20 Non-Traditional Entrepreneurs Which Will Inspire You6651863
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 story for now). In several situations it was a parade of traditional entrepreneurship, although it was a solid class. For example, here were common steps heard throughout the semester:
Think of an idea.
Find out more about the heck out from the thought, write a massive business plan, raise money, create business.
Tide good-bye to friends and family as your life is the company. Yay.
Expand company by hiring one zillion folks after creating company and move into every marketplace on the planet.
Following your massive growth into a domination that is global, sell your business for top dollar.
Post-sale, wash, rinse, repeat and retire to your own favorite island or go back to step one.
Now, there is nothing wrong with this particular guidance per say. In fact, there was a parade of special guests throughout the semester that shared their narrative that fit into those measures one way or another.
The situation, as I see it, is less instead more and in validity of the guidance in the limitations of it. Significance, follow most of those measures, feel like, be like or entrepreneurship surely doesn't have to look like. The only sport is baseball, although it's sort of like offering a course on sports.
Fact is, there is a variety of of entrepreneurs.
There are entrepreneurs whose whole aim will be to build a business and sell it for as much as you can or take it public. These are the "big exits" we hear about in the technology world.
There are entrepreneurs who create a company to franchise it (the E-Myth philosophy). Examples where I'm from in St. Louis comprise a chain of tanning salons and massage parlors.
There are. Maybe the factory makes hats or cups or something of the like.
There are entrepreneurs which can be in more traditional businesses that have no aspirations of selling but instead look to make a living brick and mortar style. An illustration could be 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 possibly love life on the beach or something). Example might be someone who sells vitamin supplements online.
However, there's another group all together that I wager you're part of (I know I 'm). And that is the entrepreneurs that are unconventional. Characteristics of this group include:
Doing work that matters. Not merely work to make a dollar (such as selling odd vitamin nutritional supplements online..unless you are ridiculously passionate about vitamins, and in that case stone on). Work that you're enthusiastic about. Work which is art. Money follows passion and not the other way around.
Challenging the way it has always been done. Changing businesses which have been stayed for years (or decades or centuries).
Appreciating the fruits of our labor. No, this does not mean unconventional entrepreneurs don't work challenging. It simply means we understand and live by the doctrine that there is a lot more to life than just work (passions and hobbies outside of work, friends and family, enjoying life just how you desire to).
Does this mean as an unconventional entrepreneur that your business can't be sold by you or hire a bunch of people? Not at all. It merely ensures that you aren't conforming to the confines of conventional entrepreneurs.
Since 2008, I've had the unbelievable chance to interview over 300 entrepreneurs of all sizes and shapes. Conventional and non-traditional. Companies that are huge and solopreneurs. People that have sold 50 businesses among others which have started one. But I Had have to state, if I was hard pressed, my favorite ones are the unconventional ones (and that is where most interviews will drop in the immediate future). Tommy Caufmann This is a listing of 20 of them, in no particular order, that I wager you'll pick up thoughts, insights and inspiration from. Appreciate!
Why? Successful yet unfulfilled from his previous venture, Andrew has made it his life's mission to inspire and help startups.
- 2: Ishita Gupta - panic.less
Why? Who says magazines must be in print? Consistently a disrupter, Ishita is altering the publishing world through her exceptional magazine fear.less.
Interview with Ishita
Why? Rejected by everybody in the publishing world, Tucker didn't give up. Instead, he took his outrageous, hilarious stories to the Net and results have been astounding.
Why? Leader and the quintessential disrupter, Seth Godin is throwing a wrench to the publishing industry with all The Domino Project.
Interview with Seth
- 5: Neil Strauss - NeilStrauss.com
Why? Is it possible to earn a living by learning and infiltrating from the secret world of stars, pick up artists and multiple -passport sneaky world travelers? Neil has done it.
Interview with Neil
- 6: Chris Guillebeau - ChrisGuillebeau.com
Why? Being a professional writer in less than one year? Inspiring others to not live conventional lives?
Why? By doing it his way Matt has created an empire from his unique and hilarious comics.
Interview with Matt
- 8: Rob and Kim Murgatroyd - JetSetLife.TV
Why? They created one of the greatest jobs for themselves: Traveling to the world's poshest areas and composing unique, insider guidebooks. Sweet.
Interview with Kim and Rob
- 9: Jason Sadler - IWearYourShirt.com
Why? What does Jason get to do? Create all kinds of other goodies as well as fun videos online and he's paid to wear tops. Sweet.
Why? Yes, we all know Tim has inspired an incredible quantity of men and women to work less, live more (and more lately, get in great shape), but there's a whole lot to understand from how Tim has created his own business and lifestyle. He is a walking model of entrepreneurship that is non-traditional.
Interview with Tim
Why? The man who has built an empire around wearing a name tag regular for the past 10 years and counting. You have to see it to believe it.
Interview with Scott
- 12: Michael Buckley - What The Buck
Why? Michael took a love for pop culture and turned it into his dream profession. His show, What The Buck, is one of YouTube's most popular
- 13: Adam Baker - Man Vs. Debt
Why? Can the action of getting yourself out of debt and sharing the insights become a company? Leave it to Adam Baker to turn it.
Interview with Adam
- 14: Chris Ducker - Virtual Company Lifestyle
Why? Chris talks the talk and walks the walk. As I type this, his business is probably running from a beach somewhere.
Interview with Chris
- 15: Gregory Ng - Freezer Burns
Why? Two words: Frozen food. That's exactly the subject matter of the unusual entrepreneur's internet show.
Interview with Greg
- 16: Elizabeth Marshall - Author Telesminars
Why? She found her passion for novels and turned it into an amazing career. The top part might be she gets the pick of the litter when it comes to her customers.
Interview with Elizabeth
Why? Vanessa did not wait to be decided. She composed a parenting publication from a teenager's view when she was a teen. Her empire has incredible grown since then and she gets to do what she loves every day.
Interview with Vanessa
Why? The musician that is entrepreneurial. His business model allows him to create (and generate income from) the music he needs without the bounds of a label.
Interview with Jonathan
- 19: Scott Kurtz - PvP
Why? The guy who is redefining the world of cartooning. And he is doing it .
- 20: Nate Houghteling and Kai Hasson - White Collar Brawler
Why? Quitting their day jobs create movement and a web-based web series and to become amateur boxers? This stuff is simply amazing.
