👩‍💻Why Companies Despise and Avoid Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs aren’t a threat, they’re a bonus.

They have a business mind. They are risk averse yet never want to look or feel comfortable.

The main reason employers believe entrepreneurs make poor employees is because they are independent and do not take direction or feedback well. They have their direction and stick to it. 

Yet what companies seem to not understand is that unless you have a failing startup, successful entrepreneurs cannot work alone.

Asking for help is a necessity. There’s no I in Team.

In fact, it’s rare to be able to run a successful company solo. It’s not only a poor decision, it isn’t wise since you aren’t saving your time and delegating your energy towards the priorities. Team work makes the dream work, not just in the corporate world.

Failing Failure

One of the main reasons startups fail is to due founder discrepancy and controversy. Entrepreneurs can tell early on who they can work with since a business partner is everything. Yet many investors seem to believe that lacking a co-founder is illegitimate and can harm future success. It isn’t always the case but down the road, it could make or break a company.

For that matter, when choosing a partner might as well marry them because you are practically building a child from the ground up.

Entrepreneurs know how to operate, fix and handle things. They’ve raised their own child and the more they’ve failed, the more courage they have to deal with more setbacks.

The last thing you want is to hire someone who is fearful of any change and cannot move on from a mistake they made.

Sword

So are companies afraid entrepreneurs are so incredible they will possibly take over or dictate the whole organization into acting a certain way?

Is this about jealousy and hierarchy or conservatism?

What I can say to that is most people are stuck in their ways, especially in their work habits and lifestyle. Entrepreneurs offer a fresh perspective, not a dangerous one to change.

Companies should yearn for some introspection and add more to the team who’ve walked the walk not just fresh grads or later hirers with the identical role at a competitor.

Khakis and Weekends

Companies are conservative. They have a formal dress code, rarely work on weekends, unless you’re an analyst at a bank or fancy startup, don’t allow certain behaviors, are strict and formal, have dedicated in and out periods and work a certain way that everyone follows in an identical manner.

Majority of the workforce is employed by a company through a 9–5 job. The gig economy is booming yet no where near company sponsored employment hence there continues to be a slim percentage of Americans who are wealthier since they don’t rely on W2 income to keep themselves afloat.

So if you are in the workforce, keep doing what you’re doing. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with consistency and a pay ceiling. Just something to note, to get yourself out of financial debt and financial prison, create passive income sources, an emergency fund, save 50%+ of your income and live below your means to thrive.

Spark

There are pros and cons to every job out there. Working solo can be daunting, frightening, lonely and dangerous while working for a company can be frustrating, long and boring. Either way, finding a balance, setting yourself up for success beyond the paycheck is key.

Don’t let money rule your life.

Rule it instead!

Whenever I meet fellow entrepreneurs at events, venues, conferences or startup bootcamps, I encounter unique personalities that are truly fascinating. Sadly after working for 4+ years in the corporate environment, I don’t find many individuals that think like this.

Companies could really benefit if they took a chance and branched out of hiring people identical to everyone else.

Yet, just like a job, these personalities might not be favored by employers due to these factors:

-They say what they want
-They need to have a mission every time
-They work at their own pace and schedule
-They believe values and success come first

The truth is, similarly to immigrants, entrepreneurs are the backbone of this country. Someone had to start something and to do so you have to be diligent, get out of your comfort zone and do things that not everyone will like.

I don’t know about you but if I were an employer, I would take a chance on an entrepreneur anytime. Especially if their business failed. You’re not a failure, the concept is. Opening up about failure means they are truthful, haven’t given up and learned from their mistakes. They tried and experimented, took a chance on themselves, wanted to incorporate their unique insight into an idea.

Who cares if it doesn’t work out!

At least you tried and that’s the hardest part!

Why are companies so afraid of diversity and change?

Well, money and time is on the line.

Money takes time to grow and time cannot be replaced nor purchased.

Business always comes first and since hiring costs millions per year and manual personalized labor, they want to take the safe but not always reliable path instead.

Plus, companies probably ponder: everything is working great now! Why change?

Unfortunately it has taken decades for organizations and C-suite billion, trillion dollar companies we look up to incorporate a Chief Diversity Inclusion Officer or even invest in ESG (environmentally social governance funds) for goodness sakes!

Returns are always important since business is business after all.

There are warning signs to hiring anyone because it’s always risky in some capacity yet ruling out someone because simply because they took and tried more than the average applicant is a shallow move in my book.

I hope this post inspires you to consume less, produce more and remind companies that no one is a failure. There are dozens of reasons why something doesn’t work at the moment. The biggest of them all: timing and sheer luck both of which cannot be controlled. There’s never a right time to do anything so if it flops, don’t blame yourself.

If an entrepreneur who’s gone through that can teach their skeptical, anxious and embarrassed team members at a company that lesson, the whole organization will be better off in the long run because life is 10% what happens, 90% how you react to it.

To fail is a privilege. Do it more often to stand out.

Everyone wants your brilliance.