Fear vs Pivot

I am quickly figuring out that becoming an entrepreneur isn't a "get out of jail free" card - the "jail" being your current job. In fact, there's nothing free about it at all.

If you have read my previous posts you know that up to this point I had been trying to create a profitable niche site that would generate passive income. Well I am here to tell you that I have pivoted away from the niche site idea. Don't get me wrong, I did the preliminary work: wrote the articles, registered the domain, and even went as far as setting up a web-hosting service with Blue Host. There was work still to be done, but as I got closer and closer to my self imposed launch date, something began to occur to me: what I had written in my previous post really was the truth.

To me, being an entrepreneur is as much about creating something larger than yourself as it is about being self employed. Passive income is great - and niche sites are a proven way to generate some - but our desire to become entrepreneurs should go beyond scheming ways to make money.

That may sound backward to some of you, and I agree with you to an extent. Many aspiring entrepreneurs' goal is to make money any way they can, so they can quit their job and live the lifestyle they want. So maybe it's nothing more than fear that stopped me from moving forward with my niche site. Maybe it's nothing more than fear that stops any of us from doing anything at all. I refuse, however, to let go of the belief that part of being an entrepreneur is being a social leader in the space you operate. Entrepreneurs have a duty to create something out of nothing, to provide us with a product or service that enhances our lives, to help move society forward.

Successful Entrepreneurs sell by serving.

I think a lot of us (myself included) assume that being an entrepreneur is all about making quick money. The truth is that becoming an entrepreneur involves a lot of pain. It involves a lot of time, blood, sweat, and tears, and I haven't even begun to understand the extent of that sacrifice. It is the entrepreneurs' curse that they must both solve our pain, and endure some pain of their own.

So I guess this is pitfall number one on the road to entrepreneurship? I have other ideas that have been bouncing around in my head, and it's time to start implementing them. The difference between these new ideas and my original niche site idea is that these new ones all involve building a sustainable platform. Building a "tribe," as thought-leader Seth Godin would call it. I'm excited to see where this new "tribe" approach takes me, and I'm excited to share it all with you. Remember, I hope that reading about my journey will help you on your own journey. I'm confident we will both benefit.

Takeaways