20 Non-Traditional Entrepreneurs Which Will Inspire You4936553
I just took one entrepreneurship course in college (I was a Women's Studies major at Washington University in St. Louis...we will miss THAT narrative for now). In several cases it was a parade of traditional entrepreneurship, although it turned out to be a class that is strong. For instance, here were common measures heard throughout the semester:
Come up with an idea.
Find out more about the heck out from the notion, write a business plan that is massive, raise money, create company.
Wave farewell to friends and family as now your life is the company. Yay.
Expand business by hiring one zillion folks, after creating company and move into every market in the world.
Following your massive growth into a domination that is global, sell your business for top dollar.
Post-sale, retire to your own preferred island or go back to step one and wash, rinse, repeat.
Now, there is nothing wrong with this particular guidance per say. In fact, there was a parade of special guests through the term that shared their narrative that fit into those steps one manner or another.
There are entrepreneurs who create a business to franchise it (the E-Myth philosophy). Examples where I am from in St. Louis comprise a chain of tanning salons and massage parlors.
There are entrepreneurs that create factories. Maybe the factory makes something of the like or hats or cups.
There are entrepreneurs which can be in more traditional industries that have no aspirations of selling but rather look to earn a living brick and mortar style. An example might function as the corner bakery or a clothes boutique.
There are Internet entrepreneurs focused on creative passive income by any means essential to make a living (and perhaps enjoy life on the seashore or something). Example might be someone who sells vitamin nutritional supplements online.
However, there's another group all together that I wager you are part of (I know I am). And that is the non-traditional entrepreneurs. Characteristics of this group include:
Doing work that matters. Not just work to make a dollar (such as selling odd vitamin supplements online..unless you're ridiculously passionate about vitamins, and in that case rock on). Work that you're enthusiastic about. Work which is art. Money follows fire and not the other way around.
Challenging the way it has been done. Altering businesses which were stayed for years (or decades or centuries).
Enjoying the fruits of our job. No, this does not mean non-traditional entrepreneurs don't work hard. It only means we understand and live by the doctrine that there surely is a lot more to life than just work (fires and hobbies outside work, friends as well as family, enjoying life the manner in which you would like to).
Does this mean as an unusual entrepreneur that your business can't be sold by you or hire a group of people? Not at all. It only implies that you aren't conforming to the limits of conventional entrepreneurs.
Since 2008, I Have had the unbelievable chance to interview over 300 entrepreneurs of sizes and shapes. Conventional and non-conventional. Tremendous businesses and solopreneurs. People that have sold 50 firms and others which have started one. But I'd have to mention, if I had been hard pressed, my favorite ones are the non-traditional ones (and that's where most interviews will drop in the immediate future).
The issue, as I see it, is less in validity of the guidance and instead more in the constraints of it. Significance, be like, feel like, entrepreneurship surely doesn't have to look like or follow most of those measures. The one sport is baseball, although it is sort of like offering a course on sports.
Fact is, there is a variety of of entrepreneurs.
There are entrepreneurs whose entire goal is to build a business and sell it for as much as possible or take it public. These are the "large exits" we hear about in the technology world. Tommy Caufmann Here is a record of 20 of them, in no particular order, that I bet you will pick up thoughts, insights and inspiration from. Enjoy!
Why? Successful unfulfilled from his previous endeavor, Andrew has made it his life's mission.
- 2: Ishita Gupta - fear.less
Why? Who says magazines need to be in print? Consistently a disrupter, Ishita is altering the publishing world through her unique magazine panic.less.
Interview with Ishita
- 3: Tucker Max - TuckerMax.com
Why? Rejected by everybody in the publishing world, Tucker didn't give up. Rather, he took his crazy, hilarious stories to the Net and results have been astounding.
Interview with Tucker
Why? The quintessential disrupter and leader, a wrench is throwing into the publishing industry with all The Domino Project.
Interview with Seth
- 5: Neil Strauss - NeilStrauss.com
Why? How is it possible to earn a living by learning and infiltrating in the secret world of celebrities, pick up artists and multiple -passport world travelers that are sneaky? Neil has done it.
Interview with Neil
- 6: Chris Guillebeau - ChrisGuillebeau.com
Why? Moving to Africa? Becoming a professional writer in less than one year? Inspiring others to live unconventional lives? Check, check and check.
Interview with Chris
- 7: Matthew Inman - TheOatmeal.com
Why? By doing it his way, Matt has established an empire from his unique and hilarious comics.
Interview with Matt
- 8: Kim Murgatroyd and Rob - JetSetLife.TV
Why? They created one of the greatest jobs ever for themselves: Traveling to the world's poshest places and composing unique, insider guidebooks. Sweet.
Interview with Rob and Kim
- 9: Jason Sadler - IWearYourShirt.com
Why? What does Jason get to do? He is paid to wear shirts and create all sorts of other goodies and interesting videos online. Sweet.
Why? Yes, all of US understand Tim has inspired an amazing amount of men and women to work less, live more (and more recently, get in great shape), but there's a lot to understand from how Tim has created his own company and lifestyle. He's a walking version of entrepreneurship that is non-traditional.
Why? The man that has built an empire around wearing a name tag regular for the past 10 years and counting. You need to see it to believe it.
- 12: Michael Buckley - What The Buck
Why? Michael turned it into his dream profession and took a love for pop culture. His show, What The Buck, is certainly one of YouTube's most popular
Interview with Michael
- 13: Adam Baker - Man Vs. Debt
Why? Can the action of getting yourself and sharing the insights become a business? Leave it to Adam Baker to turn it.
Interview with Adam
- 14: Chris Ducker - Virtual Company Lifestyle
Why? The walk walks and talks the talk. He is probably running his business from a beach somewhere, as I type this.
- 15: Gregory Ng - Deep Freezer Burns
Why? Two words: Frozen food. That's precisely the subject matter of the unconventional entrepreneur's internet show.
Interview with Greg
- 16: Elizabeth Marshall - Author Telesminars
Why? She turned it into an incredible profession and found her passion for books. The best part might be she gets the pick of the litter when it comes to her customers.
Interview with Elizabeth
Why? Vanessa didn't wait to be decided. When she was a teen, she wrote a parenting book from a teenager's view. Her empire has unbelievable grown since then and she gets to do every day, what she loves.
Interview with Vanessa
- 18: Jonathan Coulton - JonathanCoulton.com
Why? The entrepreneurial musician. His business model permits him to create (and generate income from) the music he wants without the confines of a label.
Interview with Jonathan
Why? The man who is redefining the world of cartooning. And he's doing it .
Interview with Scott Kurtz
- 20: Kai Hasson and Nate Houghteling - White Collar Brawler
Why? Quitting their day jobs to become amateur fighters and make a web-based web series and movement? This stuff is simply amazing.
