Brandon Frere Asks: Should an Entrepreneur Form a Business at All?

The Thinker

Should an entrepreneur form a business at all? If it’s for the money, they may be taking a greater risk becoming an entrepreneur compared to other opportunities. For example: If an entrepreneur pursued an education and employment to be a businessman, engineer, or lawyer, they would remove much of the risk that comes with forming a start-up. Brandon Frere, CEO of Frere Enterprises and other ventures, advises that entrepreneurs really ask themselves why their business is necessary before dedicating years of their life to that business.

From a money standpoint, it may be possible to make a significant amount of money by getting into that company as an early employee; taking risks and providing real value may open up a path to upper echelon management. However, this background may only be possible with a legal, business, or engineering background. Freelancing or self-employment may be worth considering if the vision behind the entrepreneur's business already exists; it may be easier to try to get into that business instead of making their own.

It's a hard truth that most businesses will fail. You need to be sure that you would be happy creating your business even if it was going to fail. You need to be sure you would regret it for the rest of your life if you didn't at least make the attempt.

Brandon Frere, CEO of Frere Enterprises

“It’s a hard truth that most businesses will fail,” said Frere. “You need to be sure that you would be happy creating your business even if it was going to fail. You need to be sure you would regret it for the rest of your life if you didn’t at least make the attempt.”

The chances of a business being successful are about the same as becoming a star athlete or a professional artist. It is the artist that has the most direct comparison to an entrepreneur, as both professions are bringing a vision into the world. Most businesses will fail. With this in mind, it is often safer to be an employee in an earlier employee position, preferably with management potential, instead of the company founder. There is a guarantee of money and skill development in the employee role.

There may be only two reasons to form a start-up business. One reason is passion, the other is opportunity.

Passion:

If the founder has had the idea for a long time, and it just won’t go away, and they share that passion with others who seem to be just as interested in the idea, then the business may be worth starting. If an entrepreneur thinks they’ll regret not making the attempt to form the business for the rest of their life, this could be another indication of passion.

Opportunity:

If the founder believes the opportunity has value and that they are in the best position to take advantage of it, then they should pursue the business. Before committing to this business, a founder may want to think about whether the business is important to them or whether they can stand leading the business for 10 or more years.

Hopefully, an entrepreneur’s business will be formed with both passion and opportunity, but either one should suffice.

“When you decide to be an entrepreneur you need to start specializing in being a generalist,” said Frere. “You need to judge which activities are worth doing and focus on knowing enough to ask the right questions and guide people in the right direction. Be ready to form quick answers to problems you’ve never considered with whatever the hodgepodge of ideas comes to mind. Get ready for the casual hundred to hundred-and-twenty hour work week every week. Get ready to do this for two years if the company fails and ten years if it succeeds. If all of that doesn’t discourage you, only then should you consider trying to make your crazy idea come to life.”

About Brandon Frere

Brandon Frere is an entrepreneur and businessman who lives in Sonoma County, California. He has designed and created multiple companies to meet the ever-demanding needs of businesses and consumers alike. His website, www.BrandonFrere.com, is used as a means of communicating many of the lessons, fundamentals, and information that he has learned throughout his extensive business and personal endeavors, most recently in advocating on behalf of student loan borrowers nationwide.

As experienced during his own student loan repayment, Mr. Frere found out how difficult it can be to work with federally contracted student loan servicers and the repayment programs designed to help borrowers. Through those efforts, he gained an insider’s look into the repayment process and the motivations behind the inflating student loan debt bubble. His knowledge of the often confusing landscape of student loan repayment became a vital theme in his future endeavors, and he now uses those experiences to help guide others through the daunting process of applying for available federal repayment and loan forgiveness programs.

BrandonFrere.com

Source: Brandon Frere

Share:


Tags: employee, entrepreneurship, opportunity, small business owner, startup business


Additional Images

Additional Links

About Brandon Frere

View Website or Media Room