Recently, I wrote a post on what being an entrepreneur means to me:
Being an entrepreneur means that I am making it my job to create value in the world.
In that post, I wrote about creating value, and about getting it out into the world. Today, I realized that I forgot about one key thing: not only does an entrepreneur create value, an entrepreneur creates value from zero.
This makes a world of difference.
Many people create value in the world. Those who work at startups, small companies, and large companies and are paid to value to the company. By adding value to the company, they may directly or indirectly create value in the world.
Not many people create value from zero. This is incredibly difficult to do. An entrepreneur needs to discover what adds value to the world, test it, build it, iterate on it, and get it out there in the world. You could easily fail at any of these tasks, and the world would get along just fine without you. Starting at zero means that there is no momentum on your side and you literally need to will your creation into existence.
What I’ve found particularly difficult is that there isn’t much in life that trains you creating value from zero.
Personally, I have gone through undergrad and learned concepts/theories, and built toy programs. I’ve continued through grad school where I created research prototypes. I continued to a research job in industry where I built research prototypes. In my many years of schooling, nothing involved creating real value from zero.
I have friends who have worked industry jobs for quite a while. Most companies have already figured out their money making machine. Therefore, their jobs typically involve greasing the machine, maintaining it, or adding a new contraption to the machine. As mentioned earlier, these jobs may create value, but not starting from zero.
It seems that along the “normal” path in life, it is rare to create real value starting from zero. Yet, this ability is incredibly valuable.
So how, do you go about learning how to create value from zero?
The default paths through life won’t get you there. Blogging is a great exercise in creation and may be a good start. Beyond that, you just need to get out there and start doing it.
–
(Photo credit: Sarah Hempel Irani)
P.S. This is post number #30 in a 100 day blogging challenge. See you tomorrow!
Follow me on Twitter @alexshye.
Check out my current project Soulmix, your daily mix of food for the soul.
Alex Shye 
Interesting read mate.
In fact, I am a bit unsure about your definition “from zero”..
because you start without any big financial support? Knowledge that you have to acquire first? Infra structure?
http://batrepreneur.com/
Hey Batrepreneur! I left it fairly vague because it could be different things to different people. IMO, at the minimum, I means starting off with nothing out there in the real world. There is no product, no value, no users, no engagement. It is effectively a zero within the world. It may more more past that depending not he person. No knowledge, no money, no network, etc.
I was just trying to say that starting from zero has turned out to be really difficult, and upon reflection, most likely because I haven’t done i touch in my life before quitting my job.
Thanks drop for dropping by, and like your blog! I just shared a post on Soulmix 🙂
Very thoughtful. One very serious considerations for those stepping out to do business on their own is whether or not they can get the price that they want for what they produce. It’s much more simple to work for someone else since you do what your asked and the transaction is done when you get the paycheck. When you’re on your own you have to do everything from placing a price tag on what you do, getting other people to notice all the way to getting the work done and chasing down the payments that are owed to you. It’s always better to ask yourself if the answer to those questions is “yes” and whether or not you’re up to the extra effort.
Thanks, and yes, that is exactly what I am talking about! It isn’t just starting to create something or even creating something. It involves all these other big and little things that add up to a gigantic amount of stuff to do.
Good hearing from you tropicaltimes 🙂