Living Life As an Entrepreneur: Without a Startup

By Shlomo Maital

   A funny thing happened to me on my way to speak to a group of Canada’s York University engineering students on Monday. I did a “pivot”.

   In startup entrepreneurship,   startups “pivot” when they start by doing one thing, or one idea, and discover (by interacting with real people) that what is really needed is something different.

     I spoke to my students about “why startups fail – and how a few succeed”. But I also spoke to them about – when to become an entrepreneur?

   In five years? 10 years? After gaining experience and saving some money?

   No.

   Now. Today. Tonight!

   Because entrepreneurship is not a profession, it is a mindset. And we all can live fuller, more interesting, more meaningful, more creative lives, if we live them as entrepreneurs, with an entrepreneurial mindset.

   But what is it? What is an entrepreneurial mindset?

   I believe there are two parts.

   Part One: sharp eyes and ears. Be alert for things that you believe are simply wrong, and for people who have a pressing need that is unmet.   Entrepreneurs don’t seek to make money, they seek to make meaning, by filling unmet needs of people, to make people happier, smarter, wiser, more content, healthier, and more vigorous. Living a life by doing this, even in small ways, is full of interest and meaning. I myself discovered this rather late, but not too late.

   Part Two: solutions. Assume that for every challenge, every problem, every unmet need, there IS a solution. And if not a solution, an amelioration, a way to make things a bit better or a lot better. If you assume from the outset that really hard problems do NOT have a solution, then your brain will be unlikely to come up with one. If you assume from the outset that there IS a solution, or at least a partial one, your brain, including your subconscious brain, will work on the problem – and ideas will pop into your head at the most unexpected times.   I’ve known many people who recount such experiences – and I’ve had them myself.

     Want to become an entrepreneur?   Start now. Look for ways to make people happy. Then implement them.    

     Worth a try?