Entrepreneur Life vs Corporate Life
(I wrote this post earlier this year for Monica at TwentySet.com. Want to post it now in preparation for my follow-up post)
I have experienced the entrepreneur life and the corporate life. I understand the pros and cons of each and have realized that one is NOT better than the other. What I have realized is that the life that suits you most depends completely on your personality and stage of life that you are in.
Are You a Risk Taker or Do You Like Feeling Comfortable?
I was at my corporate job for about 3 months. I was a consultant and I have to tell you, it was such a comfortable and easy-going time. Don’t get me wrong, the hours were decently long (8am – 7pm everyday), but the work that I did was relatively easy and my responsibilities were not huge. We had casual Fridays along with bagels in the morning to spruce things up a bit. When I got home, I went to the gym, ate some dinner, and watched TV until I fell asleep. There was no work on the weekends, so I spent them lying on the beach with the girlfriend or going out to lounge with the buddies. It was very comfortable because they told me what to do, I did the work, and I could relax outside of work.
This life did not suit me. I felt that they were not using my talents and abilities to the fullest. I decided to resign and pursue my startup dreams with my pledge bro from UCLA. It was a humongous risk because I went from receiving a steady paycheck to no income at all. Do you have the guts to live off of your savings until you are able to generate some income on your own? If the thought of living off of your savings, cutting back on expenses, and not going out makes your stomach hurt, then you do not have the balls to be an entrepreneur. I currently work about 100 hours a week (I work weekends as well) pushing and willing my company to succeed. I work in the morning, I work while at the gym, I work while eating, and I work while sleeping (I sometimes have dreams about my company). This is the life that you will endure as an entrepreneur.
Do You Have a Skill-Set that You Excel In or Are You a Hard Worker?
I had to work hard in my corporate life and I have to work now as an entrepreneur. You work hard no matter what. However, the big difference is that you must have an outstanding skill-set as an entrepreneur in order to succeed. What do I mean by this?
In the corporate world, you can survive by just getting by. Once you make it into the company, all you have to do is not suck and you’ll continue to get your steady paycheck and move up the corporate ladder. You don’t need to do anything extraordinary nor do you need to do more than you’re asked to do. You live comfortably.
As an entrepreneur, you will need to push yourself to the limit just to get one thing done right. If you don’t push yourself to do it, then your company will not grow and you will not succeed. When you begin your quest, you will start off with a small, tight-knit team. My company started off with three people: the CEO, the CTO, and me (the CMO). The skill-sets that I have had to develop and excel in is marketing, PR, and business development. There is no one else in the company who is pushing for clients or who is analyzing the competition and doing extensive market research. If I don’t do it, no one will.
This is what I mean by excelling in a skill-set. In a large corporation, if I mess up or don’t do something well, there are about 50 other guys who can pick up my slack and finish what I’m doing. As the founder of your own company, if you mess up, you better find a way to fix the problem or else your company will fail.
The Entrepreneurial Black Hole
Everyone starts off with the same plan: “I’m going to work for a few years and once I get enough experience, I’ll start my own company.” This is the entrepreneurial black hole that people fall into and never get out of.
The perfect time to start your own company is during college or right afterward. You are fresh, full of energy, with no commitments like house payments or kids to tie you down. You can argue that you have no real experience, but let me honestly tell you, the corporate world does not prepare you for the entrepreneurial world. What you learn at your corporate job will most likely not carry over to what you will need as an entrepreneur. More importantly, the more you wait to be an entrepreneur, the more responsibilities you will have and the greater the risk. You cannot start a company with a mortgage to pay and kids to feed. The checks that you receive every month become bigger and bigger, and it becomes increasingly harder to give it up and start living off of your savings.
The entrepreneurial life is not better than the corporate life. Which one you decide to choose completely depends on your personality and life situation. The best thing for you to do is to go out there and try both. Get an internship with a corporate company and try out the comfortable life. Start a company while in your dorm room to find out if the risk motivates you and stimulates your brain. After my experiences with both, I now know that I am an entrepreneur at heart.
Hey Jun - You’re right. College is the perfect time to start building a business… Worst case scenario is that you fail and you have to get a corporate job. The experience you’d gain would be worth every penny.
You also make a great point about the blackhole… Once you get sucked in, it will be hard to get out.
That’s very true, but I do believe the skills you build in corporate america can transfer to other jobs, including starting a business. There are some phenomenal development opportunities such as: giving presentations, selling, having crucial conversations, business etiquette, etc.
These are all things the corporate world will teach you.
Another advantage of being on the “short term corporate america” track is that you have the opportunity to use your entreprenurial spirit within the company… This can be done by finding a niche project that you can take the reigns to. Try doing something new and innovative within the company.
I understand small and big busines are two very different worlds, but it’s about the process of doing it… not the exact tasks themselves. You are learning how to build something from nothing… Those experiences can be applied to any job (or business opportunity) you pursue.
Hope all has been well with you!
Andy,
I like your suggestion about taking your entrepreneurial spirit into the corporate world. However, I have heard many stories where people want to contribute something new or innovative to their company but they can’t because of the bureaucracy. I think that’s something pretty universal in all large firms. They’re just so big and have so much red tape that it is extremely hard to start anything new or change the way things are done.
That’s a good point but it depends what group you are in within the Corporation, the overall culture of the Corporate in accepting suggestions for innovation and of course your manager and leadership. It also takes influencing skills to prove to people your idea is worth a try.
As an entrepreneur, you do whatever you want with your idea.
Good post btw.
Hey Jun,
You’re absolutely right…it takes a lot of will and mental capital to build one’s entrepreneurial path. I know this has been mentioned several times, but great examples include Bill Gates and Michael Dell. Both went against the conventional thought that a college education automatically spells success. Both men took the initiative to build a plan themselves. It speaks volumes today. Of course, a college education is valuable…no doubt about that. But at the end of day, what counts is the person.
As an entrepreneur, you are in charge of molding and shaping the things around you, rather than being molded by others. But whatever anyone does, whether you work for a company OR launch a new company yourself, a plan is critical to your success. Perhaps those who work for a company, don’t necessarily have a plan at all…because they are in a comfort zone (stable income, benefits, etc.). As an entrepreneur, there is no second chance - you better have a plan!
The one drawback, however, is the person tends to take a “know-all” position on all matters. True, some listen and learn, but a good number work and implement solely on premature, untried skills. This is indeed a great learning process at the same time. But again, let me stress - plan, plan, plan!
Greg
Planning and preparation is definitely a big must for any company or startup. Something that I’ve experienced is that execution ability is VERY crucial. You can plan, plan, and plan with your team members, but if you guys don’t execute, you’re never going to get anywhere.
In a startup, you wear pretty much every hat of the company, so you experience A LOT of different things. You do experience a “know-all” position, but you always have something that you specialize in.
in the 6 years I worked for a fortune 50 company, I’d say the key takeway was that you need to be great at something and find people who are great at the things that you’re not great at. This is what makes corporations so successful - they have people who at great in each function of a business. Of course you don’t have the capital to pay for most resources but that’s when the magic of being a successful entrepreneur comes in. Use your network to help you, negotiate favors, influence people to do the work for you… trying to wear all hats and say to yourself you can do it all will only wear you out. At corporations they call it leadership.
You’re absolutely right Jun. Entrepreneurial vs. Corporate life, a huge portion of it has to do with the life stage they’re in and of course, their personalities, goals in life. Security vs. risk has always been a question mark for many people. Often times, many people are encouraged to pursue a secure career, because of what they’re told, if they follow the path of their predecessors, they will succeed. But at the end of the day, “are you satisfied?” remains to be a question.
At some point in time, I found myself caught in between. It took me a while to finally recognize my dreams and had the courage to confront myself, yes, corporate life is no doubt reliable, but I am not/will not be satisfied. I remembered walking out of all the internships I’ve had in the past, the first thing came up to my mind was, I’m never coming back here, simply imagining how life would be living on a static routine for 10, 20, 30 years, frightens me.
One great thing about being young is you have nothing to lose, and time is your only collateral in the entrepreneurial journey. There’s no guarantee of success, they all carry some sort of risk, but trying and perhaps failing is better than never trying and surely failing. And the good news is you just might be pleasantly surprised.
As a student of a prominent business school, my parents are hell-bent on me working my way up in the corporate life. I, on the other hand, would like to work for myself- running my web design business. They cannot seem to see the potential or the reward in being an entrepreneur. Rather, they try to convince me to settle with the safe route of a 9 to 5 corporate job with stead benefits. Anyone have any advice to those who have trouble convincing their loved ones (mainly parents) that entrepreneurship is for them?
Wendy - You’re right, when you’re young, you pretty much have nothing to lose. Once you’re married and have a house, it’s almost impossible to become an entrepreneur. The risk is just too great. A student entrepreneur is ideal!
Cary - I have had the same experience. I was working at a international consulting firm before deciding to step aside to work on my company full time. It’s one of the best things I have ever done; however, it does come with its price. I live off of my savings right now, moved back with my parents, do free lance work to support my living, and work insane amounts of hours without any pay. The best thing for you to do is do just do it anyways. Doing what you love is more important than just blindly listening to your parents.
Another suggestion that I have is to do your web design company free lance while working the corporate world. You can do it part-time until you can steadily support yourself.
This is a great discussion going on above.
How about making sure you keep the connections you made in the corporate world, and taking them to your business? Assuming you have enough freedom to make those connections of course.
When I plan to go it alone, I will be consulting for my current company on many of my projects, so their current and my current clients are a network that I cannot loose. My main drive for this is to have the freedom to consult for many of the same people, but not be a revenue factor for my current employer. The difference between my actual pay, and my ‘charge out’ rate is fascinating, all so that the consultants I work with can rent their office space, stay in comfort when travelling - and of course tons of other things.
Anyhoo, THE network. Take it with you. That is my real point here.
Torbjorn - great point. When I was working as a consultant, I was being billed out at $200 per hour and I only say $25 of it!!! Its quite a ridiculous difference if you think about it. Especially since a lot of my peers were building binders and doing data entry. We were like, “This is a $200 binder!”
To be honest, I didn’t have the time to build a strong network at my consulting firm. The people that I met there were NOT in the web 2.0 field, nor were they interested in it. No one at my office blogs, so the only way I can keep in touch is through Facebook and LinkedIn.
But yes, I must ultimately agree. The NETWORK is of the utmost importance.
As a person who is constitutionally unemployable - running my own business is by far the best thing I have ever done. Since 2001, I have not worked a day in my life.
Don’t get me wrong… I put in a lot of hours. But the hours I put in are because I want to - not because I have to.
Running your own business is not for everyone. If you do not like risk - not for you. If you do not like long hours - not for you. If you do not have support in your family (if you are married) - not for you.
However… If you are looking for the ability to CONTROL YOUR DESTINY - then having your own business is the way to go.
Jun,
I just found your blog and have been loving the lessons you’ve been sharing. I am a student who, after completing internships in the field, strongly believed that the best path for me was in landing a career with a top consultancy and then moving on to my own entrepreneurial endeavor after gaining a stronger network, problem-solving mindset, and time to find a great idea. It seems less and less likely now that I will be able to land one of those few coveted spots at McKinsey, Bain, or Boston Consulting Group, (and the above-mentioned positives) despite my work ethic and passion.
My main concern with graduating in 09 and starting my own business is managing the risk of entrepreneurship by making sure I can reenter that top consulting firm track if the start-up life doesn’t work right out of college. What advice would you give to someone like me?
Regards,
Michael
Michael, thanks for reaching out.
The top three consulting firms are extremely tough to get into. I have seen many of my friends prepare for the case interviews night and day for 4 weeks straight and still not get in.
The startup life will be an extremely educational experience. I feel you’ll learn much more while running a startup than at any consulting firm; however, you have to be proactive about learning. You have to be the go-getter. Get mentors who will guide you along the way. At every step, make sure you are building your personal brand so that people know the hard work that you are doing and that people know the lessons you are learning.
It will be tough to get back into top-tier consulting from entrepreneurship. They are actually very different.
The best bet to get back in is to get your MBA from a top 10 school. From there, you can leverage your startup experience and MBA to get any consulting job.
Hope this helps and lets definitely chat sometime on Skype.
- Jun
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Great way to breakdown the differences you’ve experienced between a corporate job and entrepreneurship. Might I add that every entrepreneur’s experience will be different. There are so many factors that go into the experience of building a business: industry, current market, instability (can be a big plus), ongoing trends.
I reviewed possible ventures back in November last year but ended up opting for starting with brand building and networking first, and product selection later. Building a potential customer base before having a product may some pretty backwards but it makes sense to me. It only costs me 20hours per week to right a few well thought blog posts, and I’m doing the research/reading already out of interest. I’m very excited about the potential of social/collaboritive project design tools using Google wave.
Thanks for sharing your experiences Jun.
Jun, great post.
Right now I am a senior in college and have been working on building my brand/business throughout the past 2 years of school. My family has been telling me that I need to focus on finding an internship and go to work in corporate america if I am to ever have the success I want.
I’m a Business major with a concentration in Management and have found that I have learned more reading blogs and books about business success and entrepreneurship than I have ever learned in any of my classes. The classes aren’t really challenging any way of thinking or innovating for business as it is just textbook examples and I feel that if I pursue corporate life, I will end up bored out of my mind and end up so unhappy that the constant paycheck won’t make up for the unhappiness.
I am an Entrepreneur and love fixing problems that arise and identifying new ways to make money for businesses. I am not going to lie, I am nervous about pursuing my passion and am doing an internship next semester so that I can gain some experience in corporate america. Thank you for this post and do you have any advice for me?
-Chris Hughes
Enjoyed visiting your site. I’ve been exploring different options so that I can work from home in the near future.
Great posting Jun. About 3 years back, I got to know that I am born to to only business though, currently I am in corporate life. In these 3 years, I kept trying to build something. Sometimes failed and sometimes surpassed my expectation. I am married, have my newly born baby but my wife keeps pressing me for what I wanted to do. I am in early phase of web2.0 startup plan and I must say these 3 years taught me many things while working in corporate. Stay tuned, I will come back to you guys.
Again great post!!!