How Entrepreneurs Think

[This is part of the What is an Entre­pre­neur Series. For more in this series click here]

This sums it up beautifully

The way we’ve been doing things no longer works.

In 2009, over 4 million people were laid off. The sudden increase in unem­ploy­ment was too much for America and we borrowed billions of dollars to compen­sate for poor planning. Two years later, we’re still recovering.

After the rug was pulled out from under 4 million employees they turned to the only hope they felt they had: more employee work.

With standard employee work so scarce, a few people went a different route. While millions are without work, others have made millions in busi­nesses they started during the recession.

What’s the biggest differ­ence between the two? They think differently.

Every­thing Changes

In the early 1900s the world changed. Henry Ford, needed a way to cheaply produce a lot of cars quickly. The world was begging for auto­mo­biles and he was happy to oblige them. His need for a cheap efficient way to build cars is what created the assembly line.

For the first time in history employees were paid higher wages for non special­ized work. Where before knowledge, expe­ri­ence, and self-marketing were the hallmarks of the working world, simplicity, repet­i­tive­ness, and employ­ment were the new norm.

For awhile it worked. The assembly line became the gold standard. No longer did a person need to learn a trade, set up a shop, and run their own business: they just had to show up for work, do the job, and go home to their family.

This beautiful system defined the last 100 years of work. Whether it’s marketing, human resources, orga­ni­za­tional devel­op­ment, or customer service repre­sen­ta­tive the worker has become a small part of the whole — each part works together to assembly a product.

But something happened in the 90s that changed every­thing: the internet.

Think Different

In less than 20 years the internet leveled the playing field.

Where 20 years ago, to start a business, you needed millions of dollars in start-up funds from a variety of investors, now all it takes is a website and a few thousand dollars. In a recent census the govern­ment found that 60% of busi­nesses start on 5,000 dollars or less! 26% start with no money at all!

How do you start a business for less than five grand? You need to under­stand the five new truths of the 60% :

• You can start a business cheaply. You can start a business for little to no money and make equal to or more than what you would make in a standard 9-to-5 job.
• The whole world is your client. You have millions of clients from all over the world who want your product and it is getting easier every day to send it to them.
• The internet has no overhead. Overhead is a thing of the past. Hosting, web design, and product devel­op­ment are cheap and easily acces­sible to everyone.
• With so many clients, every niche is prof­itable. If you love something, someone else does too. See if that niche is being filled and if not, fill it!
• Freedom is possible. You can work a schedule you love, help people in need, and make great profits while keeping the freedom to live the life of your dreams.

These prin­ci­ples are how entre­pre­neurs think about work. It’s not a job that needs to be filled, but an oppor­tu­nity to be taken. Anyone can start a business for little to no money, sell to millions of clients all over the world, and live the life of their dreams – all you have to do is think differently.