Maintaining My Entrepreneurial Spirit Despite Not Being One
Now that I’m on the W2 train (read: employed at a startup, not running my own), I’ve been having this internal battle about “not being an entrepreneur”. It’s a voice that keeps me grounded in my passions and my dreams. Though I’m not actively building out one of my own ideas, I realize the opportunities in my current role and how it’ll give me a greater platform to build my next startup.
However, one important aspect I’ve kept up with is meeting with entrepreneurs, startups, and wantrepreneurs. I still meet to expand my network and broaden my view of the startup world while helping others.
I’m happy (with a massive sigh of relief) that I’ve been able to maintain my many connections while succeeding in my startup role.
In fact, in my weekends upcoming, I have brainstorming sessions with several entrepreneurs and wantrepreneurs to flesh out their ideas and potentially spark new ones. I’m very much looking forward to these sessions as they let me think outside the box, and work with individuals who are highly successful in their fields. I get to jump in and provide input as a product entrepreneur to help them paint clearer visions and create action plans — this is what I absolutely love.
As I’ve mentioned in recent posts, currently, I am focused a lot on the tactical responsibilities of sales and marketing. I’ve created some great new material, but I’ve had to get real deep into the weeds. Sessions like brainstorming give me a chance to exercise even more creativity in realms I’m not particularly familiar with. However, they’ll help me flex and strengthen my mental muscles that will, in turn, help my current role.
Even though I’m not really an entrepreneur today running my own startup, I’m still pursuing entrepreneurial activities that will complement my current role as a full-timer at a startup. But also just as importantly, I’ve been able to maintain the entrepreneurial activities that I truly enjoy, and those that will help me in my path of being a successful entrepreneur in the future.