Entrepreneurship is a Marathon, Not a Sprint
Sucker bets, fools gold, and get-rich-scheme quick aren’t business models
It seemed like January was the month when everyone was going to get rich or die trying. And I’m not just talking about r/wallstreetbets and Dogecoin HODLers. I’m hearing from every corner of my investor network that competition to get venture deals done is frothy, frantic, almost desperate.
Let me reassure you that if you’re an entrepreneur, your window is not closing. And allow me to push you to Teaching Startup to get your direction straight.
There’s an ugly side to entrepreneurship — actually, let me walk that back, it has nothing to do with entrepreneurship, but it poses as entrepreneurship — in that it uses a hypnotic combination of FOMO and FUD to peddle the worst kind of schemes as self-employment or financial independence.
I see it all the time. As I do marketing exploration for Teaching Startup — answers and advice for entrepreneurs on demand — I investigate other areas of the Internet where entrepreneurs can congregate. I’m looking to find diamonds in the rough, so to speak.
I dig into Facebook groups, LinkedIn groups, Slack, Clubhouse, and more, trying to reach out to entrepreneurs who have put their hand up and Googled for some help running their business. They’re hoping to find like-minded souls to talk to about their issues, problems, and questions.
Every group and platform is different, of course, but for this example I’ll use the lowest common denominator. I’ll go to a social media group that purports to be dedicated to the betterment and advancement of entrepreneurs, and I’ll drop a trial post. I’ll take a sample answer from Teaching Startup like “Should I start raising money now or wait for more revenue?” and post the answer for everyone in the group to read.
Immediately, that post will get a dozen comments with links to get rich quick schemes.
I know this is the lowest common denominator. I know it’s the shady side of the street for entrepreneurs. But I keep doing it because I know there are diamonds out there looking for honest help.
Do you want to get rich quick? Make a crazy option bet on a penny stock. Maybe you’ll get your 1 out of 100 moment and get out before the suckers and the pumpers do.
Do you want to succeed with your own business? Then get ready for a long road, one that spends a lot of time slowly tracking revenue up and to the right before its hockey stick moment.
You can’t do that using someone else’s scheme. You can’t do it without learning and failing. Even those of us entrepreneurs who have been at it for 20+ years keep learning, keep experimenting, keep failing, and keep trying.
That road is long and it takes patience and courage to walk it, but it’s rewarding as hell.
Teaching Startup can guide you down that road. We’ve proven it over and over again. We’ve got a 93.3 NPS from our paying membership. 79% of our paying members agree that Teaching Startup’s newsletter + app approach to answers and advice is a decent substitute for a traditional advisor at just $10 a month.
See for yourself by starting a free 30-day trial. Use invite code LONGROAD and you’ll get your first paid month after the trial for $5. If you want to cancel, you can do that from any email. We don’t want quick-hitters and gold-rushers, we want long-roaders.
If you don’t want to join Teaching Startup, but you found what I had to say here insightful, please consider signing up for my personal newsletter at joeprocopio.com so you don’t miss any new posts. It’s free, short, and to the point.
