Being a successful entrepreneur means going through a process of becoming one.
No one is born a successful entrepreneur. We all start out from zero. The men and women who “make it” put themselves through the process of becoming a leader of a company, capable of creating value and generating wealth.
That’s a personal process as much as a professional one.
Last week when I was in Austin, I was talking with someone I’m going to be working closely with this year, who asked me, “what’s exciting about where you’re working right now?”
I told her my endgame is to be an entrepreneur myself, because I’m motivated by the opportunity to earn my freedom.
I also explained that I think that WP Engine represents an opportunity for me, as an employee, to learn how to build a company myself.
I think the growth of any company is limited only by what the founders themselves can envision, and then their willingness to be self-reflective and grow in response to the company growth.
The founder cannot be the same leader they were of a 3-person startup when the company has 50 employees. As the company evolves, so too must the founders. I’d even go so far as to say that when companies plateau, it’s safe to say that someone on the leadership team may need to let go of an old way of doing business.
The strategies that grew the company through the first 15 employees will not work for the next 50. What’s more, those early strategies might actually hamper growth.
The entrepreneur can choose to do things according to their first response, or they can ask, “how has my company changed, and how should I respond accordingly so I don’t get in the way?”
Sometimes that’s why bringing in new execs is so powerful. The founders may want to get the right sort of help to take the next steps.
Employees can ask the same question. They truly have the same opportunities to grow or not.
My role has evolved so dramatically in the last 14 months, and sometimes I have a hard time keeping up with it. I’m not the same person that I was a year ago. You can even look at photos and see the difference. I’ve done my best to grow in response to the company’s growth.
