Big Talk About Small Business
Hosted by Mark Zweig and Eric Howerton. Our Mission is to inspire, empower, and equip entrepreneurs with the knowledge and insights they need to succeed in their ventures. Through engaging conversations with industry experts, seasoned entrepreneurs, and thought leaders, we aim to provide valuable strategies, actionable advice, and real-world experiences that will enable our listeners to navigate the challenges, seize the opportunities, and build thriving businesses.
Big Talk About Small Business
Ep. 93 - What Defines an Entrepreneur?
Entrepreneurship defies simple categorization. Despite efforts to profile the "typical entrepreneur," success in business creation spans across demographic boundaries, transcending age, gender, race, and educational background. What matters far more are the psychological traits and behavioral patterns that create resilience in the face of inevitable challenges.
The data tells a fascinating story: women now represent 40% of global entrepreneurs, the average successful founder is in their 40s (contradicting the popular image of the twenty-something tech genius), and while 62% hold college degrees, many thrive with minimal formal education. These statistics demolish outdated stereotypes while revealing something more profound – entrepreneurship is accessible to anyone willing to develop specific mental frameworks and habits.
Discipline emerges as perhaps the most crucial characteristic for entrepreneurial success. This isn't just about working hard but maintaining consistent effort even when motivation wanes. As Mark Zweig notes, "You got hard work, discipline, you got those things, you got a lot of what you need." This discipline must extend across all business functions, from marketing to financial management to team development, creating reliable systems that produce results regardless of daily fluctuations in energy or enthusiasm.
Equally important is the entrepreneur's relationship with fear and frustration. Successful business owners operate in a constant state of productive tension – not paralyzed by fear but motivated by it, not defeated by frustration but energized by it. They recognize problems as opportunities for improvement rather than reasons to quit. As discussed in depth during this episode, this "constructive dissatisfaction" with the status quo drives the relentless pursuit of making things faster, better, and cheaper.
For those considering the entrepreneurial path, understanding these realities provides a more accurate roadmap than demographic profiles or motivational clichés. Success doesn't depend on fitting a particular mold but rather on developing the psychological traits and behaviors that align with entrepreneurial challenges. The journey requires clarity about your true motivations, as starting a business from corporate dissatisfaction or a misconceived notion of "being your own boss" often leads to disappointment and failure.
While there may not be a typical entrepreneur in terms of all these demographic things, there are some common characteristics, personality attributes or attitudes toward things that seem like they create a higher probability of success as an entrepreneur. We could agree on that right, totally agree. One of those is the discipline that we just keep coming back to over and over. Yeah, you know, yeah, hard work, discipline, you got those things. You got a lot of what you need, okay. Okay, everybody, we are back in the studio once again, together, brothers in arms, for another episode of Big Talk about small businesses. I had to do that. Eric always does something like that. Today he was straight, yeah, man.
Speaker 3:So how are you doing, eric? I'm doing good. I I wanted to kick us off with my. I did make a linkedin post. We actually just brought it up, yeah, last night. Yeah, right, and it was.
Speaker 3:And I was just thinking like I'm always kind of constantly frustrated, like just continuously frustrated about everything and about every conversation I have. Yeah, you know, when it comes to business. So I made a little post about it last night and, you know, I just want to kind of clearly air on it because people might take it like that's a negative thing, but I don't see it that way, right? Because my end statement was you know, I'm frustrated about I was saying I'm frustrated about all these different types of things. That my end statement was is that I'm, but I love improving, yes, and so I see my perspective is is when I recognize my frustration like I can live in? I have lived in frustration for a long time and it felt negative. I question why I'm always so frustrated. Is there something wrong with me in my life and my choices that that create my frustrating circumstances?
Speaker 1:yeah, something wrong and something good. Yeah, it's the truth right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it turns out when you think about it's actually a great thing. Yeah, that's why you move ahead that's exactly right.
Speaker 1:yeah, I've always said that, like you know, somebody who's satisfied in their job is unmotivated. Yeah, you know, motivation comes from dissatisfaction with the status quo.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah. And so I think that, like my epiphany to it is is when I realized, like wait a minute, this frustration, that I have this generalized frustration about things not being fast enough, things not being cheap enough not necessarily for me, although that does lend to frustration, but it ends up being not cheap enough for my client or my customer to be able to adopt what I'm doing. Yes, I want it to be less and less and less expensive. I get it. I want it to be faster and faster and faster and I want it to be better and better and better.
Speaker 1:I'm in the same, Exactly Because those are the only three benefits you can ever provide. Right Is faster, better and cheaper. Yeah. No matter what you're doing. Yes, that's it. It all boils down to that, and I'm sure you've heard, like you can.
Speaker 3:Only there's three of them, right? Yeah, pick two. Yeah, if you pick two, but philosophy, I want all freaking three. I agree, and I'm frustrated until that magical day might happen, which I don't think will ever come.
Speaker 1:But it's the pursuit of that that drives improvement. Yes, yeah, I get it, dude. That's why you and I do this. Okay, I mean, we think alike in a lot of ways. I'm not saying we agree on everything, but there's certain conclusions that you come to when you've been doing this stuff as long as we have in across these different types of businesses. You know, and you're absolutely right, I mean, I totally understand, I'm I could say it's same thing I'm frustrated.
Speaker 1:You've said it before, business is nothing but problems, and it's true, it's problem, problem, problem. But you know, I was just having this discussion with one of my business partners last night. But if you take the 40,000 foot view, as they say, and you look at where we are right now, in spite of a million problems, we're doing pretty good. Yeah, we got improvements in so many different areas. The team's better okay than it was. We're selling stuff in spite of a horrible market and things going on out there in the environment that could be negative for our buyers. I mean, you can just go down the list. There's a lot of stuff to feel good about. There is All the systems that we have are improving.
Speaker 3:Yep, vastly improved over the last year, yeah, and being able to look at those things, yeah, being grateful about those things, that's the thing. Yes, you have to have. You know, and like a lot of things.
Speaker 3:When you post something, you're expressing a thought, right, you're not trying expressing a thought, right, you're trying to build a freaking comprehensive, open ai report yeah you know I'm expressing this thought of frustration, yeah, and you don't know how I know, but the real, the reality is, and a follow-up to that is the gratefulness of exactly what you talked about, about what you have achieved, yeah, and so being able to stop and see those things is really important as well, yeah, which I am grateful. I'm grateful for all the relationships I've had in business. It's been fantastic. I mean there's been some negative ones, but grateful, I'm grateful for all the relationships I've had in business. It's been fantastic. I mean there's been some negative ones, but I mean I'm grateful for those because I learned so much.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, you're absolutely right.
Speaker 3:I'm grateful to see people grow. I'm grateful to meet people. I mean I do business because I like to be around people.
Speaker 1:I understand. I mean, for most of us, most of our friends, come from our clients and employees. I mean people we deal with this in business. Yeah, that's where they come from, that's it, you know, that's it. So, yeah, I get it, I'm with you a hundred percent.
Speaker 1:Well, today we're supposed to be talking about the fact that there is no typical entrepreneur Very true, which I agree with. I mean, mean, I've seen everybody, from the colonel sanders of the world he was over 65 or whatever he was when he started kfc to you know, 14 year olds out there knocking the cover off the ball. Yeah, there's a lot of variety, right, yeah, but there may be some common characteristics of those people. I would agree. Okay, just because there's no typical entrepreneur, um, you know, and I and I think it's interesting to me, it's like I think, um, maybe we even touched on it, we did touch on it in the last, um, uh, big talk about small business that we had last week, this idea about how much you have to work and how available you have to be and how engaged and committed that you have to be. I'll tell you what people can argue with me all day, but if that's not a common characteristic across the board. I don't know, what is it certainly?
Speaker 3:is, and I've experienced myself and other people experience. You know the idea that you can be passively an entrepreneur or you really can't. You know it's not even you're not in the right category, right, and speaking of that, You're an investor. You're an investor at that. You're not an entrepreneur, which?
Speaker 1:is fine.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it is, don't you know? Don don't, if you mix, don't get confused. Yeah, exit to. You find yourself in a world of hurt on both sides. Honestly, uh, because investors have to have a lot of patience. They have to see the, like you said, the big picture. They have to wait it out, you know?
Speaker 1:I mean, there's a lot to that you say that we're in a world, but that's what we always are, aren yeah, we're investors and we're entrepreneurs at the same time. Yeah, oh, for sure. I mean, if it's all our money going in the business, we're the investor Totally. I mean it's.
Speaker 3:But my experience has been the trump card is the entrepreneur part. Yeah, right, because if I'm trying to be an entrepreneur and investor in the company and I'm leaning more on the investor side, and I'm leaning more on the investor side, oh yeah, I get it. It's not good, it's disastrous. Emotionally disastrous, I agree, but you know, like we talked about on the show, so there's the difference between entrepreneur and investor, but there's also a difference between an entrepreneur and a professional manager right, which we're not talking to professional managers on the show. And then you've got your solopreneurs that just want to have a small business and just not really grow the business. That's not really a real classification, right From our discussions?
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly. So that's why I don't call them solopreneurs. But I hear you People do? They get mad at me when I say that, yeah, but I mean, but you're right, they're not growing. Yeah, yeah, they don one there. Yeah, yeah, they don't have this ambition to build and solve yeah, yeah, exactly, and build and sell either, right, um, so, yep, you're right about that. Um, I'd like to. I'd like to come back to that, though, in a minute um, because I want to talk about more about how entrepreneurs don't fit in one bucket. Yeah, according to one of the stats here provided to us, women represent 40% of global entrepreneurs, with an increasing presence in male-dominated sectors. So, in the US, 58.5% are men, 41.5% are women. Average age 44 years old. I think that's awesome, man, I, I do, too. I, I think it's fantastic. I, and I'll tell you what. You know, I've seen data that shows that women-owned businesses actually perform better. Yeah, I can believe that.
Speaker 3:So I mean, we can all hypothesize for the reasons for that yeah, because I mean I think that the what, what's awesome about that is that you're seeing that that growth and diversity right, which you know I have seen at my age a lot of that transition, you know, because I think that really has definitely accelerated in the last probably 20, 30 years. Oh, sure, you know, but it know, but it's, it's, it's uh, it's very encouraging to see that and I mean that balance is great too, because there's, you know. So I mean really the reality to it is is as a human being, and your experience in life, from childhood right, and your self esteem and your self concept and all that stuff, and then your vision to make a difference in the world is really the, I think, the components to make a great entrepreneur.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, you don't have to say it, it's so, like anybody, in any, any, any any race, gender, what doesn't matter, yeah Right, but those experiences in having the, the empowerment and the and the guts to step out into entrepreneur land, I mean more the merrier, let's bring it I love it.
Speaker 1:Well, it's gotta be. It's the future. I mean it. You know, we can talk all we want about big companies and who's hiring and who's laying off or whatever. The entrepreneur creates their own job. Yeah, Okay, and anybody can do. It is the bottom line. Anybody, at any age, at any sex, of any race. Here's another one the average successful entrepreneur is 42% old, or, excuse me, 42 years old. 46% of US entrepreneurs are Gen X and only 7% are millennials. That's interesting.
Speaker 3:I thought that was an interesting stat too. It's like it skipped a generation there a little bit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I do find that interesting. And it says here entrepreneurs span the early 30s to late 50s. Well, obviously they span more than that, because I'm freaking 67. Okay.
Speaker 3:That's right.
Speaker 1:There's no single entrepreneurial age. You know, I wonder why that is. I mean, again, I just keep coming back to this. This guy I was interacting with on LinkedIn the other day, you know, like I'm not my vacations, my time, I'm not going to do that because I'm not an owner of the company and I only get paid so much. If that's your worldview, view, yeah, of work, yeah, you're not going to make it as an entrepreneur. No, no, no. I mean, it's just that simple. You know it. You're not going to become an owner, you're not going to have a chance. You first you got to think like an owner before you are an owner. In any business, whether you started or you join one and become an owner, it's like it's so fundamental you know it's interesting, like you talked about earlier, that business is nothing but problems.
Speaker 3:If you could, if a person or a company could box all its problems up and prevent new problems from coming in, it would be that easy. But you, just as an entrepreneur, you just work through them Like the boxes. I think is the same right. There's just problems, problems, problems, right.
Speaker 1:And as soon as you solve one, new ones come up right.
Speaker 3:So every business is fighting the problems Right, and as the company gets bigger, the more problems that come in, and so that therefore you need more people to handle more of those problems. But the problems still exist. But I can tell you I've yet to see C levels at major companies not work relentlessly, yeah Right, I mean like the upper management C levels, and I mean like I've seen, I've seen like C level folks work harder than I could even imagine working, to be honest with you, because the amount of problems that they have to deal with are enormous Yep.
Speaker 3:Even though it's different than being an entrepreneur, they do share that 100% Well they don't have to worry about the problem of the toilet paper running out in the back. Yeah, yeah, you have somebody else that worries about that. Yeah, yeah, but as an entrepreneur, the box of problems still exists. You just have to deal with more diversity of problems, like from the toilet paper to filing taxes on time and sending the 1099s out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, just like we were talking with Bob this morning. Yeah, it's the same. Yeah, there's no question about it.
Speaker 3:So, yeah, I know, as an entrepreneur, it's like you cannot afford. You can't box them in from an eight to five perspective. Yeah, you know, and you have to be willing. I mean, if you're going to make the decision in entrepreneurship, you have to be willing to commit.
Speaker 1:You know there are people who will argue with us about that. Yeah, all the time, mm, hmm. And you know, like, I know somebody who is a very, very successful artist, like they make big money. Yeah, okay, they own a freaking, you know, uh, giant place in exxon provence, you know, and have had art in all the major museums around the globe and she works eight to four, five days a week with a discipline like nobody you've ever seen. But that's it, yeah, okay. Yeah, I'm not saying she doesn't do like shows and stuff like that, yeah, yeah. But she would say, oh, no, I can do it, uh, you know. But again I'll go back and say that she's not an entrepreneur, right, she's just a solo producer who makes a really really good living doing something really well, which is fine, which is fine, but that's not what we talk about.
Speaker 3:Right, there's a probably a solopreneur podcast out there. That's more fitting right to discuss how you can manage that and, yeah, build your own wealth and all that type of stuff.
Speaker 1:But yeah, exactly, I mean, the reason she's successful, in my opinion. Well, first off, obviously she knows how to market herself yeah, or she wouldn't be, yeah, but this. And secondly, she's super talented. But the third thing is she's got discipline in a field where people don't have any, yeah, okay, where, yes, and so that just it has allowed her to out produce everybody else. She can spit out five to seven paintings a month, whereas other people out there they work, they don't work, they're not inspired, you know whatever, yeah, okay, yeah, it's all inconsistent you know it's funny that you said they've word right, like what I think a lot, of, a lot of folks might see us like we might.
Speaker 3:We do have a level of vision and aspiration when we walk in a room, right, sure, but it's not always like that. It's most of the time it is that discipline. It's just like working out. You're not motivated to go run or push weights or whatever it might be, but if you have the discipline to do it and so, out of pure discipline and obligation and accountability, I show up at places because I'm supposed to do that and I have to do that. I know that it's super important to be at a certain place and to have my presence there so that the team knows. You know I don't have to go right. You know there's a lot of things I don't have to do, but I know that the consequences of them if my discipline's off on that, yeah, then then things start start breaking down pretty quick and I'm not always excited about it.
Speaker 1:no, no, kidding, I mean. So discipline is another really good characteristic to have 100% If you're going to be an entrepreneur.
Speaker 3:So, speaking of like, I've seen a lot of really great military folks in entrepreneurship that I'm just like dude, I would give anything.
Speaker 1:You wouldn't think that, though you would think oh, these people are order takers. They want the rules all established for them. It's not necessarily the case, it's just their religious discipline. I see the same thing in students. When I've got students who come out of the military, they're really really good students, jeff. They're like, okay, it's such a great training group, it's awesome.
Speaker 3:I mean, you know, my wife was in the Air Force. Like, her discipline is still there today, intact. You know, I, I mean it's just like what, how she was trained. I mean it's just this clockwork. I mean you just boom, boom, boom, boom boom get it done.
Speaker 1:It's like. It's like that famous um commencement speech from the general yeah, admiral, or whatever, about make your bed, just make your bed, start your day with making your bed. Yeah, it's so true, isn't it? It's totally true, man, I mean. I mean we could. We could really go down a rabbit trail on this, because I am convinced that, when it comes to marketing, this is the biggest problem companies have, and small companies, aside from the fact that they don't believe it works and they don't spend enough on it. But the other thing is they do not have the discipline to do every single thing they need to do every day, every week, every month, that, if done, yeah, will result yeah In business.
Speaker 3:It's always. I mean, marketing is such a good example of that because the like too many, I think, small business owners, entrepreneurs, are looking for some sort of like one answer Magic bullet, magic bullet. Yeah, marketing Marketing doesn't work that way. No kidding, you've got to post all the time. You've got to have multiple social media platforms, you've got to have a website, you've got to have emails, you've got to have emails. Branding, yeah, and all of it. Don't stay and all the time you have to focus on that and just keep marching and then over time, it'll start working, you know, and there's no magic bullet to it. But you're right, that disciplined approach to know that you just have to keep going and trucking and taking steps every single day, yeah, it's a big deal. I like this next one, too, about education levels. I like this next one, too, about education levels About 62% of entrepreneurs hold at least a bachelor's degree. Others succeed with minimal formal education. Yeah, that is interesting. Because you don't? I mean because, again, I believe entrepreneurship is about the vision, about the discipline.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it doesn't always say 62% of a degree in business, right, right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, you can totally have. Like I mean, my degree was in journalism. Yeah, exactly, for goodness sakes, you know, yeah, but you take that, that learning, and you apply it to business, like the ability, like what I loved about journalism was I'll learn how to ask questions to people, to interview people yeah, and then I'll learn how to to consolidate a conversation into the most meaningful bullet in a coherent yes, exactly.
Speaker 1:And you also learned about man bites dog as opposed to dog bites man, right, man bites dog gets attention. Yes, it's marketing headlines yes, exactly, headlines. No, I get it, I mean, but the degree, the fact that you did that, also shows, again, a certain amount of discipline. Yeah, you could set a goal. You did all the things that you had to do, you filled the requirements, you got out of school right, yeah, for sure, and I could also build a really good case that, honestly, I think a business degree is very helpful.
Speaker 1:At the Walton College we've got a completely different. We've got multiple tracks within entrepreneurship, in fact, like product design track, or outdoor recreation, you know, or small business, or startups, you know, tech based, I mean, there's so many different ways you can go, but we do provide, I think, education that would be helpful to people to get them a quicker start. But you're right, I mean, any degree, I think, is a plus, yeah, and it shows that you have the will of someone to get the ability to, to, to really learn how to learn yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 3:That's it, and I would say also another highly valuable thing on the education front is your network. Do you know? I mean, like there's and I tell this to my daughters all the time, you know they're worried about what they're going to go study and all this type of stuff and I'm like, look, one of the greatest values is that you, you are in a position to where you don't have so many responsibilities and you can build relationships with people.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And if you get involved in certain things, like I'm a big believer in the fraternities and sororities, because it's like you're just collecting a lot of people with a lot of diversity and you're getting to know folks that you never got to know in high school, yeah, which was a more isolated experience, and now you get to meet all these folks and the folks you walk out of college with, because you're learning and you're studying together and whatever it might be, and everybody goes out and gets professional jobs. Yeah, there's your network. Sure, right, no, you're right, you know and I think that you know, I mean speaking about our area like going to the U of A. If you're born here, you go to the U of A and then you exit the U of A and start your professional life here Like man you have, you have greatly increased your chances for success.
Speaker 3:Oh no question Whether you're employed or you're starting a business.
Speaker 1:Yeah, every one of my kids has gone to the U of A. I got four out of five and it's a fantastic school, but your network stays intact. Sure, no, you're right. You're absolutely right about that. So yeah, so education. Here's another one. Motivations are diverse 60% start businesses due to dissatisfaction with corporate jobs. 29% cite the desire to be their own boss.
Speaker 3:So I have an opinion about that stat. I don't, those are dangerous stats to me. You know you should not. Because you're an entrepreneur, because you're dissatisfied with your job. Yeah, you really shouldn't. That should not. That's, that's, that might be, that's the cause of failure, exactly. Yeah, you hit the nail on the head. Cause of failure because it is not the same, it's not the same sport. No, you're right. By any means whatsoever, I get it. I don't disagree with what you're saying, and if in you know, now and then I think the you know the the other one about um desire to be your own boss is not even it's that's. That's not true either. Like I am absolutely not my own boss.
Speaker 1:I know you got your employees and you got your clients exactly, and I got the freaking government right. You got your wife. I mean I know more boss entrepreneurship. Yeah, no, that's so true.
Speaker 3:I always said that yeah, you just walk around every day with problems and you're trying to solve and make people happy and content yeah, you can't just operate with impunity, it's just like that's the way it is.
Speaker 3:You know, I know I, it's so true nobody ever believes the do it because I said so. That's all about what? And here's the thing you can't say to do something. You have to do something, and then people will do what you do, because I have tried a lot of times to not do what I say yeah, it never works.
Speaker 1:No, that doesn't work with your kids. You know it's the same thing. You know it's like don't text and drive and meanwhile you're texting and driving, or you know yeah I mean, it's just it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I get it um, it's so true look, you know, and to dive into that point a little bit, you know what's the? I wonder what the psychology behind somebody that's like working for somebody else, employed. They're like I would love to be my own boss. Like what is it in their minds that makes that? I think that that's a an attractive option.
Speaker 1:I think there's a lot of things like maybe they work for somebody who's not ethical and that makes them feel bad. Yeah, maybe they're working for a company that doesn't put out the quality that they think it should be putting out yeah right, maybe they work for a company that won't innovate or change what it does to better meet the needs of the customers. Maybe they work for a company where they spend all their time in meetings and providing information to other people instead of in their primary role, which is what they're interested in. I mean, I think all those things are possibilities, don't you?
Speaker 3:Yeah, and so that they, with all those things they see this attraction of, if I could be my own boss, then I can manage this or change this.
Speaker 1:Right, that's the real thing. I see what you're saying. It's sort of lumped into I want to be my own boss, but it's like why do you want to be? That's the question you asked, yeah because I have bad news.
Speaker 3:There's somebody that's thinking that, yeah, there are reasons why I would think in a lot of cases, why a person that's employed does not like something that's going on within that company, like you mentioned product quality or ethics of a certain supervisor, or what might be the ability to solve those for any business and we're talking again about solving problems it is so challenging for a business to solve all these different problems that are happening. Yep, you know what I'm saying and so, like, if you want to go out and be your own boss and you think it's going to be just the decision of that and it's going to make solving that problem that you set out for, like if it's a product quality thing, wait until you get into the weeds. You know trying to solve that problem right because it's the problem for a reason that's exactly right.
Speaker 3:Right, and it's a bigger damn problem than you could ever thought. You know it is right. Yeah, I think that there's um, it's true, you know there's I've experienced this work at bigger companies there's, there's folks that may not be at senior levels, that are just disgruntled with their supervisors, but they don't understand the, the choices and the problems that they're facing. It's like there's these layers right, like the entry level doesn't understand people in there. For you, it just stacks on up to the executive and then to the board.
Speaker 1:That's a shame, though I mean that's not a good. The company needs to communicate with its people differently. If that's the case, I'm not saying it's not common, Right right, but I mean that is a problem. Yeah, that is a problem that it's probably within the control of the company to manage better than they are, and I think a lot of times like your point.
Speaker 3:You say this a lot transparency, yes, exactly, and there's a lot of times, at the higher levels, they don't feel comfortable about being transparent about the problems that the company might be facing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know it's funny. I've always been one that shared everything and I really believe in that yeah. Okay, I've actually started to reconsider that lately. Uh-oh, I know this sounds crazy.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And you know again, I mean, I'm trying to learn every day, but here's one that is a situation that I think is. This is one where I wonder if there's been oversharing. Okay, let's say you've got a company that's not performing financially and it just keeps getting bailed out over and over and over by its investors. What does that say to management of that company? That it's not being properly ran okay, but they get bailed out every time.
Speaker 3:Yeah and all that there's going to be another bailout exactly it's not really that you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I hear it's a problem, but you know what we're gonna get. It's gonna be okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're gonna get bailed out anyway, ready to level up your show? At podcastvideoscom, we offer industry leading recording and expert marketing to help your show reach more listeners, from creation to distribution. We've got you covered. Visit podcastvideoscom and elevate your podcast today.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, that's when I feel like there's almost too much information. Yeah, people need to feel like you know this could be the last time. Okay, yes, they need that.
Speaker 3:Hey, frankly, fear is a pretty big. I heard a statement just yesterday about this. There's two things that motivate us as human beings. Yeah, there's fear and there's pain, right, and I mean like, and we for some reason try to avoid all those and act like they don't exist. No, you're right, that's why people don't want to go work out. Yeah, you know, because it's painful sure you know.
Speaker 3:yeah, but I mean like that, but they to have some sense of real fear. Yeah, because things aren't always going to be rosy unless we do something about it.
Speaker 1:That's why I'm saying, in a way, it it, it. It violates one of my core principles. Yeah, information sharing, yeah, it does Okay. Principles yeah, information sharing yeah, it does okay. Yeah, because it you know, they see. Yeah, they see what happens. I mean, it's like if I told you you know 10 times um to not um light bottle rockets while you're holding them in your hand. Yeah, and you did it 10 times and every time you could throw them and it never burned you yeah okay, what are you going to think about time 11?
Speaker 1:I could do. It's all good thing may blow up in your hand, okay, I mean it's sort of the same kind of thing, but anyway, yeah, it is a problem. I mean fear is a motivator, there's no doubt about it. Because I mean, I think if you really go back and you, you, you know you talk about certain common experiences that a lot of entrepreneurs had. My experience is that many of us felt, like in the homes that we grew up in, that the uncertainty of the employment situation for a parent wondering if they're going to have a job or not, okay, or the uncertainty of the income coming into the family is a super motivator for these people. When they get to be adults, they do you know?
Speaker 3:and here's what, here's what interesting about that. Like, when I think about that, like I'm I haven't. I know a lot of folks too. It works the other way. They, they had uncertainty, they had those things, and so the best course of action is to go get certainty from a major corporation oh yeah, work and work the ladder and just be, be, just be in that world, but all the while they never really in their heart are wanting to do that yeah, and plus that's always a fake sense of security.
Speaker 1:it really gets is you can get fired at any time.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I feel more secure as an entrepreneur because I can see what's coming.
Speaker 1:Me too, and you got multiple clients and customers. You can get fired by one. You're still in business. Keep going, baby. Yeah, it happens all the time.
Speaker 3:I do want to say something on the fear thing, just to make sure, advocate that there's especially fabricated fear. No, no, no, no, not at all. But to admit like I stay in a fear mode pretty much all the time. Yeah, you know, I'm kind of constantly have a fear. That does help motivate me, I'm always in fear.
Speaker 1:You know what I've, I know there's. I always said I paranoia drives me. Everybody's out to get me, okay, I mean, maybe you feel like that for a good reason. I was saying maybe they are all out to get you. Uh, now I'm constantly in fear. I'm the same way. Yeah, it's like all my companies, everything I'm involved in, I I always feel, always scared. It's like everything, everything, no matter what the scenario is.
Speaker 3:It's like you know here's what's great like your fear of, you know, not having enough revenue. Then, all of a sudden, you land a big job and then how do I get it done?
Speaker 1:how do I get it done and not piss off the client?
Speaker 3:oh yeah, is your team going to cooperate? Are we going to?
Speaker 1:lose one of our key people right now that we're relying on to do this, that we just sold that I know. Oh, I mean constant fear. It's constant fear. It's con. Absolutely. We get a big new lending relationship. What if that goes away? What do we do not then, two years from now?
Speaker 3:yeah, tariffs are coming fear. There's what we're gonna do to to face that. Oh yeah, I mean all this stuff, yeah it, yeah it's.
Speaker 1:We're.
Speaker 3:We're constantly in a state of fear you know, and I think it might be good for an episode to how do we, how do we manage that fear, right, I mean I? My statement immediately is just work through it like you just have to keep plowing, keep the blinders on, keep your head down, just keep driving, driving, driving yep, keep doing the work.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man, just keep working. Do the daily, do the daily work that you got to do. Yeah, your problems come when you don't do that. That's right, okay. And then they mound up real fast. It's kind of like one of those things where those like comedy skits, where they're on an assembly line and something goes wrong and then the stuff just starts piling off the end of the line and turns into a giant pile. It's like that with your problems. You got to be sitting there on the line every day dealing with what you have to do, or they're just going to mound up on you so fast and there's where their discipline comes in.
Speaker 3:Yep, you got to take care of that crap.
Speaker 1:So I do think, while there's no typical entrepreneur in terms of age, sex, race, whatever, yeah, maybe we can show studies that say 44 year olds are the most successful or whatever. I saw one that said like 49 year olds are the most successful, or whatever. I saw one that said like 49 year olds are the most successful. We could hypothesize on that that they've got the energy they need, but they still, you know, it's because of they've got experience.
Speaker 3:Sex motivation, is that it? Yeah, this is like that's actually. Isn't that one reaction? But I actually read in in thinking about taboo topics?
Speaker 3:well, yeah, but but thinking girl rich, right? Yeah, he talks about that. Most people, well, this is kind of like your millionaire status, right? The multimillionaires, like most people that are between the ages of 50 to 55, is like the sweet spot because their sex drive it's still there. It's still well, hold on. It's not there as much as it was before. It's not as distracting as it was before. Now they're hold on. It's not there as much as it was before. It's not as distracting as it was before. Now they're focused on.
Speaker 1:They should really be 67. Dude, you have a very bright future.
Speaker 3:But that does make a lot of sense it does, though.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but I think they've got experience too. Oh, yeah, for sure. I mean 25 years of professional work experience out there. You learn from all that. It's very true. I mean it's not just specific skills you learn. You learn about things like staying calm under fire.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, it's true, that's a big, big one.
Speaker 3:It is a big one and that takes experience that you know you're going to stay alive. I remember when yeah, actually, when I was meeting with you and ed friedrich, way back in the day, and I was like 32, you know, and you guys were like, I mean, we're free. Knows how old he's ed.
Speaker 1:If he was still alive he'd be 80, 82 or something like that, yeah yeah and so.
Speaker 3:but y'all were sitting there, you know, and and and, uh, kind of talking about my age, because y'all asked and you're like, yeah, it'd be cool to be back that age. But actually, no, not really. It gets better as you get older because you don't worry as much.
Speaker 1:It's so true, yeah, but it doesn't mean we're not scared and telling lies.
Speaker 3:That's right, we still are, you just don't show it, you don't let it, don't show it, you don't let it affect you, like all around. Yeah, exactly that to be true as well. Things usually work out well for people that work yeah, it's so true.
Speaker 1:So while there may not be a typical entrepreneur in terms of all these demographic things, there are some common characteristics, personality attributes or attitudes toward things that seem like they create a higher probability of success as an entrepreneur. We could agree on that right, totally agree. One of those is the discipline that we just keep coming back to over and over. Yeah, you know, yeah, hard work, discipline, you got those things, you got a lot of what you need, okay. So Well, thanks listeners for joining us again today. Yeah, hard work, discipline, you got those things, you got a lot of what you need. Okay, you do so.
Speaker 3:Well, thanks, listeners, for joining us again today. Yeah, it's been, it's been fantastic, hey. And thank you, listeners, for subscribing to our YouTube channel. It's growing like crazy. I don't know if you noticed that. Yeah, yeah, that's going great. I mean we keep getting more subscribers, more views. I more subscribers, more, more views. I mean, thank you so much appreciate it's good to see that you are enjoying the episodes and keep tuning back in.
Speaker 1:tell your friends and, yes, tell all your homies, tell tell all your homies, as eric says yes, no, send it's. Just grab an episode and just forward it along to somebody if you think it'd be helpful to them. Yeah, that's.
Speaker 3:That's what we're all about here yeah, especially those folks that have been talking about being an entrepreneur for years and haven't made that scary step. Yeah, but actually I've seen more cases that people were really happy that they made that move.
Speaker 1:It never seemed that scary to me, honestly. Well yeah.
Speaker 3:Well, that's not yeah me neither. I mean yeah, it's just what we do, but I think there's a lot of people it's like what else are we?
Speaker 1:going to do yeah, we don't know anything else. We're ignorant, we're unemployable. It's totally unemployable, virtually unemployable.
Speaker 3:Totally so. But I've seen a lot of folks that have struggled and done analysis, paralysis, on I really want to do this dream. I really want to do this dream. You have this vision, but they analyze themselves out of it and they never make the move. But yet they're absolutely unhappy at what they're doing. Yep, they're stuck in a black hole and, look, I genuinely hate that for people. I do too, and I always tell these folks I'm like you just got to make the decision and go. Yep, but that's a hard one to make.
Speaker 1:Yep, but that's a hard one to make. Yeah, no doubt about it.
Speaker 4:Thank you all for tuning in. It's been another fantastic episode of Big Talk About Small Business. If you have any questions or ideas for upcoming shows, be sure to head over to our website, wwwbigtalkaboutsmallbusinesscom and click on the Ask the Host button for the chance to have your questions answered on the show. Stay connected with us on LinkedIn at Big Talk About Small Business and be sure to head over to our website to read articles, browse episodes and ask questions about upcoming shows.