The TRUTH About Entrepreneurship. Do I Regret Quitting?
Summary
TLDRIn this candid reflection, the speaker shares their transition from a 9-year investment banking career to full-time entrepreneurship. They discuss the reality of trading a 9-5 for a 24/7 work schedule, the lack of guidance and structure, the fear of competition, and the financial unpredictability. Despite the challenges, they find greater personal growth, freedom, and fulfillment in creating something unique and owning their work. The speaker emphasizes the importance of community and the choice of working with like-minded individuals, ultimately concluding that the rewards of entrepreneurship outweigh the drawbacks for them.
Takeaways
- 🕒 Trading a 9-5 job for entrepreneurship means embracing a 24/7 work schedule, as your passion becomes your primary income source.
- 💼 The joy of doing what you love can diminish when it's tied to financial pressures and the responsibilities of monetizing your passion.
- 📈 Entrepreneurship offers personal growth and learning through trial and error, unlike the structured guidance provided in traditional employment.
- 🤝 The entrepreneurial community is open and supportive, contrasting with the competitive nature often found in corporate environments.
- 💰 Income as an entrepreneur is not capped and is directly linked to the value you provide, but it also comes with the risk of instability.
- 🚀 Entrepreneurship allows for full control over your income and career trajectory, without external limitations on earnings.
- 🌟 Creating something unique and personal provides a sense of ownership and fulfillment that traditional jobs often cannot match.
- 🆓 The freedom and control over how and where you work are significant benefits of entrepreneurship, offering a lifestyle that traditional employment cannot provide.
- 👥 While entrepreneurship can be isolating initially, you have the freedom to choose your collaborators and work environment.
- 🏢 The sense of community from a corporate job is something that entrepreneurs may miss, but the autonomy to work on your terms can be a powerful motivator.
Q & A
What was the primary reason for the speaker to leave investment banking?
-The speaker decided to leave investment banking to pursue entrepreneurship full-time.
How does the speaker describe the transition from a 9-5 job to entrepreneurship?
-The speaker describes it as trading a structured work schedule for a 24/7 commitment, where work-life balance is significantly affected.
What was the speaker's experience with their passion before becoming an entrepreneur?
-Before becoming an entrepreneur, the speaker enjoyed their passion without the pressure of making money from it.
How does the speaker feel about the work they do now compared to their previous job in banking?
-The speaker loves their current work more than their previous job but acknowledges that there are aspects of entrepreneurship that are not enjoyable.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of not having a boss or direct instructions in entrepreneurship?
-The advantages include the freedom to explore and grow personally, while the disadvantages involve the lack of guidance and the need to figure things out through trial and error.
How does the speaker view the fear of competition in the corporate world versus in entrepreneurship?
-In the corporate world, there is a fear of being replaced, but in entrepreneurship, there is a sense of community and shared knowledge, with no direct competition.
What was the speaker's experience with salary increases in banking compared to their earnings as an entrepreneur?
-In banking, the speaker received modest raises with a cap on potential earnings, while as an entrepreneur, there is no cap, but also the risk of earning nothing.
How does the speaker perceive their contribution to society in their new role compared to their previous job?
-The speaker feels that their new role allows them to create something unique and personal, which they believe contributes more meaningfully to society.
What aspect of entrepreneurship does the speaker value the most?
-The speaker values the freedom and control over their work, including how, where, and when they work.
What does the speaker miss about their previous job in banking?
-The speaker misses the community aspect of working with a large group of people and the daily interactions that came with it.
How does the speaker's experience in entrepreneurship affect their perspective on working for someone else?
-The speaker has a balanced view but ultimately feels more fulfilled and happier in their entrepreneurial role, despite the challenges and risks.
Outlines
🚀 Transition from Investment Banking to Entrepreneurship
The speaker reflects on their decision to leave a 9-year career in investment banking to pursue entrepreneurship full-time. They address common misconceptions about the ease of self-employment, emphasizing the reality of a 24/7 work schedule and the loss of work-life balance. They also discuss the shift from enjoying creative pursuits without financial pressure to the challenges of monetizing passions, including the tedious aspects of business operations.
📈 The Uncharted Territory of Entrepreneurship
The speaker highlights the lack of direction and structure in entrepreneurship compared to traditional employment. They discuss the excitement of figuring things out through trial and error and the significant personal growth experienced in the past year of self-employment. The fear of competition is also addressed, contrasting the secretive nature of corporate employees with the open and supportive community of entrepreneurs.
💰 Financial Implications of Self-Employment
The speaker delves into the financial aspects of entrepreneurship, comparing the stability of a salaried job with the potential for unlimited earnings and the risk of earning nothing. They share their personal experience of making more in one year as an entrepreneur than in 9 years of banking, emphasizing the direct correlation between the value provided and the income earned.
🌟 Value, Ownership, and Personal Fulfillment
The speaker discusses the unique value and personal fulfillment derived from entrepreneurship, where their work is an extension of their identity and perspective. They contrast their previous job's replaceability with the irreplaceable nature of their current creative endeavors, highlighting the sense of ownership and satisfaction in creating something truly unique.
🌐 Freedom, Control, and the Entrepreneurial Lifestyle
The speaker expresses their appreciation for the freedom and control over their work, including the ability to work from anywhere and the flexibility in their schedule. They also mention the importance of community and the ability to choose who they work with, although they acknowledge the initial lack of a daily community that comes with traditional employment.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Entrepreneurship
💡Work-Life Balance
💡Passion
💡Fear of Competition
💡Financial Stability
💡Value and Ownership
💡Freedom and Control
💡Community
💡Personal Growth
💡Authenticity
Highlights
Transition from 9 years in Investment Banking to full-time entrepreneurship.
The reality of trading a 9-5 for a 24/7 work schedule in entrepreneurship.
The illusion of never working a day in your life when your passion becomes your income source.
The loss of enjoyment in creative pursuits when they become monetized.
The absence of a work-life balance when starting a business.
The lack of direction and feedback as an entrepreneur compared to being an employee.
The excitement of figuring things out on your own in business.
The fear of competition and job security in traditional employment.
The openness and knowledge sharing among entrepreneurs.
The financial aspect of entrepreneurship with no cap on earnings.
The unpredictability of income as an entrepreneur, with potential for both high gains and losses.
The value and ownership of one's work in entrepreneurship.
The unique contribution and personal satisfaction in creating something that can't be replicated.
The freedom and control over work in entrepreneurship.
The lack of community and social interaction in the early stages of entrepreneurship.
The ability to choose who you work with and the absence of forced social interactions.
The personal preference for entrepreneurship over traditional employment despite its challenges.
The importance of a balanced view when considering a career change to entrepreneurship.
Transcripts
after spending 9 years in Investment Banking I decided to leave my job last year to pursue
entrepreneurship full-time do I regret it has it been worth it will I go back into banking
people love these days to dismiss the idea of working for someone else without having
done it themselves instead I wanted to give you a balanced view a very honest view on the things
you should consider and the things that I wish someone else had warned me of before I made the
decision to quit number one you're trading the 9-5 for the 24/7 you would have heard the saying do a
job you love and you'll never work a day in your life while on the surface this sounds believable
and it sounds like a dream the reality is very different and the idea of never working a day
in your life just does not exist when the thing that you love becomes your primary income stream
the things you enjoy stop being as enjoyable when you include money into the mix when I was working
full-time and doing my creative stuff on the side I loved the creative stuff I didn't have
any pressure to make money from it so the boring stuff that came with making money so working with
sponsors chasing invoices bookkeeping none of that existed but when I left my full-time job all of
the other things that come with monetizing your passion made the Creator stuff less enjoyable I
still love it a 100 times more than what I used to do but don't go into business or becoming an
entrepreneur thinking that it won't feel like work because you love it there will always be
parts of what you do that you don't enjoy and when it's your own thing and you're starting out
and your income is tied to what you're doing and how much you're doing your work life balance also
goes out the window evenings are no longer a thing weekends are no longer a thing you'd rather miss
that dinner out with some friends just to buy back some time to get that project that you're working
on off the ground whereas when you're working for someone else you know that you are going to get
paid rain or shine if I left work at 5:00 p.m. and didn't log in for the rest of the day if I
took two months of annual leave that month I was still going to make money number two no one tells
you what to do this can be a good thing and a bad thing as an employee I knew what to expect
I knew what project I was going to be working on I knew what I had to do I had someone giving me
feedback on whether I'm doing well or how I need to improve or if I didn't know how to do something
there's a 99% chance that someone else in the organization knew how to do it and I could just
call them up and figure it out I had someone give me instructions on how to operate in the Working
World some people love that it's one less thing to think about but you're not going to get that as an
entrepreneur and in business very often the only way to find an answer is to live through it for me
that is so much more exciting yes I can read some books yes I can give someone a call and get some
advice but I only really know if something's going to work if I do it myself and that forces you to
try different things and continuously challenge yourself the personal growth for me in the last
year of working for myself has been far greater than it was in the 9 years prior of having someone
else tell me what to do and how to do it number three the fear of competition the structure for
employees is for them to go to work for a certain number of hours and get paid for those hours the
fear comes from when you may no longer be needed anymore or someone else enters your sere with
better experience or better skills or someone who is cheaper to employ comes in to do what
you're doing and you lose your job as a result of that and I've seen that happen to so many people
you really feel it or at least I did when I was in the workplace because of this you find that
people you're working with don't want to share all their information they don't want to teach you
everything they know because they want to protect their own position and I totally see that side but
when you're in business it's the complete opposite you speak to another entrepreneur and they know
the grind and the hustle that you're going through and you'll sit there for hours telling each other
everything you know there is no such thing as direct competition or if you're doing it then
they can't one person doing well isn't going to put the next person out and you can all learn from
each other for me this has been a really big shift and it's really surprising to see how openly the
entrepreneurs and the creators have come across speak and share their numbers or how much they've
made on a certain Thing versus how secretive people were when they're working for a company
which leads me to my next Point money this one is huge and it can completely dictate your view on
whether you think working for yourself is better or working for someone else is better to give you
an idea over the N9 years that I worked in banking I got a 5 to 10% raise on most years zero in one
year and then a 30% or around 30% when I switched companies I have video over here on what my salary
was like year on year for the last 9 years in banking and you can see the full breakdown and
where the biggest pay increases came from the good thing about working for someone else is that there
is a flaw I'm not going to get paid less than my base salary that year the bad thing is that there
is a cap I can't make more than a certain amount even if I had a really good year it didn't mean I
was going to make more money I can't suddenly make triple what I did the year before just
because I added so much value and brought in a lot of Revenue it just doesn't work like that for most
jobs jobs whereas as an entrepreneur there is no cap zero restrictions what you make is a direct
correlation between the value you provide and the money you make if you get it right you can
go from zero to 100 in a year again speaking from experience I made more after one year as
an entrepreneur than I was making after 9 years in banking but that number as an entrepreneur
can go down to zero just as easily as it went up to 100 so there is pressure to constantly be on
your aame but for me there is nothing better than being in full control and ownership and
how much I'm going to make and not have someone come to me at the end of the year and tell me oh
the economy isn't doing well or the budgets have tightened and so we can't pay you as much none
of that it's all within my control then value and ownership my job was to provide financing
for corporates and governments for projects that created jobs and supported the economy I can make
that sound as fancy as I want and make it sound like I'm contributing to people's lives but there
was absolutely nothing unique that I was doing or contributing that someone else couldn't have done
and when I left someone else did step into my job and do what I did almost instantly I did a
Handover they had similar skills they took over they got the job done now the way I contribute
to people's lives is through what I've created yes it's the knowledge and the skills that I've
learned from others and the experience I've gained through banking it's also an extension of me and
my view and my perspective on things if I don't do it no one else can step in and take over they
had their own version sure but the satisfaction of creating something unique something that can't be
replicated because you've infused your perspective and your personality with it that's huge I
feel like by doing this I'm tapping into my core strengths and my skills and what I was meant to do
which isn't something that I had the opportunity to do in banking when I was working for someone
else I do believe that everyone has something like that there are 8 billion people in the
world and none of us Shar the exact same DNA there is something that makes you authentically you and
there's something that you can do that no one else can compl compete with and that gave me a sense of
ownership and fulfillment that I knew no other job could give me then freedom and control this
for me is the one thing that I will never be able to give up now that I've had a taste of it I have
the freedom and the full control of how I work what I work on where I work from how efficient I
am how hard I work for how long I work for again good and bad but the good and something that I
could have only dreamt of doing before is that I can take my laptop and go to Barley for a month
and work from there I can on a zoom call wearing a t-shirt or a jumper and still be respected and
that probably sounds so irrelevant and minor but when you've lived a certain institutionalized way
for 9 years you really appreciate these things and Community this is a huge one that I really
do miss I used to work with hundreds of people I'd be speaking to 10 20 people a day would be working
on things together would get large together i' meet people from different backgrounds who I would
never hang out with outside of work but we would have great conversations when we were in work
and that is something that does not exist in the early stages of being an entrepreneur you don't
have that Community fi day in and day out but you do have a full say on who you work with you don't
need to work with Karen from Finance if you don't like her you don't need to have to hear from John
illegal because you don't agree on things you can choose to work with who you want to and if
it's not working you can work with someone else so again there are positives and negatives in it
but I do enjoy not having to go into work with a fake smile because there's a 360 feedback or
a performance review coming up I could just be myself all in all on a whole I have not looked
back there are times or things that I miss having when I worked for someone else but after I weigh
up the pros and cons it's just a no-brainer that I'm so much more happier and fulfilled doing what
I'm doing now but that's my story someone else can tell you that they have had the worst experience
working for themselves and they would way rather live a comfortable life as an employee either way
I wanted to give you a balanced view from someone who has worked for someone else for 9 years but
also has the experience in working for myself for now thank you so much for watching if you like
this video here is the other video I spoke about on how much I made every single year over my 9year
Span in banking and also this video right here on why I quit thanks for watching and see you there
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