Employee to Entrepreneur: Why Make the Trip?
Dr. Joel Orr

I believe all engineering professionals who are (or were) employees owe it to themselves—and to their employers—to become entrepreneurs. Why?

Because it’s good for them:
• Entrepreneurs are self-reliant.
• Entrepreneurs are responsible.
• Entrepreneurs direct their own lives.
• Entrepreneurs see opportunity everywhere.
• Entrepreneurs are survivors.

The laid-off entrepreneur is prepared for their next opportunity. Their own business? Other employment? They know their destiny is in their hands.

But that is only one side of the picture. Tim Clark, in a guest post at GetRichSlowly.org, has this to say:
• “Entrepreneurship is not about you.
• “It's not about you getting rich.
• “It's not about you proving something to the world.
• “It's not about you struggling to overcome the odds.

“Rather, entrepreneurship is about you helping other people to achieve their goals.

“This is obvious when you think about it. Business is all about satisfying customers, right? Well, to satisfy customers, you need to help them save money, solve annoying problems, experience more satisfaction or pleasure, or earn a better living.

“Put simply, in order to succeed as an entrepreneur, you must help other people.”

So what is an entrepreneur? From Wikipedia:

“…the term entrepreneur applies to someone who creates value by offering a product or service, by carving out a niche in the market that may not exist currently. Entrepreneurs tend to identify a market opportunity and exploit it by organizing their resources effectively to accomplish an outcome that changes existing interactions within a given sector.

“Observers see them as being willing to accept a high level of personal, professional or financial risk to pursue opportunity.”

Why would an employer want its employees to be entrepreneurs? Because entrepreneurs create value. They are not mere cogs in the corporate machine; they are conscious partners, who know that their success and the success of their organization must be aligned—and they take the responsibility to bring about success.
Some employers will be troubled by the thought of having employees who are entrepreneurs. I spoke to the CEO of a small manufacturing firm: “If they are not dependent on the company, how can they be relied upon?” he said.

I said, “Co-dependent relationships between individuals are generally unhealthy, and so are similar ties between people and organizations. And if the company is not—or does not acknowledge that it is—dependent on the employee, then the tie is even less healthy.” He waved aside my response, telling me I was naïve.
What to do? Start by taking responsibility. Susan M. Heathfield says (“Success in Life and Work,” About.com):
“The most important aspect of taking responsibility for your life is to acknowledge that your life is your responsibility. …You are in charge.

• “Listen to the voice in your head. …If the blame track or the excuse track plays repeatedly in your mind, you are shifting responsibility for your decisions and life to others.

• “…listen to yourself when you speak. In your conversation, do you hear yourself blame others for things that don't go exactly as you want? … If you can hear your blaming patterns, you can stop them.

• “… if an individual you respect supplies feedback that you make excuses and blame others for your woes, take the feedback seriously. ... People who responsibly consider feedback attract much more feedback.”

Next, start seeing the opportunities in your life situation. Think creatively about your position at work. What ideas and actions can you put forth to help your organization?

At the same time, consider what kind of business you might start. The Internet has transformed the world of business. You can start an Internet-based business at very little cost, and build it up in your spare time.
Or explore the possibility of free-lance work in your profession. Or even your hobby.

It’s your life. You have the power to make it be whatever you want it to be.

Stuck for business ideas? Drop me a line: joel@joelorrcoaching.com.