I just finished a series on counterproductive myths I hear all the time that hold would-be entrepreneurs back from starting ventures, which could be business ventures, non-profits, or just projects they enjoy. Below are links to navigate the series conveniently. Entrepreneurship isn't for everyone, but if it's for you or your business, counterproductive myths don't help you. Successful entrepreneurs succeed despite them, so they must have countervailing productive beliefs. I described the myths and countered them with productive beliefs that motivate people to start ventures. Starting companies and entrepreneurial ventures is one of my greatest joys. If you sense it could be yours too, I hope this helps. The four counterproductive myths: You need a great idea to start a business (plus illustration). Working for…

[This post is part of a series on four main myths that discourage entrepreneurship and how to overcome them. If you don't see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you'll get more value than reading just this post.] Let’s replace the fourth myth with something productive. Productive belief 4: the risk to the entrepreneur of starting a venture can be as small as he or she wants In competitive markets, risk and reward go together. Entrepreneurship may engender risks established companies don't, but established companies engender risks young ventures don't. A venture being new doesn't change the relationship between risk and reward. That relationship is about the magnitudes of risk and reward, not types. The consequence is…

[This post is part of a series on four main myths that discourage entrepreneurship and how to overcome them. If you don't see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you'll get more value than reading just this post.] Let’s replace the third myth with something productive. Productive belief 3: you can venture with other people's money if money is an issue Productive belief 3a: you can make money while you start your venture I don't know any entrepreneurs who had enough money to start their ventures on their own. You don't need to. The first stages -- developing the product, market research, developing a rough business plan, finding early team mates, and so on -- can be…

[This post is part of a series on four main myths that discourage entrepreneurship and how to overcome them. If you don't see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you'll get more value than reading just this post.] Let’s replace the second myth with something productive. Productive belief 2: Starting a venture prepares you best for starting a venture Columbia Business School's entrepreneurship department surveyed a number of entrepreneurs on their success as entrepreneurs as well as many personal and professional characteristics (no link now, but I'll look into it). Among the questions they asked was what characteristic best correlated or predicted entrepreneurial success -- an interesting question if you are considering becoming an entrepreneur. I remember…

[This post is part of a series on four main myths that discourage entrepreneurship and how to overcome them. If you don't see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you'll get more value than reading just this post.] If the four statements of the past few posts are myths and unproductive, what beliefs might the entrepreneur-to-be hold that are more productive? What other beliefs are motivating entrepreneurs who aren't held back by the counterproductive ones? The counterproductive myths are: You need a great idea to start a business. Working for an established company helps prepare you for starting a venture. I should make some more money before starting my venture. Starting a venture is riskier than working…

[This post is part of a series on four main myths that discourage entrepreneurship and how to overcome them. If you don't see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you'll get more value than reading just this post.] Myth 4: Starting a venture is riskier than working at an established firm Risk means different things to different people. Risk that matters to one person many mean nothing to another. People tend to think young ventures are risky overall because their stock value (or however the venture is valued) is volatile, which leads investors to call them risky. But the price of a stock is only one measure of risk, and that risk may be only partly relevant…

[This post is part of a series on four main myths that discourage entrepreneurship and how to overcome them. If you don't see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you'll get more value than reading just this post.] Myth 3: I should make some more money before starting my venture I've never met anyone who didn't raise his or her standard of living after making more money. Making money leads to spending money. If you have the discipline to increase your income and parcel significant amounts for starting your venture, that discipline is so much greater than the average person's, and so valuable for the entrepreneur, it may be worth as much as the money you would…

[This post is part of a series on four main myths that discourage entrepreneurship and how to overcome them. If you don't see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you'll get more value than reading just this post.] Myth 2: Working for an established company helps prepare you for starting a venture Why this belief is a myth is subtle. Working somewhere is better than nothing, but better than nothing is not a meaningful comparison. First a few words on why people believe this myth. Many people say they want to start a company soon, just after building more experience in the working world. I think their main motivation for this belief was that they know established…

[This post is part of a series on four main myths that discourage entrepreneurship and how to overcome them. If you don't see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you'll get more value than reading just this post.] Google's history backs up that people did not believe good idea to start with, no matter what we think of it today. I couldn't resist looking up Google's history after yesterday's post. The overwhelming evidence that people didn't think their idea was good is, as this page puts it, Reluctant to leave their studies, Page and Brin offered to sell their search engine for $1 million to AltaVista. To their disappointment, AltaVista passed, as did Yahoo!, Excite, and other…

[This post is part of a series on four main myths that discourage entrepreneurship and how to overcome them. If you don't see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you'll get more value than reading just this post.] Many classmates in business school said they wanted to start businesses yet few did. For that matter, many people in life say they want to start businesses yet few do. I asked many why they don’t. Four reasons dominate my non-scientific survey, all of them myths. Myths aren’t necessarily problems, but each of these discourage people who want to start businesses from doing so, so they are counterproductive in most cases. Also, since entrepreneurial behavior and beliefs are useful…