At Changing Lanes we often talk about the difference between creating a business or a job for yourself. We also discuss building an asset that you can sell or capitalize on in the future.
Being a capitalist often means starting as an entrepreneur. Successful businesses often start with an entrepreneur but eventually that entrepreneur is gone or no longer needed. Some businesses thrive and some only survive and 99% of all businesses started in a given year will not be in business 10 years later.
Think about these businesses:
- Ford
- Enron
- DuPont
- Lehman Brothers
- Microsoft
- Kodak
- Lincoln Electric
- Blockbuster
- Netflix
Some are no longer existing businesses and they each died for a variety of reasons. Others are still going strong, DuPont is over 200 years old,and the entrepreneur is long gone.
Robert Kiyosaki of Rich Dad, Poor Dad fame, wrote in his book, Before You Quit Your Job, great tips on going into business and the warnings of failure – he knows first hand!
The Job of the Entrepreneur is to design a business that will:
- Grow,
- Employ many people,
- Be a responsible corporate citizen,
- Bring prosperity to all those who work on the business,
- Be charitable, and
- Eventually no longer need the entrepreneur.
Imagine what this world or your state or you community would be like today if most businesses followed these simple principles.