Good afternoon, friends. It's Rohan with the latest edition of Coached — your personal mentorship email that takes a few minutes to read, but speeds up your career by years. |
I've been seeing this trend a lot lately: everyone wants to be an entrepreneur, but they don't always consider if it's the right fit for them. I explore this in today's Mentor's Corner. And as always, if you're job searching, the 'speed up your search' section at the bottom is for you. |
To my loyal readers: I've been active on LinkedIn lately, sharing bite-sized, candid career advice for quick boosts throughout your week. It's an easy way to stay motivated and keep your career on track. To give you a feel of it, this week I wrote about how to get head-hunted and find out your market value. If you like my writing, follow me on LinkedIn and say hi. |
New here? If you like the sound of getting free career coaching every week — the kind people usually pay a lot for — get my next email by signing up at Coached.com. |
Estimated read time: 6 minutes 20 seconds |
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📈 Mentor's Corner Insights put together by me or coaches who usually charge $750+/hour and mentor senior execs. One practical lesson a week that will make a measurable impact on your career, delivered right to you — for $0. |
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What people get wrong about entrepreneurship |
If we could, most of us would probably choose to be an entrepreneur. |
Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos… |
They're the risk-taking, rebellious "disrupters" we all wanna be. After all, who doesn't want to change the world, be their own boss and sh*t-post on Twitter? |
Yes. Society in 2024 worships the entrepreneur. |
But should we all aim to be one? |
I'd argue "no". |
IMO, entrepreneur-worship has many us trying to cram our skillsets & temperaments into a hole that downright doesn't fit… just to get a bite at fortune, fame & "freedom." |
The irony? |
I think for - gasp! - most of us, we can achieve more success, satisfaction, impact, freedom and money pursuing something slightly different instead. |
What is this "something different"? |
To explain, let's look at the impressive career of Ken Kutaragi. |
He worked at Sony and saw a gap in the gaming market. He persuaded his bosses and persisted until he got the green light to create the Playstation from within Sony as a mid-level manager. |
That led them to grabbing 65% of the market share from Nintendo, catapulting |
Kutaragi's career skywards. He was promoted multiple times, eventually becoming CEO at Sony and earning many fortunes over. |
And likely going further than if he went on his own path. |
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The lesson: |
Kutaragi wasn't an entrepreneur. |
But what he did was very entrepreneurial. |
He's what you might call an "intrapreneur" – doing the job of an entrepreneur, but inside an existing company. And it's this career path that I think a lot of us should be aiming for. |
Here's why: |
❌ Dispel the myth: I'll make more money as an entrepreneur |
Funny enough, if money is your primary goal (no judgement if it is), you can make incredible amounts of money within the right company, without even having started the company. With less risk. |
Entrepreneurship gets hyped as the golden ticket to wealth. |
But the interesting reality is: |
The median employee salary is higher than the median business owner salary. That's because most businesses either fail or just break even. |
Yes, the Musks and Zuckerbergs get the headlines. But they're the exceptions, not the rule. |
The takeaway? Don't assume entrepreneurship is your best path to money. |
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💶 A salary is often the safer bet |
We always see the success stories of entrepreneurs risking it all and making it, but we don't see the (countless) stories of people risking it all and losing it. |
If you have a family to feed, and can't afford to fail, getting paid a (sometimes very) good salary is the smarter option. |
A stat I found interesting: |
In the USA, only around 10% of businesses reach $100k in yearly profit. Most businesses take time to turn a profit, and often start off at a loss.
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=> The numbers suggest the average person will earn more at a job than with their own business. Plus, it'd be predictable income. |
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📅 Go wind-surfing when you want to |
Here's a little secret: |
While entrepreneurs don't have a boss telling them what to do, they're still not really "free". Why? Because they run businesses they can't clock out of. |
People think entrepreneurship means ultimate freedom. But when I speak to successful entrepreneurs, their lives are more busy because their business and existential threats/struggles are on their mind most of the time. |
In a weird way, entrepreneurship doesn't guarantee freedom. |
But as an intrapreneur, you (usually) don't have this problem. Want to take time to windsurf without thinking about work? No sweat. |
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| | | | …by the way, if you use LinkedIn, go to my profile and hit the 'Follow' button. I share a mix of practical career strategy and mid-week motivation — stuff that makes it easy to keep your career on track.
Topics coming up this week: negotiation hacks (not just for your career), how to get people to do what you want (without coming across as bossy or manipulative) + more. See you there. | alright, let's get back to my essay… |
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🤸♂️ More flexibility? |
Someone said to me the other day: |
"Rohan, it must be amazing being your own boss and not having to answer to anyone. You get to work on whatever you want" |
The truth is, that couldn't be further from reality: |
As a business owner, I've got to 'answer' to many more people than in my previous jobs: customers, clients, stakeholders, partners, team members — they're all my 'managers.' Our team (nor I) can't work on whatever we want, quite the opposite. We have to work on what our users tell us and what the business requires us to do. If we don't, our team suffers.
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While I LOVE what I do, it's still a job. And a stressful one at that. Most days are far from glamorous. |
🎯 More career impact |
Another myth: Becoming an entrepreneur will allow you to have more impact. |
By working for Sony, Kutaragi literally changed the world, with his creation getting into the hands of millions of gamers globally. Additionally, at Sony, he had access not only to immense funding, but also to proprietary tech, smart team members, a great brand and distribution. |
Similarly, if you work at Apple in the design team, you can create products that millions of people use every day. |
It's almost impossible to have that sorta impact solo. |
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🐣 Stronger flapping muscles |
Most entrepreneurs are like the chicks who dive out of the nest and need to learn to fly on the way down. Yes, some chicks make it. But a lot don't. |
Intrapreneurship gives you time to build your flapping muscles (in terms of money, experience & network) before making the jump. |
This is exactly what Kutaragi did. |
Before the PS4 came out, he started his own company, which combines his videogame experience with AI. |
He built his skills on Sony's dime, then flew the coop when he was ready. |
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✋ But don't get me wrong |
Now, I'm not trying to discourage entrepreneurship. |
If you have something you're passionate about, and you want to do it – then please go for it! My little email isn't gonna stop you (and if it did, it might not have been right for you anyway). |
For some, entrepreneurship is incredibly rewarding and fulfilling. |
But if you simply want to be an entrepreneur for the sake of being an entrepreneur, or just because you want the supposed 'freedom' and flexibility, then becoming an intrapreneur is the smarter path. |
It really comes down to your preferences and your risk tolerance. It's your life. I just wanted to offer another vantage point. |
P.S. There are ways to scratch the entrepreneurship itch without taking on all that risk. Instead of going all-in immediately, test the waters by working on a side project on your nights and weekends (that's how I started Resume Worded). I'll write about this in a future issue. |
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🚨 A key point: 'Intrapreneurs' vs employees |
One last thing: |
Notice how I've said "intrapreneurs" and not just "employees"? |
That's because there's a big difference between the two. |
Intrapreneurs don't just clock in and out. They're the ones who actively seek out ownership of projects and take initiative. |
They're always on the lookout for opportunities to create value for their company. And they're not afraid to take calculated risks to drive innovation. |
In a sense, they're the entrepreneurs within the organization. And that's who you need to strive to become. |
What you need to prioritize: |
Find ways to build leverage within your company — become indispensable (my Coached essay here will help) Like Kutaragi, see opportunities for your company and take the initiative to go after them Try to actively take on leadership roles and activities (even if you aren't formally a manager or director) Become the kind of person that needs little direction and 'gets stuff done'
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That might mean going above and beyond your job description. |
Also, note that not every company culture is conducive to intrapreneurship. Some are too rigid or bureaucratic to allow flexibility and growth. |
So if you find yourself in a company like that, don't be afraid to look elsewhere. Seek out organizations that value and let you be an entrepreneur within the company! |
…Phew, that was a little longer than the usual essays, but I hope you were kept entertained and that gives you some food for thought. |
These emails take me freakin' forever to put together and cost a lot in email sending costs. But I keep the whole thing free, without sleazy 'pay to read the rest of it!' type of stuff. So in return, here's the 'fee': |
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🔎 Speed Up Your Job Search One actionable piece of advice to help you hack your job search. |
Resume and job search trends for 2024 |
Read the full article here. |
This guide shares specific things to look out for when updating your resume this year. Here are two tips I liked: |
🖖 Use AI to your advantage. Employers are obviously using AI, but so should you. An AI tool like Score My Resume can identify issues in your resume and give you examples of what to add. |
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Share this resource on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, or via email. |
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If you're new here, let's get the intros out of the way. |
I'm Rohan. Six years ago, I found myself frustrated with the sea of misleading career advice online, so I started Resume Worded. The goal was simple: provide guidance that actually works. |
But resumes were only the tip of the iceberg. There was a lot of clichéd, generic career advice out there. So, I started this email series, Coached. Each week, I talk about real career strategy, informed not only by my experiences but by my conversations with industry leaders, senior coaches who train CEOs, and people with way more experience than I have. |
Every email you receive is written by me, not a ghostwriter. I'm here, on the other end, reading your replies. |
Until next time, |
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Rohan @ Resume Worded |
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