Why Do People Become Entrepreneurs?

Why Do People Become Entrepreneurs?

Entrepreneurship has become so common today. millions of people are becoming entrepreneurs by the day. In fact, as at 2022 there are about 31 million entrepreneurs in US and 582 million entrepreneurs in the world. But it is not everyone that become entrepreneur that do so for the same reason. People are motivated to go into entrepreneurship for different reasons.

In today’s blog post I will attempt from my experience working with thousands of entrepreneurs over the the years to answer the question ‘why do people become entrepreneurs’?

Why People Become Entrepreneurs

So today I will share with you a couple of reasons I have discovered why people become entrepreneurs.

1. Why Do People Become Entrepreneurs? – A Chance to Change the World

I think this is the first and most honest reason people become entrepreneurs. And it boils down to passion. When people are very passionate about a thing it can take away sleep from their eyes until they are able to accomplish that thing. And truly truly speaking no other profession or group of people have changed the world as much as entrepreneurs have done.

I often tell people that entrepreneurs are co-creators with God. Where God stopped in the work of creation entrepreneurs took over from there.

I always remind my followers that God did not create mobile phone. He did not create computers. God did not create cars, aircraft nor Facebook. Men did. Entrepreneurs are the people who are truly living out God’s mandate by deploring to the fullest their creative abilities.

How Entrepreneurs are Changing the World

If you are still wondering what I meant when I say that these guys called entrepreneurs are changing the world then you need to see just a few of the ways they are doing it:

Creating jobs, probably more than even the government is doing.
Creating wealth
Improving the quality of lives through technological advancement
Solving problems that before now looked impossible
Making work easier
Making connection easier thereby bringing the whole world closer

Examples of Entrepreneurs Because of their Desire to Change The World

Henry Ford

Ford did not invent the automobile. He was just an employing working on cars. But he saw an opportunity or rather a gap to be filled. He saw that competitors were selling their cars for a price that made the car a luxury of the rich.

But for him every American deserved to be on the wheel. That thought troubled him for a while. Then he decided to do something about it. He saw it as his opportunity to change the world. That was how he unleashed the power of mass production. His Ford Model T was the first car to cater to most Americans.

Today, whether in America or other countries around the world, no one sees owing your own car as luxury. This is thanks to Henry Ford, one of the people that changed the world by choosing to become entrepreneurs.

Bill Gates

Just like Henry Ford, Bill Gates started with the vision of when computer would become ‘personal’. He believed strongly that it is possible for everyone to have a personal computer. And he decided to ‘fight’ for it.

It is that fighting spirit or competitive nature of Gates that has carved out not just fortune for him, but made it possible for you and me to own our own PCs today.

A clear proof that Gates went into entrepreneurship to change the world and not for the money is what he is doing with the money today – Bill Gates Foundation.

Mark Zuckerberg

Was Mark Zuckerberg thinking of becoming the 3rd richest men in the world when he started Facebook in 2004? The answer is no. His singular goal was to build something through which he could connect Harvard students with one another. By the next day, over a thousand people had registered. For him that was vision accomplished.

Sam Walton

Each time you think retail, which name comes to your mind? I will be surprised if you answer anything other than Sam Walton. Or maybe you don’t know Walton but you definitely know Walmart. It is more or less one and the same thing. The former created the later.

Walton picked a market no one wanted and then instituted a distribution system no one had tried in retail. By building warehouses between several of his stores, Walton was able to save on shipping and deliver goods to busy stores much faster. Add a state-of-the-art inventory control system, and Walton was lowering his cost margins well below his direct competitors. Rather than booking all of the savings as profits, Walton passed them on to the consumer. That completely changed retail business across the globe.

2. Why Do People Become Entrepreneurs? – To Have Their Freedom

Many might want to argue if this is a good reason to go into entrepreneurship. I will tell you what I think about that, but that is not the subject of this particular post. The crux of the matter here is that majority of the people I interact with on why they want to become entrepreneurs always mention the word ‘freedom’.

A research by Cox Business found that more than half of small business owners start their own businesses to be their own boss.

But kind of freedom are entrepreneurs looking for really?

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Four Types of Freedom That Motivate Entrepreneurs

Freedom of Time

Entrepreneurs understand perhaps better than any other person that to make a breakthrough in your time is to make a breakthrough in your future.You want to spend your working life doing what you really enjoy doing – that is freedom. And you also want the freedom to spend as much part of your life as possible not working. Yeah, for most entrepreneurs, the goal is to retire early. That will allow you have a full life and pursue your other interests.

Freedom of Money

Even if you are not driven by money, but tell me how you will feel when you have a need and you can’t meet them. Not great, I suppose. It is even worse to know that you have great and amazing solutions or contributions but because you work for someone there is a limit to what you can earn. And if your efforts generate money, you don’t want anyone dictating how much of that money you can keep.

Freedom of Relationship

There are certain people you love working with—both inside and outside your business—and you want to spend more and more of your time surrounded just by these people you can tag along with. These are people whom you appreciate and who appreciate you. But when you work for an organization or business you don’t own, you really don’t have a choice of who your co-workers are nor who your boss is.

Freedom of Purpose

Why do you do what you do? The truth is that our daily routines all add up in fulfilling our fundamental purpose of been here. So imagine been forced into a role that contributes nothing to your overall purpose of been on earth. So you need to know that the entrepreneurial company you’ve created is not just a job or a career. It’s actually a pathway to all sorts of things that relate to your fundamental values, ideals and purpose in life. Most of the philanthropists you know are entrepreneurs.

3. Why Do People Become Entrepreneurs? – To Escape Unemployment

Unemployment is such an awful experience for those that experience it. However, sometimes it can become a blessing in disguise. Many people have been ‘forced’ into entrepreneurship because they couldn’t find a job or at least their dream jobs.

The truth is that with the high rate of unemployment across the world more and more people are choosing the path of entrepreneurship. In Nigeria for example the unemployment rate reached 33% in 2022. And that actually created more entrepreneurs.

Nnamdi Ezeigbo confirmed that he never wanted to go int entrepreneurship. But when he couldn’t get a job after 2 years he was left with no option than to start SLOT system. There are many more such examples out there.

4. Why Do People Become Entrepreneurs? – As a Result of Retrenchment

Just like the case of unemployment, retrenchment has been a blessing in disguise. It definitely helps more people become entrepreneurs.

For instance, U.S. unemployment rates spiked during the Covid-19 pandemic, and despite trending down since last spring, have remained above pre-pandemic levels, yet new business applications increased by 24% in 2020 compared to 2019, according to a U.S. Census Bureau analysis.

Tantalizers is the result of Bose Ayeni been sacked from her job. So one can easily argue that if Bose was not sacked, there won’t be Tantalizers today.

COVID-19 also hit very hard on several companies. Kris Collins was one of those whose life turned upside down as a result of the pandemic. She lost her job as a hair stylist, but turned to TikTok as a content creator, earning 4.75 million dollars in 2021. Would her job have paid her that? Would she have become a TikTok entrepreneur if she didn’t lose her job?

Even as we speak Meta is retrenching as much as 11,000 workers. And all of these people will have to find a way to survive. And you would imagine how many of them will turn to entrepreneurship to survive.

5. Why Do People Become Entrepreneurs? – Out of Serendipity

Alexander Fleming, the Scottish biologist famous for his 1922 discovery of penicillin, once said, “Have you ever given it a thought how decisively hazard—chance, fate, destiny, call it what you please—governs our lives?”

Strange as it may sound but most entrepreneurs stumble into the business they are running by mistake. In fact, I personally discovered that truth while interviewing founders for my book How They Started. Serendipity as we know is the accidental discovery of something valuable while working on something else.

Johnson & Johnson is a very good example of a company that started off serendipity.

Other Reasons People Become Entrepreneurs

They are bored with 9 – 5 job
They want to create job for others
To unleash their creativity
They are passionate about learning
They want to test their capability
They have unconventional ideas
They found opportunities that aren’t obvious
Their admiration for other entrepreneurs
They want to explore lives and take risks
They don’t want to have a boss

Why Do People Become Entrepreneurs? – Conclusion

Entrepreneurship is becoming more popular by the day. However, people become entrepreneurs for different reasons. But whatever the case, entrepreneurs have proven to be huge blessings to the world. The jobs they create, the change they bring, the wealth they create and the way the improve processes have all contributed to make the world a better place for all of us.

So whatever your reason for considering entrepreneurship be sure to check if you have the necessary qualities for for succeeding as an entrepreneur.

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