5 Myths About Entrepreneurship That You Should Stop Believing

Entrepreneurship has grown in popularity not only in the United States but all across the world. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), entrepreneurship in the US has been on the rise since 1999. In 2021, according to statistics, there were 32.5 million small businesses in the country. That's a 2.5% increase from 2020.

This leads one to wonder, “Why entrepreneurship?”

People choose to become entrepreneurs for many reasons. Some chose this path because they are not comfortable with working on a 9-to-5 job. Others chose it because they believe they can use their skills and talents outside the rules of regular employment. And there are still others who believe that it’s only through entrepreneurship that they can achieve their dream of financial freedom.

Although these motivations have been proven to have helped many entrepreneurs succeed, there are also plenty of hyped up beliefs these days that do more harm than good. They are more like “myths” than truths. Here are five of them to begin with:

MYTH #1. A true entrepreneur is always on and does not slow down or take a personal day off.

Let’s debunk this! A true entrepreneur knows when to rest and when to get up and work. The hype that an entrepreneur has to move fast or must be doing something all the time is often the cause of burnout, depression, anxiety, or even self-rejection.

Being an entrepreneur does not mean dedicating an entire lifetime to your job or business, no matter how much you enjoy it. No, it means knowing your “why” and keeping your focus towards that. Being an entrepreneur means working hard and reaching your goals without giving up on your “why”. Your “why” will always involve people who are outside your work/business, like your family.

One reason why some entrepreneurs believe that they should not be slowing down is because they wanted to reach the top quickly. Another is because they think that slowing down or taking a rest is the same as quitting.

Slowing down or taking a rest is NOT quitting! Think of it as a way to regroup, re-evaluate, and review what’s working and what’s not. It is a way to refocus your mind and recharge yourself so you can do better.

Remember, entrepreneurs are not invincible. They, too, are humans who experience all sorts of emotions, failures, and successes.

MYTH #2. An entrepreneur does not have a boss.

Yes, it’s true that when you start your own business, you set yourself up to become your own boss. You do not need to report to a supervisor or upper management because you are at the top of the organizational chart. But, depending on your business model, you will still have investors and business partners who expect accountability and results. And even without investors or business partners, you still have customers and clients to please.

This idea of becoming your own boss has attracted both young and old entrepreneurs. Why? Because of the freedom they wish to experience away from regular employment. Imagine running a business on your own terms without anybody telling you what to do!

As amazing as that sounds, being your own boss also means you’re the only “employee” of yourself - especially if you’re starting from minimum to no capital, which means you cannot pay others to work for you yet.

If you enjoy imagining becoming your own boss, you should also feel excited about working on your own for a time, doing everything from raising a capital, making decisions, contacting potential clients, meeting clients, completing outstanding projects, and also many mundane tasks like customer service, emailing, maintaining a website or social media presence, bookkeeping, and more.

MYTH #3. Entrepreneurship is the way to get rich quickly.

A high percentage of successful entrepreneurs started with nothing or almost nothing. Entrepreneurs have various motivations and reasons as to why they entered entrepreneurship instead of regular employment. It is not just about the money. You’ll find that successful entrepreneurs almost always have their own charity foundations to help causes that resonate with them. Those who do not have their own foundations are regular donors of humanitarian works all over the world.

Entrepreneurship is not easy. It’s a hard climb and is not for the faint of heart or those who are weak-willed. And it’s definitely not for the lazy!

Overnight success is a myth. Getting rich quickly through entrepreneurship is a false belief that leads many budding entrepreneurs who believe it into a hunt for a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, only to find there is no pot of gold, just frustrations because of wrong expectations and beliefs.

MYTH #4. You must be willing to risk it all.

Entrepreneurs are risk-takers, sure. But they are not blind risk-takers. Entrepreneurs who take risks blindly never make it far because they lose more than they gain.

You turn to entrepreneurship because you are smart and confident that you can do it. That is risk-taking - doing things out of your comfort zone and sometimes out of the norm. Smart people do not risk it all just for the sake of being called a “risk taker”.

For example, you risk getting into entrepreneurship because you see the potential of growth - that is called calculated risk. You invest into something that you know will flourish, if given the attention and work it needs. That is the kind of risk that an entrepreneur will take if he wants to go far.

Since it is a risk despite you seeing potential in it, be ready to experience failures along the way. It is part of the learning process - you need to learn it because you were not born already knowing what to do or what not to do.

MYTH #5. For you to succeed in entrepreneurship, you need to start a business that no one else has thought about. It must be a one-of-a-kind idea!

If you think you can only start a thriving business with a unique idea, something that no one else has thought about, then you are wrong! Thousands, if not millions, of entrepreneurs started off from the ideas of others and they thrived for a very long time!

One of the fears of some people who wanted to become entrepreneurs but never made it happen is that there are too many competitions in their field. They feel that the market is saturated. So, the only way they can break into entrepreneurship is if they can come up with a unique idea - or so they thought!

If you can come up with a new idea, then that’s great! If not, then that should not stop you from becoming an entrepreneur.

If you want to tap into entrepreneurship but you’re not sure how to do it, follow the Powerhouse Process for making the rest of your life the best as a leader and an entrepreneur.

THE POWERHOUSE PROCESS (for making the rest of your life the best)

1. Discovery

The Discovery stage is where you find out what you want. Find out who you are. What you want and who you are are not the same. So, as you discover these things, you must also know how to differentiate them.

2. Planning

The Planning stage involves establishing faith: whether it’s faith in yourself, in your abilities, in finding the right people to help you, in your support system, or in a Higher Power. Next, you must understand what it is you are good at: discover your workshop. Then develop a plan to sell and deliver what’s created in your workshop.

3. Execution

The Execution stage calls for support to the plan - you can create an action plan that supports your overall plan, for example. Grow to your potential: keep learning and improving in your field. Evaluate, and adjust your focus when needed. Put plans into action. Be willing to present your story to the world!