I grew up in a wacky place
A hilarious place that always seems to be 10yrs behind in style, politics, cuisine trends, and just about everything else
Most of the people around me were good, hardworking people that did all the jobs that keep the lights on in the big city - nurses, firemen, cops, garbage men, bus drivers, etc… or professionals - doctors, lawyers, 80s-90s Wall Street types
Pretty standard stuff
There was also a third prominent archetype: Hustlers
My hometown was filled with mom-and-pop small businesses, contractors, electricians, every type of scammy loan shark business possible, kids who sold candy at lunch, drug dealers, and the most entertaining - the Italian American mobster gone straight
I spent my childhood looking up to dudes with a 100iq that drove Porsches because they started some business most soft Manhattanites that can barely afford their rent would stick their nose up to
Immigrants who “started with a lawnmower and a 10yr old truck” now live in 3 million dollar custom houses
Dudes that wholesale concrete driving Bentleys in a tracksuit with a $100,000 gold chain on
(Yes, every one of these examples is real)
And last but not least, my own father
You see my old man went to school to be a [medical profession I won’t name for anonymity]
The day he graduated he said he was never going to work for another man and he never did
He bought an old commercial building in an Italian-American neighborhood with a loan from his mother
Started his own practice
Retired 15 years later with multiple locations and over 40 real estate transactions under his belt
Did he pass all those lessons and knowledge on to me? Absolutely not but we’ll save the daddy issues for another post
The point of all of the above is to show you where I came from and why I always idolized being an entrepreneur
Enter little old me
The early 30s tech professional with the “entrepreneurial spirit”
I went to private school and then on to a middle-of-the-road private university all on scholarships like a good little Catholic boy
I spent my entire childhood into early adulthood doing what I was “supposed” to do with incredible confidence that everything was going to work out
Then I graduated
And like a 35yr old single mother with tattoos and ripped jeans, life hit me like a ton of bricks
I very quickly realized I had no direction, no real skills, and absolutely no fucking idea what I wanted to “do with my life”
It was right in the midst of this mental breakdown that I made my first attempt at entrepreneurship (And first life lesson about scummy salesman)
I had the idea of all ideas
I didn’t need to be a JP Morgan analyst or pharma sales rep like my friends
I was going to be a millionaire like all those guys I saw growing up
What was my Shark Tank-worthy creation?
Barbershop capes with a clear plastic section so you could see your phone in your lap
Honestly, a decade later I still think it’s a brilliant idea
I digress…
Back to drifter 21yr old me
I had the genius idea to google how to launch a product and landed upon Invent Help
I’ll save you the ugly details but essentially the scummy sales guys in the ill-fitting suit helped me get a Patent Pending and then proceeded to try and hard sell me on spending $10k to have it developed while simultaneously signing over all rights to everything
This would be the first of many MANY started-but-never-followed-through-on businesses
Add in a bunch of attempts at blogs (this is what we called an affiliate site in the early 2010s), web design & website building services, business ideas outlined but never actioned on, ideas excitedly shared with family and friends, and a whole lot of disappointing in self and what do you get?
Broseidon, charisma god and wantrepreneur extraordinare
In fact, while this Twitter account isn’t monetized in any way other than the occasional Amazon affiliate link - this is the longest-standing entrepreneurial-esque project I’ve ever had.
And don’t you worry. I’m not fuckin leavin.
When it comes down to it, there’s no need for a long-winded list of excuses.
There are three reasons for wantrepreneurship - two of which are basically cope
1 - Fear
No matter what excuse it’s being hidden under, fear is the reason I, you, or anyone else doesn’t dive head-first into building a business
Do you think Tony concrete that I mentioned earlier took 3 uDemy classes, 5 non-fiction books, and a master’s degree to start his business?
Fuck no
He probably yellowbooked where they make concrete and filled the back of his dad’s truck
There’s another very real factor related to fear that Broseidon has helped solve for me
Anonymity
Tying my name to something that wasn’t built yet always scared the fuck out of me
“What would they say?”
“They’ll know I’m not qualified?”
- insert bitch ass self-talk -
Aside from the reasons Bowtied Bull lists out, anonymity allows you to struggle through the early stages without it really singing your ego
Don’t brush this point aside
It’s extremely powerful
2 - Lack of starting capital
While valid for certain businesses - eCom comes to mind
This is cope
There are thousands of bootstrappable ideas out there that require nothing but sweat equity to get started
3 - Paradox of choice
The sheer amount of information and options available on the internet can be overwhelming
We cannot let this paralyze us
As a certain cartoon community on the bird app likes to say
JUST START SOMETHING
Final thoughts…
You need to break through
Idc how much money you make 9-5 (not to brag but I’m not hurting in this department) you will never reach self-actualization without building something that you have full control over
Something you created in this world that wasn’t there before
And something that’s entire success or failure is on your shoulders
This is what has allowed me to finally break through, commit, and build for real
In fact, aside from a few paying web design clients - the few hundred bucks I made last month is the first money I’ve ever made not from a 9-5 or investment
It’s the most rewarding for damn sure
If you’re already building, keep fucking going baby
If you haven’t started… for the love of Christ please use this as a springboard
Thanks for reading
Broseidon out 🔱
Excellent read.
Point 2: Capital not always required for ecom, can set up website/funnel etc and see what business you could get prior to creating the actual products