On an episode of The Dave Chang Show, celebrity chef Dave Chang described the life of a full-time professional chef at a world-class restaurant.
Chefs work when the rest of the world clocks out: nights, weekends, and holidays. Their workday starts early, and much of their day is spent meticulously preparing for their customers: cutting, slicing, peeling, simmering, marinating, seasoning, and cooking all the menu’s ingredients.
A typical dinner rush might require the chef to cook 300–500 dishes, each with specific cooking instructions from picky, impatient guests who demand perfection.
The work is long and hard, and doesn’t always pay well. It’s extremely competitive, exhausting, and burnout happens all the time.
You might think you’d need to be crazy to want to be a chef.
Frankly, that might be true. Because honestly, these chefs love it.
In fact, they wouldn’t have it any other way.
It’s not a matter of being a chef, it’s that there’s no other option for these people. These people have to cook. It’s in their blood.
The life of an entrepreneur is similar. You have to really love the work because it costs so much to be successful.
Is Entrepreneurship Right for You?
Entrepreneurship has become one of the best ways to make money in the world. It’s never been easier to start a business, create a product, and make money.
But becoming a successful entrepreneur isn’t easy. Still – if you can make it, you’ll eventually have the life most people would kill to have:
- A ton of money
- Freedom to do whatever you want with your time
- Freedom to work on whatever you want
- Freedom to work with whomever you want
- The ability to live your life on your terms
If you’re reading this, you’re probably thinking about whether entrepreneurship is right for you, and if you have what it takes to succeed.
This simple five-question quiz will help you know if entrepreneurship is right for you.
Get a pen and paper because there’s a scoring system. Answer each question on a scale of 1–10 (one being the lowest, ten being the highest):
- How badly do you want to be your own boss and call all the shots?
- How willing are you to get laughed at, criticized, and questioned for your life choices?
- How much responsibility are you willing to take for your life, success, and money?
- How much of your time, money, and energy are you willing to invest in yourself?
- How resilient are you in the face of discouragement, uncertainty, and defeat?
Notice how these questions aren’t about your ability to decipher investment portfolios, hire personnel, or build your network.
They’re about grit, resilience, and perseverance. They’re not about ability, they’re about character.
Every year, the Navy SEALs select scrawny, skinny recruits over huge athletes with bodybuilder muscles because the skinny recruits have more resilience and grit. You can teach someone how to build muscle; you can’t really teach resilience. You decide to persevere, or you don’t.
Entrepreneurship is the same way. It’s not about being the flashiest startup or having the biggest VC funding; it’s about whether you truly love the work, or if you’ll quit when things get tough.
What Your Quiz Results Mean
Here’s the scoring system:
0–10: Entrepreneurship is not right for you.
11–20: Entrepreneurship is not right for you.
21–30: Entrepreneurship is probably not right for you.
You could probably excel in an environment with more freedom, authority, and influence, like working 100 percent remotely, being a bigger boss, or having more creative control over your projects.
Do some more exploring into different careers that offer more freedom and creativity.
31–40: Entrepreneurship might be right for you.
Talk to other entrepreneurs and ask them yourself. But there are still several areas in your life you need to work on.
As an assignment:
- Read five books on entrepreneurship.
- Talk to five professional entrepreneurs and ask them what their day-to-day schedule looks like, and what it took for them to become successful.
- Spend five hours journaling about why you want to be an entrepreneur, what it would cost you, what will happen if you don’t become an entrepreneur, and if there are any other careers that you’d like better.
41–45: Entrepreneurship is a good idea. It’s time to start preparing.
You’re almost there. You have a good idea about what it will take to be a successful entrepreneur.
Do some journaling about what’s holding you back. Ask yourself: What old ideas do you need to let go of to reach the next level? What are you afraid of? What is the best-case scenario? Is it worth it?
It’s probably time to start preparing to leave your job and start running your own business.
46–50: You’d be an excellent entrepreneur. It’s time to make the jump.
If you haven’t already, it’s time to create a scheduled plan for quitting your day job and becoming a full-time entrepreneur. You’ve waited long enough – the time is now.
You have what it takes, and every extra day you spend working for someone else, doing things that don’t really matter to you, is a day you waste where you could’ve spent working for yourself and making a real difference in the world.
You’re a rare breed, and one of the only solutions for your problems is to become an entrepreneur.
In Conclusion
Entrepreneurship isn’t for the faint of heart. Most people don’t have the patience, resilience, or forward-thinking to last and succeed in this industry.
You’re usually working when most other people clock out. It’s competitive and exhausting. Entrepreneurs fail all the time. It’s high-risk, high-reward.
You have to truly love the work, and love the prospect of success, even at the cost of countless hours of work.
So ask yourself:
Do you?
