20 Unusual Entrepreneurs That Will Inspire You7377915
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). It turned out to be a sound class, but in lots of situations it was a parade of traditional entrepreneurship. For example, here were common measures heard throughout the semester:
Come up with an idea.
Find out more about the heck out from the idea, write a business plan that is massive, raise money, create business.
As your life is your business, wave goodbye to family and friends.
Expand business by hiring one zillion folks, after creating business and move into every market on the planet.
Following your enormous expansion into a global domination, sell your business for top dollar.
Post-sale, wash, rinse, repeat and go back to step one or retire to your chosen island.
Now, there is nothing wrong with this particular guidance per say. Actually, there was a parade of special guests through the term that shared their narrative that fit into those measures one way or another.
The situation, as I see it, is less in cogency of the advice and instead more in the limits of it. Significance, follow most of those measures, feel like, be like or entrepreneurship surely doesn't have to look like. It is like offering a course but the only real sport covered is baseball.
Fact is, there are lots of types of entrepreneurs.
There are entrepreneurs whose entire aim would be to establish a business and sell it for as much as possible or take it public. All these are the "big exits" we hear about in the tech world.
There are entrepreneurs who create a company to franchise it (the E-Myth doctrine). Examples where I am from in St. Louis include a chain of tanning salons and massage parlors.
There are entrepreneurs that create factories. Possibly the factory makes hats or cups or something of the like.
There are entrepreneurs which can be in more traditional industries who have no aspirations of selling but rather look to make a living brick and mortar style. An example may be the corner bakery or a clothes boutique.
There are Internet entrepreneurs focused on creative passive income by any means required to earn a living (and perhaps appreciate life on the beach or something). Example might be someone who sells vitamin nutritional supplements online.
But, there is an alternative group all together that I bet you're a part of (I understand I 'm). And that is the non-traditional entrepreneurs. Features of the group include:
Doing work that questions. Not merely work to earn a dollar (such as selling weird vitamin nutritional supplements online..unless you are ridiculously enthusiastic about vitamins, and in that case stone on). Work that you are passionate about. Work which is artwork. Cash follows fire and not the other way around.
Challenging the way it's ever been done. Doing it your way. Changing industries that have been stuck for years (or decades or centuries).
Appreciating the fruits of our labour. No, this does not mean non-traditional entrepreneurs don't work difficult. It simply means we understand and live by the doctrine that there is a lot more to life than just work (fires and hobbies outside work, friends and family, enjoying life the way you need to).
Does this mean as an unusual entrepreneur that your business can't be sold by you or hire a bunch of folks? Not at all. It only ensures that you aren't conforming to the limits of traditional entrepreneurs.
Since 2008, I Have had the incredible chance to interview over 300 entrepreneurs of all sizes and shapes. Conventional and non-conventional. Tremendous companies and solopreneurs. People that have sold 50 companies and others that have started one. But I'd have to state, if I had been hard pressed, my favorite ones will be the non-traditional ones (and that's where most interviews will drop in the immediate future). Tommy Caufmann This is a list of 20 of them, in no specific order, that I wager you will pick up inspiration, ideas and insights from. Enjoy!
Why? Successful yet unfulfilled from his previous venture, Andrew has made it his life's mission.
Interview with Andrew
- 2: Ishita Gupta - anxiety.less
Why? Who says magazines have to be in print? Consistently a disrupter, Ishita is altering the publishing world through her exceptional magazine fear.less.
- 3: Tucker Max - TuckerMax.com
Why? Rejected by everyone in the publishing world, Tucker didn't give up. Instead, he took his wild, hilarious stories to the Net and results have been astounding.
- 4: Seth Godin - SethGodin.com
Why? The quintessential disrupter and leader, Seth Godin is throwing a wrench to the publishing business together with The Domino Project.
Why? Is it feasible to earn a living by learning and infiltrating from the secret world of celebrities, pick up multiple and artists -passport world travelers that are sneaky? It has been done by Neil.
Why? Moving to Africa? Becoming a professional writer in significantly less than one year? Inspiring others to not live conventional lives?
Why? By doing it his way, Matt has established an empire from his hilarious and unique comic strips.
Interview with Matt
- 8: Rob and Kim Murgatroyd - JetSetLife.TV
Why? They created among the coolest jobs for themselves: Traveling to the poshest areas in the world and writing unique, insider guidebooks. Sweet.
Interview with Rob and Kim
Why? What does Jason get to do all day? He is paid to wear shirts and create all sorts of other goodies and enjoyable videos online. Sweet.
Why? Yes, we all understand Tim has inspired an incredible number of people to work less, live more (and more recently, get in great shape), but there is a great deal to learn from how Tim has created his own company and lifestyle. He's a walking model of entrepreneurship that is unconventional.
Interview with Tim
Why? The man who has built an empire around wearing a name tag regular for the previous 10 years and counting. You need to see it to believe it.
Interview with Scott
- 12: Michael Buckley - What The Dollar
Why? Michael turned it into his dream profession and took a love. His show, Exactly What The Buck, is one among 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 business? Leave Adam Baker to turn it with it.
- 14: Chris Ducker - Virtual Company Lifestyle
Why? Chris walks the walk and talks the talk. He is probably running his company 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 unusual entrepreneur's net show.
- 16: Elizabeth Marshall - Writer Telesminars
Why? She found her passion for novels and turned it into a fantastic career. The very best part might be she gets the pick of the litter as it pertains to her clients.
Interview with Elizabeth
Why? Vanessa did not wait to be picked. When she was a teen, she wrote a parenting book from a teen's view. Her empire has incredible grown since then and she gets to do what she loves every day.
Interview with Vanessa
Why? The entrepreneurial musician. His business model allows him to create (and generate profits from) the music he desires without the boundaries of a label.
Interview with Jonathan
- 19: Scott Kurtz - PvP
Why? The guy who's redefining the world of cartooning. And he is doing it on his terms.
- 20: Kai Hasson and Nate Houghteling - White Collar Brawler
Why? Quitting their day jobs make a web-based web series and movement and to become recreational fighters? This items is simply awesome.
