Millennial Money, Keys to Entrepreneurship (The Millennial Way) – Part 2

By Steven A. Hitz, Founding Director
Author of Launching Leaders

September 27, 2017

Welcome to part 2 of this post. If you missed part 1, click here.

Becoming an entrepreneur is the hot “new profession.”  It’s all I’ve been for the past 30 years, and the reason I jumped into this profession is because of the same concerns our Millennials have—-so I can relate on a very personal basis.  While education is a MUST for success, accredited education is not the only path.  Did you know that just over half of business owners have a college degree?

I am in the camp of highly educated but not accredited.  I am in good company (i.e. Walt Disney, Simon Cowell, Henry Ford, Michael Dell,  etc.).  However, I will explain in the entrepreneurship book I am writing (by the same title as this blog post), why even though I don’t believe a college degree is necessarily a factor in entrepreneurial success, I still believe a college degree is more than a worthwhile endeavor—-you will find out why not getting the sheepskin is one of my regrets.

Here are three of many keys we will explore in the new book:

  1. Purpose:  Once you establish your purpose—your calling—-your passion—-then you will know how to construct your entrepreneurial endeavor.  If it’s about the money, your life will be as empty as your bank account; if it’s about the purpose, then the reasons behind your venture will fill the gaps—-and your bank account.  I’m not saying making a profit is not important (it is actually critical), only that the purpose behind the profits are what cause businesses to blossom and flower into a beautiful bouquet.   People over profits is a good motto to embrace.
  2. Job Security: I have always said and believe that you can be the best boss of yourself, AND that an entrepreneurial venture is more secure than working for someone else.  I have proof.  More to come.
  3. Control of destiny: Millennials want to make a difference in life. They want to contribute something to the world they live in, not just take from it.  They want to have control in making decisions in this path and don’t want to just follow the dictates of someone else’s conscience.  Welcome to Millennial Entrepreneurship!

Let me illustrate with a personal story that sums up these three principles.  I started a company from scratch, with the idea that I could control my own destiny.  I had spent about ten years building a career with companies that in my opinion, though the jobs were great paying gigs, didn’t allow me to blossom—to implement my own ideas.  Though I was a “star,” I found my ideas wilting, and I didn’t have the ability to nourish them inside someone else’s greenhouse.  During this time, like most employees during the path of their career, I had superiors threaten to fire me when I challenged the status quo.  I decided I would purposely plan to leave the control of the corporate world.

After making this decision, it took my wife and me five years of good planning and saving (invest in yourself first), before investing in our own start up.   When I say we invested, I mean we put it all on the line.  We built the company, shaped our own team, and grew it to over a thousand associates with sales of $30 million annually.  Along the way we employed over ten thousand Millennials—-many of whom were inspired to start their own businesses.

We sold the company (I have a few lessons to share regarding this also), and stayed on for a few years to help the new owners grow the business.  Working for someone else during this five year period was torture.  The cultures didn’t match (after all), for the new owners it was all about business and profits.   I lost control of my destiny and didn’t have anything that resembled job security.  What was worse was the fact that our giving back programs which made our company and purpose meaningful were eliminated.  I soon found myself working without purpose or joy.  I didn’t bury my frustration, and after five years, they fired me with style (wicked details to follow).

Take it from me, the ONLY job security in my mind, though not for everyone, is to be an entrepreneur, which I believe everyone was born to become.   Many things, from our modern educational tracts to naysayers within our midst, talk us out of our entrepreneurial pursuits.  My new book will talk you back into your entrepreneurial dreams, if you can handle a little risk taking, are keen on following your heart, and really do want to make a difference in the world.  Embrace your vision of what life can be.

My wife found something on a recent camping trip that demonstrates better than I can say in words how entrepreneurs see things differently.

Stay tuned for more tidbits.

Here’s to creating your future!


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