Am I Really an Entrepreneur?
I like to consider myself an entrepreneur. However, this title is somewhat self-appointed. I have never sold a product or service of my own, I have no existing online courses, and I have not profited from any of my ideas (at least outside of my day job).
So, why in the world would I consider myself an entrepreneur?
I guess it’s because I have ideas constantly firing in my head. It could be the next great product (at least in my mind) or an improvement to an existing product. I’m constantly having fantastical innovations popping up in my mind.
I have apps that I want to develop. I have an online course that I’m trying to launch. I have a podcast and blog that need feeding. I have a plethora of products queued up in my Evernote. Yet, they all sit in the queue awaiting their turn.
This had me thinking and coming to the realization that I might just suck as an entrepreneur.
I know, this may be a little harsh, but I’m good with it. Maybe documenting why I suck may serve as a tipping point for positive movement forward.
Let’s get to the self-deprecating analysis of my ineptitude, shall we?
The Top 10 Ways I Suck as an Entrepreneur
1. I’m all over the place
As mentioned earlier, I’m all over the place in terms of what I want to do next, when, and how. I have so many ideas in my head and each one believes they are the next big thing.
This mish-mash of competing ideas has resulted in nothing being truly completed. At some point I need to really focus and bring something across the finish line.
2. I don’t finish projects
I’ve started quite a few things in the past. In fact, this blog is probably my third or fourth instance of a blog. The others have died a quiet death, fizzling into obscurity by lack of attention and general apathy.
Now I have other projects in my scope. For example, Project White Coat. This is a course that I want to bring to market to help other busy parents struggling to build their online platform but due to the fact I’m a busy parent myself, nothing is getting done. It’s both annoying and maddeningly frustrating.
3. I’m not consistent
I tell myself I’m going to be consistent. I even make New Year’s resolutions that this is the year I do so. But, alas, I fall off the consistency bandwagon and sporadically publish content on whims. Or, I miss weeks altogether due to life getting in the way.
I feel if I were only more consistent my blog readership would be higher. I feel that if I truly published my podcast on “schedule” I would have more listeners. I feel if I had a bigger audience I wouldn’t have to spend as much time marketing my own content.
Consistency is consistently mocking me.
4. I haven’t monetized
Entrepreneurs, at least successful ones, will claim that you need to monetize as soon as possible. I struggle with this because I’m not sure what to monetize. Even if I did know, I’m not sure I would actually put it into action (see items 1, 2, and 3 above).
Part of my issue is I want to bring forth a product/service that “deserves” to be monetized. I figure that it has to be epic for anyone to truly want it. I fear that if I put something out there that is sub-par that they will view me as a ripoff and just out for the money, even if I really just don’t have the means to put out a stellar, amazing, kick-ass, well-produced product.
I constantly measure myself against other successful entrepreneurs and view any product I may bring to market as a piece of sh*t comparatively.
I understand they started out with substandard products as well, but I still hold myself to the high standards they hit now.
5. I don’t track contacts
I’ve met some amazing people online and in person at conferences. Yet, I don’t have a central location where I keep those contacts. I did start a Google spreadsheet for this purpose, but to say it is underperforming is an understatement.
I need to be better with keeping track of people and having the ability to reach back to them. Having contacts in this space is a huge benefit and right now, I stink at it.
6. I haven’t documented (or really figured out) what my true business is
This is a huge one. The fact I put it at number 6 may further reinforce the fact I suck at being an entrepreneur. I need to truly sit down and understand what my business is.
Currently, I’m scoped as “Building Online in the Off Hours”. Building what in particular? Blogging? Podcasting? An eCommerce store? A small business? WHAT?
I love teaching people about new ways to do things. I like explaining how to do stuff. Yet, I believe I am a little too wide in my approach. There are people who are Facebook Ad gurus, Google Analytics gods, podcasting experts, and social media marketing aficionados.
But I touch a little bit of everything. Is that too much? Am I too broad? Do I need to pick something and dig in like crazy and become that expert of that one thing? But what if I don’t want to?
7. I constantly want to pivot
I have the Crazy Dad Life thing and the whole building online thing, but sometimes I want to completely pivot to other passion projects. Part of me believes this would be a mistake. I’ve built something with Crazy Dad Life and for better or worse, it’s sort of my brand now. The other part of me believes the building online market is overly saturated and I’ll never establish success.
I do find myself thinking of going a completely different direction from time to time though. Sometimes I want to start a brand within the same space just under a different name. Other times I want to branch out into a whole new space.
This results in more time wasted with nothing materializing.
8. I’m not everywhere
Conventional wisdom says you should be everywhere online. I’m not. I’ve tried to be most places, but find myself struggling to keep up. In fact, I just tried to branch out to Pinterest and not much progress has been made to date. I’ve posted some things on there but the traffic is not exactly flowing to my site.
I’ve started a bunch of platforms, like a Facebook group, Google+ community, and even a YouTube channel but haven’t thrown myself into any of them with any sort of intention.
I would like to say I do pretty well with Twitter and Facebook but even there I feel my community engagement is lacking.
There are numerous conferences I want to attend, but something always comes up. For instance, last year I wanted to attend Podcast Movement but my daughter was performing in New York. Missed. This year I wanted to attend the Dad 2.0 conference but instead I will be attending my daughter’s Regional Track and Field Championship. Missed. This year I plan to attend New Media Expo but it happens to fall right around my daughter’s birthday. Partially Miss.
9. I don’t really analyze my metrics
I know I should be deeper in my analytics, but I’m not. In fact, there are things in Google Analytics that I don’t even know what they mean. Many times I simply look at the number of visitors and where they came from and then leave.
I’ve dabbled a little bit with the custom dashboards you can grab but I wouldn’t say I have a handle on any of them for more than a few cursory data points.
10. I get semi-depressed when others socialize their wins
It seems like everyone else is doing so well. It seems like they are constantly growing, adding products/services, launching another launch, publishing another book, appearing on national TV, being featured here or there, etc.
I see those successful in the space launching new podcasts and shooting to the top of the rankings while I plug away weekly on mine. I see other blogs touting huge numbers as I try to consistently post new content. I see podcasts reaching their millionth listener or thousands of listeners per episode. I see Facebook update after update of people celebrating win after win.
I understand it’s not all about numbers and even 50 people who are truly engaged with your brand is worth more than a million followers that don’t care.
I’m usually happy for these folks and their wins. But sometimes I say to myself, “damn, again?! What do I need to do?!”
Where Do I Go From Here?
So, there you have it. 10 ways that I suck at being an entrepreneur. I understand many of these are easily fixed and require me to simply continue to put in hard work and keep grinding. I also understand this is a journey and many of the successful people did put in hard work at the beginning of their journey too.
To me, it’s somewhat therapeutic to document what’s wrong in my approach so hopefully I can gain traction and start to move closer to my dream of being a successful entrepreneur.
Maybe it also helps you understand that the struggle is real. For now, I’m going to keep on keeping on and see where this goes.
Good article, Jeff.
Thanks James! Anything you can relate to?
Honestly? No.
Wow…you are a better man than me James. lol.
Ouch Jeff! Watch it! Hahahaha
The things you said felt like you were pertaining to me directly! Well I guess it’s normal for most of us involved in online marketing. I am all over the place too most of the time. So many ideas so little time!
You want to improve this and that but you get nothing finished. I love posts like this because it makes me realize that I’m not alone and that bloggers and online marketers go through it too.
Thanks for sharing Jeff and just want you to know that I love your podcast! I listen to it on my way to the office.
Keep up the good work bro!
Thank you so much Noel! It’s guys like you that keep me going. And trust me, more people out there are struggling like you, they just don’t always admit it. I have no shame in putting it out there. There are wins and there are losses. Transparency is the best. What are you working on these days?
Great writeup. I think we all struggle with these things at times. Focus is key to success. I would start monetizing early. There’s value to let your readership know early that this is your plan. Try some Amazon affiliate links or some Google Ads. Even if they don’t pay much, you’re setting an expectation.
Don’t get too down on other people’s success. First, many are overinflating numbers. Second, don’t worry about vanity metrics that make them look like they’re doing good when they’re not. Third, it’s never good to compare your worst self against someone’s best self (what they put on social media).
I know the pain of pushing out product. Took me forever to finish http://www.killerblogging.com Was nice to get it out the door. That satisfaction is a great feeling.
Thanks John! I do have some monetization going on with Adsense but I want to do my own thing at some point. And I agree, some people out here are overinflating their numbers or faking the system to bump the numbers without much behind it in terms of legitimacy. How is your course doing these days? Congrats by the way!
I’ve never focused on my course, so it’s done as well as I’ve focused on it. I mostly like it because it’s an easy answer when people say “How Do You Make Money Blogging”? One day I’ll hopefully sell my blogs and then maybe I’ll focus on that product. Until then, there’s too much money in my existing blogs to focus on a product that teaches people how to make money blogging.
Keep fighting the good fight. You don’t lack in passion – just focus. Focus can be fixed. Passion is tough to make up for, especially in what you are trying to do.
I enjoy what you offer! I’d just say don’t try to fix everything on that list. Pick one thing. Fix it THIS WEEK. Pick another thing. Fix it NEXT WEEK. And so on. What helps me: The thought of looking back after three months and realizing I’m still struggling with the same stuff!
Thanks so much Andy! Your support means a lot to me. Helps me continue doing what I’m doing. I love your approach for fixing particular things within a given timeframe. I did do some goals this year and I’m revisiting to make sure I stay on track. So, that will hopefully keep me looking back at the little wins.
By the way, love your landing page at instafather.com. When is the launch and what are you looking at doing with the site?
Thanks for checking out the site.
I’m still deciding on a launch date but it’s certainly going to be by May. I say that in part because my wife is due with twins then, so I better get it going!
I’m looking to create a series of how-to digital resources -guides, lists, ebook- for expecting and very new dads (targeting that specific demographic) and/or the wives of those dads who like to pass on info to their husbands. I’m a former newspaper reporter so I’m using my skills of gathering info & presenting it in a clear, concise way, plus my stand up comedy side, to hopefully present something really unique. Using the landing page to get some emails in a database so I’m not starting from scratch at launch, a tip I’ve seen quite a few places and made easy with SquareSpace.
Heavy in the research phase right now! Glad to have CDL around.
That’s awesome Andy! Please keep me informed of your project status and I’ll be sure to give it a shout-out on the podcast and blog. Good stuff! If there is anything you want me to dig into on the show or blog, just let me know.
It’s easy to get bogged down isn’t it! I set myself a few goals this year and rather than just let them sit there and regret them next year I decided to at least attempt to achieve a few and they are actually easier than you’d think. A bit of effort and you can achieve them too
Thanks Ashley! I have also set up some goals this year. I usually don’t do a lot of goal setting but this year I wanted to put some down on paper. This was partly to organize things and partly to motivate me to keep on top of them. Speaking of which, I need to go find them. haha. How are things on your side of the pond? Love the cartoon family at the top of whenthedustsettles.co.uk!
I feel you.
I actually started a pretty successful business while I was in college, and spent some time taking classes on entrepreneurship at the same time. You’d think that starting off strong like that would have set me up to know what to do to make it happen on the entrepreneurial field. But I’ve basically been a stay-at-home dad for the last four years, and though I dabble online and try to gain an audience, it’s pretty daunting to try to check all the boxes in order to be successful doing business for yourself.
Best thing I can recommend, though, in just a few words, is finding the right team to work with you. To supplement the stuff you don’t do well, to fill in some of those gaps. I was blessed to have my wife filling in those gaps when I was running my own business (she managed the finances, organization, kept me pointing in the right direction when I had a million ideas at once most of which would never feasibly be completed . . .). But now she’s working full time, so it’s a big task to try to get good at everything, instead of just the things that come naturally.
Anyway. Good luck.
Thanks Neal! Sounds like you have quite a nice background in entrepreneurship that will guides you today. That’s awesome! Being a stay-at-home-dad I know you are ALWAYS busy so I understand where you are coming from with the issues of gaining an audience. It is tough work. I like your feedback regarding finding people to help out with some of the work. I have started to outsource some of my work, or simply pay for things to be done, in order to restore margin in my life. I plan on trying to do more of that going forward.
Love your logo with your daughter hanging around your head as you crawl along. lol. I know that feeling.
What are your next steps with your online platform?
Yeah – DITTO – what he said!! This is when I wish we could reblog like WordPress.com – cuz I’m in the same boat with you. I resonate with all of these points too Jeff!! I’m glad you posted this, you’re definitely not alone on this journey of trying to find your way. Maybe those of us in this boat need to get together and have our own meetup of “Nonpreneurs”, those who want to be entrepreneurs but sadly must admit we are not… not YET that is!!
Thanks Crystal!! You have always been a wonderful supporter. I agree that there are a large number of people out there struggling. Some that are successful simply post all the good stuff and sometimes it brings others down. I’m hoping we all ultimately succeed in the long run and enjoy the journey along the way.