Everyone has a business idea or two, and I’m no exception. Every other day, I find myself identifying potential opportunities—whether it’s a flash of inspiration during daily life or an idea that keeps me up at night. Sometimes I jot them down and try to flesh them out, turning a vague thought into something more concrete but more often than not, I either lose interest or realise I’m not truly passionate about the idea. Eventually, I see someone else take that same concept to market, and my first thought is, ‘That could have been me!’ or ‘I knew it was a good idea!’ It’s hard not to beat myself up for not hustling enough or not seizing the moment. I might even get a burst of motivation to dive back into the entrepreneurial grind, brainstorming new ideas. But the truth is, it’s not just about hard work or waking up at 4 AM to meditate in an ice bath followed by filling out your gratitude journal. Sometimes, you simply don’t have the resources, knowledge, or contacts to make it happen—and that’s okay. Or is it?
Depending on which YouTube personality you follow, your mindset on entrepreneurship may differ. Some argue that success depends on being uniquely positioned to capitalise on an idea, but if you’re only starting your journey towards entrepreneurship, can you ever be uniquely positioned? On the other hand, if you’ve been watching Alex Hormozi, you might believe in the “Fake it till you make it” or “Walk it till you talk it” approach. This mindset suggests that, with enough time, perseverance, and possibly some training, you can develop the necessary expertise, build the right contacts, and eventually find success.
Perhaps you’ve read The Million Dollar Weekend by Noah Kagan and have already made your first sale without even having a product. This approach can be empowering, showing that there’s a market for your idea. However, if you’re also a fan of Dan Koe and focused on building a personal brand, you might worry that a product that doesn’t live up to expectations could damage your brand. Too many missteps could seem like a major setback, or at least, that’s the concern when I think about taking that big step.
Then you look at someone like Marc Louvion, an entrepreneur who has faced more startup failures than most, yet eventually found success and is now seen as an inspirational figure within the solopreneur community. Marc is known for his transparency about the challenges he’s faced and the lessons he’s learned from ventures that didn’t go as planned. Despite numerous setbacks, he kept grafting, kept pursuing, and ultimately found success. This persistence is a key reason he’s now followed by over 113k people on X. Herein lies the conundrum for me: on one hand, every failure is just a learning experience, increasing your chances of success next time. On the other hand, every failed venture can also damage your reputation, and too many of those could significantly reduce your chances of success. Yet, Marc’s journey shows that this view doesn’t necessarily hold true—he’s living proof that perseverance can pay off, even after multiple failures.
If you spend all your time dreaming up ideas and never actually execute on them, you’re just a wantrepreneur. If you try and fail, you’re a failed entrepreneur. But if you succeed, you join the small group of people who get to call themselves successful entrepreneurs. The transition between these stages can be daunting. I definitely find myself in the wantrepreneur camp, and that reality hit hard while reading The Million Dollar Weekend by Noah Kagan. To quote an excerpt from his book:
Okay, so you have an idea for an app. How would you go about doing it? Here’s the way most people—most wantrepreneurs—would do it:
1. Spend hours at home thinking about the app (and coming up with clever names for it).
2. Spend $100 hiring your cousin to design a cool logo.
3. Set up an LLC.
4. Watch YouTube videos about apps, programming, and business.
5. Consider signing up for a developer bootcamp and quickly realize coding is hard.
6. Buy the domain name for the snazzy website you’re going to build.
7. Look into hiring a developer on UpWork and quickly realize it’s cost prohibitive.
8. Give up. Again.
Some truths hit hard when you read them. I’ve found myself guilty of much of this list, and it makes me cringe a little to recognize how closely it mirrors my own experiences.
Navigating the world of entrepreneurship is undeniably a conundrum, with the journey from idea to execution often filled with challenges. It’s easy to get stuck in the cycle of planning and brainstorming, but true progress requires overcoming the hurdles of bringing those ideas to life. Reflecting on my experiences and insights from The Million Dollar Weekend has made it clear that while it’s easy to remain in the wantrepreneur phase, real growth happens when you move past the planning stage and take actionable steps. Every failure is a lesson, and every small success is a step forward. So, if you find yourself grappling with the conundrum of execution versus planning, take a deep breath, reassess your approach, and keep pushing forward. Perseverance and adaptability are key to transforming your entrepreneurial dreams into reality.
