~by Yanran Carpenter~
When people say they want to be an entrepreneur, I often ask, “what kind of entrepreneur do you want to be?” They end up looking very confused. Here is what I mean.
There are many types of entrepreneurs, but you can usually put them into two big categories. The first is the “follower” type, and the second is the “creator” type.
Follower
You see small shop owners selling baseball hats and T-shirts outside the stadium on baseball games, and a few days later they are selling light sticks and posters at a concert. Those shop owners are the follower type entrepreneurs. There is nothing wrong with that. They make quick bucks when they see the opportunity, and they are kind of good at that.
The downside of this entrepreneur type is that they have to always chase opportunities, and if they take a break or a vacation, they will miss the chance to make any money. It is not good for long turn entrepreneurship.
Creator
Instead of going in every direction, this type of entrepreneurs have only one direction. They will spend years to build this one thing and try to be the best in the industry. The advantage of being this type of entrepreneur is once your brand takes off, your revenue will grow even when you are taking a vacation because you have done the hard work at the beginning.
The disadvantage of this type of entrepreneur is that not many people have the time and the money to keep working on this one idea for a long period of time without seeing a return on their investment. Many entrepreneurs didn’t prepare the mindset for this, and they gave up before they could see results.
So what kind entrepreneur do you want to be?
The good news is, you don’t have to choose one. You can be a hybrid entrepreneur. At the beginning stage, you may not have the necessary money to invest in your big idea. It is okay to have a side hustle to make some quick money. However, remember that this is not your long-term goal. You need to build an empire that will generate long-term wealth automatically. I know this is not an easy thing to do; especially because everyone wants to see results tomorrow. But trust me, when people come to you because they think you are the best at what you do and are willing to pay ten times more for your service or products, it is worth the time and effort you put in all those years!
Meet the Author: Yanran Carpenter
Yanran is a career expert and the founder of the Dream Career Academy, which helps millennials discover their dream career and make that into a reality. In addition to her coaching programs, Yanran has a podcast called Yanran Career Lab, which helps people overcome self-doubts and rejections from family or friends by sharing stories from everyday people just like you.
