128. Entrepreneurship is a must

Hi Erik,

My father owned a shoe business and a shop, he taught me from a young age that I should start my own company. He believed that if you were skilled and worked as an employee, you were only making more money for the boss, not for yourself. And it was true at his time that an employee had little chance to make good money.I’ve been employed twice. The first time was at a market research agency, the owner promised me that I could take it over, which was ultimately a false promise. The second time was for a shoe company, which was just as disappointing as both the owners ended up fighting, while the company was doing really well.

I’ve had the same experience time and time again, with either the owner or the managers getting in the way of my success. As I see it, few entrepreneurs really push for the company’s ultimate success and are led by emotion. That’s why it’s much better to work independently; there’s no boss to screw it up for you. I prefer to be the master of my own destiny, instead of being the victim of managerial antics. I prefer to make my own opportunities. Being an entrepreneur feels very natural to me, as I see nothing but advantages:

1. You are responsible for your own success. You’re the only person responsible for your successes and failures. There’s no one else to blame, and that means you have full control.
2. Freedom of financial choice. Everything you earn (and lose) is on your own account. You are accountable for all things financial. You set your own salary.
3. You set the risks. No-one but you determines the risks as regards investments and major decisions. You’re free to make your own choices.
4. Freedom of action. You don’t have to ask people for permission to go on holiday, take a day off or show up late / leave early. You have freedom.
5. The money works for you instead of the other way around. As an employee, you work to get your paycheck and earn some money. The same is true for entrepreneurs, but that’s not the whole story. If you have shares in your company and things go well, those shares will earn you money: a dividend. Back in 2010, I was sidelined for around 7 months following a skiing accident. My income that year actually went up because the company kept running and booked a nice profit. As an entrepreneur, your money will end up working for you and that yields you far more in the long term than working for money.
6. A bonus for capital appreciation. The better your company performs in terms of revenue and profit, the more value it has for a potential buyer of (part of) your shares. In our industry, it’s common to receive about 10-15 times the profit for your share if you sell. And that’s after having paid yourself a salary and dividends for all those years. Needless to say, that’s an enormous bonus for all your hard work and effort.

That’s why I’ll always recommend starting entrepreneuring. Every employee in our company has the option to obtain shares. In many cases, we even hand them out for free when you’ve proven yourself to be a valuable partner. In the past, we handed shares out a bit too quickly to co-workers who may have had potential, but who in practice failed spectacularly as partners and entrepreneurs. We’ve drawn lessons from these experiences. Now, we only offer shares to those with proven qualities.

Regards,

Gerard