Also, it is so vital to work on your skills, as you said, and to become a personal brand of YOU, Inc. The more skilled and innovative you are, the more you are worth to your employer.

Finally, in this day and age, I believe in the both/and model. You can be both an employee and a business owner. The key is that you maintain ethical values such that you are not spending employer time at the expense of building your personal brand. Becauseif you don’t practice ethics, then you will at some time be forced to be without a job

Hindsight says they needed to find out more about exactly what it would mean to their lives, but where do you get that kind of on-the-ground information? Running a business means total responsibility for every single thing. I’ve seen lots of people go broke because they couldn’t handle a vital aspect like collecting debts or marketing effectively.

Even books can’t convey effectively that feeling of “I have to do everything and I don’t know where to start”. I’m lucky that I started very small (while still working) and built up slowly. For those who launch into a business, feet first, it’s a huge commitment and not nearly as easy as it looks from the outside!

I for one praise employment; you are absolutely correct when you say employment is an excellent means to learn skills. As a college student, I work part-time in retail. I have learned how to be more persuasive and assertive. I also see first hand the emptiness that consumerism can bring people.
But just because I’m paid by the hour with a job that doesn’t require many formal skills does not mean it’s drudgery! I get to hang out with people from different backgrounds that I would have never met otherwise; I love when we’re all cleaning the store and just joking around. I also enjoy the challenge of helping a bewildered customer put together a professional wardrobe. It is by no means a meaningful job, but it is certainly enjoyable and I will take these new skills and knowledge with me.

Thanks for the article and you’re right – entrepreneurship is only one path to success. One of the challenges with employment is that people don’t challenge themselves enough to develop those skills or develop the boldness you talk about. On the other hand, entrepreneurship can be that path because you invest much more emotionally and potentially financially that it gives you much more motivation to learn those skills and develop that boldness.

p.s. I just came across your blog recently and enjoyed your e-book how to get more from life

I’ve run this business.

*Fixed. Nobody can accuse me of perfection, that’s for sure.