Good Evening,
I have the privilege of interacting with a lot of people that are doing their own thing to make a living (I am reluctant to call them entrepreneurs in some cases, keep reading for why). Because of this I get to observe a variety of behaviors and patterns that fascinate me. One I am noticing is that an awful lot of self described entrepreneurs want to skip chapters and jump right to the end of the book where they are making money from a Profiiting business, without having to put in the pain, hard work, and dedication it takes to earn it. Now one caveat before we continue here. If you are in a position where you can invest in, or outright buy a Profiitable business then this is fine, because presumably you have done something that has put you in that position… but that’s not the person I am talking about today.
Here are a few examples of what I AM talking about:
- Someone who decides they want to start a digital marketing agency because they took a course on it. They either just start selling and have no idea how to fulfill what it is they are selling then post “Just signed my first Facebook ads client! Anyone know how to do Facebook ads?” or they say “I am starting a digital marketing agency! Looking to get someone to do Facebook ads, Email marketing, SEO, and I need a sales person.” which makes me ask… what is YOUR job going to be?
- The next is someone that sees someone that is already good at something and proposes to “partner” with them. In reality what they mean by partnership is “I need what you do but don’t want to put up the money or put in the work to get it done.” they want to piggyback off the hard work you have done without putting equal skin in the game (you wouldn’t believe how many times I am approached with things like this).
- The person that is trying to emulate what someone they look up to is doing. The intention here is actually good… but the problem is they are trying to skip the steps that got the successful person to where they are without actually consulting with that person on the mistakes they made and what they learned from them to get them to the position that is worth emulating.
These are the main ones I see but of course its not an exhaustive list.
The problem with the first one is that it is really unethical to take someone’s money if you don’t know what you are doing. I am not saying you have to or should master a skill before selling it, but you should at least be competent in it, and if you don’t want to do something yourself, at least to some degree,you probably shouldn’t get into that business at all.
The second one… just don’t. Either invest in a business, buy a business outright, or build your own. Don’t try to prosper off someone else’s work without putting in your own. Its extremely disrespectful to them, and won’t end up working out for either of you.
The last one the best advice I can give is to pay them money to get the answers to the test. I for example learned a lot from Alex Becker… but only when I paid him a lot to be in his mastermind. Its ok to admire and emulate someone, but without direct access you are going to miss pieces of the puzzle and its unlikely to work out for you.
We live in an amazing time where anyone with a smart phone can make a full time living and never have to report to Middle Manager Bob again… but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to earn it and put in the hard work and dedication. I close all my livestreams with “Figure out what you want out of life and go out and get it because you owe it to yourself and you owe it to the world.” but that doesn’t mean you can take it without earning it. Take advantage of the opportunities that the 21st century offers and live the life you want… but do it the right way.
Best,
CMW