now, an entrepreneur wears with pride the struggle of being broke and starting out, has a place to share that struggle and stay motivated with others, and feels a sense of honour to work the 18 hour days, all with the hope of making the world a better place.