Entrepreneurship Vs working in the City
Recently I have been partying with people who I haven’t seen for over a year, friends of friends who I don’t regularly see and who do not know that I dropped out of University to pursue entrepreneurship. It has been an interesting experience filling them in on how I came to decide I wanted to make money for myself and forgo the ‘trappings’ of a career in the City. Many of these university friends have gone on to work for prestigious banks, law firms and consultancies, and at times it’s difficult not to be jealous of their healthy salaries, job security, ongoing training and clear career path. So here is a nice big list of reasons why anybody with entrepreneurial aspirations should avoid working in large financial institutions like the plague, and work for themselves…
NB: Dropping out of university or a well paid career is a big decision, so this list should be taken with a pinch of salt. It is a personal goal of mine, however, to encourage as many bright people as possible to start their own ventures and go it alone, and to avoid the common misconception that they will pursue their own business ideas ‘after a few years’ working for a bank or law firm. Stay tuned for a follow-up post on how dropping out can have the potential to really screw up your life…
So, In no particular order…
City boy: Generally creates wealth for larger companies and wealthy individuals
Entrepreneur: Generates wealth for him/herself and others in the community around them
City boy: Commutes to central London on packed public transport.
Entrepreneur: Works from home, or a cool loft conversion, or anywhere in the world if their business is internet based
City boy: Makes money from being very intelligent and professional.
Entrepreneur: Makes money from being very intelligent, professional, creative, brave, forward-looking, sociable and open minded.
City boy: Sidelines childhood dreams in favour of chasing a career someone else has told them is rewarding
Entrepreneur: Follows through with his or her ideas and dreams
City boy: Wins when someone else loses out
Entrepreneur: Wins when others love their product
City boy: Watches The Apprentice and Dragon’s Den and wishes they were one of the contestants.
Entrepreneur: Watches The Apprentice and Dragon’s Den and knows that most of the people on these shows have not got what it takes.
City boy: Earns quite a lot of money over a fairly short space of time.
Entrepreneur: Can make enormous amounts of money very quickly indeed with the right idea at the right time.
City boy: Bores others with stories of mergers, acquisitions and takeovers.
Entrepreneur: Has a vast bank of swashbuckling tales of screw-ups, innovation, emerging trends, social observations, lightbulb moments…..
City boy: ‘Looks forward’ to a relatively short career of 20 years then early retirement.
Entrepreneur: If all goes well can retire much younger (and richer), but probably won’t because they love what they do.
City boy: Stresses during a recession.
Entrepreneur: Loves the cheap rents and changeable environment an economic downturn can bring.
City boy: Gets sacked when his department has to make cuts.
Entrepreneur: Always has a job - who would sack themselves?
If you have anything else to add to this list, leave a comment below!
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May 19th, 2008 at 7:32 am
What about working for a small company or start-up? Most of the benefits are the same as being an entrepreneur but with much less risk!
May 19th, 2008 at 11:13 am
Good point - have a look at a post I wrote called “Being entrepreneurial without the risk” - http://www.nicksmithblogs.com/2008/03/work-in-a-startup/
Working in a startup can be just as rewarding as setting up your own venture, and as with any career, it’s always beneficial to get some experience and ‘learn the ropes’ before committing.
May 19th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
I am just about at the point where I can quit the day job and live the “entrepreneur” life.
All my ventures are internet based so this will allow me to travel extensively over the next few years.
Great Article!
June 2nd, 2008 at 4:58 pm
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