I get Perry Marshall’s AdWords/marketing email newsletters. Today’s had a section on entrepreneurs versus wanna-bes that I thought was really, really good:
- Wanna-be’s obsess about ideas. Entrepreneurs obsess about implementation.
- Wanna-be’s want more web traffic. Enrepreneurs focus on sales conversion.
- Wanna-be’s focus on positive thinking. Entrepreneurs plan for multiple contingencies.
- Wanna-be’s want to get on TV and get “famous.” Entrepreneurs build their list.
- Wanna-be’s seek a perfect plan. Entrepreneurs execute and adjust the plan later.
- Wanna-be’s wait for their lucky break. Entrepreneurs engineer four, five, six plans and execute them in tandem, wagering that at least one plan will get traction.
- Wanna-be’s fear looking stupid in front of their friends. Entrepreneurs willingly risk making fools of themselves, knowing that long-term success is a good trade for short-term loss of dignity.
- Wanna-be’s shield their precious ideas from harsh reality, postponing the verdict of success or failure until ‘someday.’ Entrepreneurs expose their ideas to cold reality as soon as reasonably possible.
- Wanna-be’s put off practicing basketball until they’ve got Air Jordans. Entrepreneurs practice barefoot behind the garage.
- Wanna-be’s believe what they’re told, believe their own assumptions. Entrepreneurs do original research and determine what paths have been already trod.
- Wanna-be’s believe they can do anything. Entrepreneurs do what they’re gifted for and delegate the rest.
- Wanna-be’s think about the world in terms of COULD and SHOULD. Entrepreneurs think in terms of IS and CAN BE.
To be honest, it’s a great checklist to check up on my own behavior. Am I acting like an entrepreneur or a wanna-be?
[tags] perrry marshall, adwords, entrepreneur, john koetsier [/tags]
Oh dear, I’m not sure if it was supposed to make me feel this way, but reading your list made me realise that wannabes have all the fun. Except maybe the bit about the Air Jordans. That’s seriously “perfect line of colour-coordinated pens in the top pocket” entrepreneurship.
=)
Yup, wannabes have all the fun. Entrepreneurs make all the money.
🙂
there are definetIy many wannabes out there when it comes to wanting to start a business and what not, but i wouId assume that is the starting point, if you are not a wannabe then you are not reaIIy starting the point in which where the point of entrepreneurship begins, so come to think about it everything is more or Iess connected in a pattern from the wannabes to professionaIs it is one straight Iine of course with weak areas and strong areas depending on the degree of “newbieness” or the degree of “professionaIism” .
statisticIy speaking if i am not mistaken onIy one out of 100 entrepreneurs make it, which means 99 of them must be wannabes, the reaI question is that.. is there a gray area when it comes who how much of an entrepreneur one is, perhaps one can have 49% entreprenurship skiIIs and faiI and one can have 51% of entreprenurship skiIIs and succeed, maybe that 2% makes the difference between who is and who isnt, which seems Iike a very coId nature but then again what can one do if that is how nature works, after aII nature is our god and it can sometimes be very routhIess.
Most important one IMO:
wannabes treat entrepreneurship as a one-time time constrained venture.
entrepreneurs can’t help but be entrepreneurs for much of their life.