Entrepreneurial Lessons Learned

Recently I have gone into a small short-term moneymaking endeavor with a friend. The idea is very simple. We developed t-shirts that played off the old VW slogan “Driver Wanted”. On the front of the shirt we have the VW logo (altered slightly) and “Villanova Wildcats”. On the back we have “Drinkers Wanted”. We have targeted the incoming freshman class as our primary target market due to their still uninhibited positive outlook of college but more so for their disposable income. Fresh from being dropped off at college for the first time by mom and dad most of these kids have “money to burn”.
I had contacted a couple of friends and offered to pay them $100 each to help me sell the shirts. As you might have guessed selling door to door is very time and labor intensive.
Ok enough about the idea and more about the “lesson learned” part of this post. Well last night as the time came to go out and sell the shirts each one of my “selling contractors” bailed on me citing many drinking opportunities at the local bar (at least they were living up to the spirit of the shirt). Well that left me (my partner was out of town) to sell the shirts by myself. As I drove to campus I feared that I wouldn’t sell a single shirt because it was just me and my singularity would not lend to being “cool”. As the night went on I made my way up and down the halls of the freshman dormitories my doubts began to sink away as I sold more and more shirts. I knew I had a quality product that other people wanted…for God’s sake people were buying it!
I digress…
I learned the following things:·No one will care about your business as much as you. Entrepreneurship is lonely. You can entice people with money and benefits but in the end they are going to do what they want to do. For most people, doing the absolute minimum to get paid is good enough. My dad has warned me about this from experience in his business, but I am glad I learned this one on my own.·The market will validate your product or service. This is pretty self-explanatory. If the market likes your product then it will sell (given a reasonable price point).
It is interesting to see what you learn about life and yourself given a little quiet internal contemplation and awareness of your feelings.

Disappointment, Anxiety, and Confusion

The one thing that I hoped wouldn’t happen has happened. My friend’s dad has found a buyer. The business opportunity of which I have previously written is virtually gone.
Foolishly, I didn’t prepare myself for the possibility that I wouldn’t go into this business. I was too enamored with all the potential of owning my own company. Now I am left sitting at my desk in shock. What do I do now? Do I spend the majority of my senior year trying to find a job? I know I loathe the idea of becoming a cubicle slave doomed to the same fate as Dilbert and the characters of Office Space. I am not a “nine to fiver”. I am not a company man. I am an entrepreneur. I will not accept the fate of graduation that my other business school classmates will inevitably accept – Corporate America.
Desperation has not set in yet, but I know it isn’t far off. I am the kind of person that always needs some sort of project to be working on. I know with the onset of school less than a week away I will be up to my ears in assignments and projects. As I am sure you know school projects aren’t the kinds of things that get me going. I need something that is mine something that will give me personal satisfaction working on it.
It is the classic entrepreneurial dilemma: Go to work and get some knowledge of an industry and its needs VS. Go out and start a company based off a perceived need while I am still young.
I am so confused. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to think. I guess the only thing I can do for now is get ready for school and go to work for “The Man” tomorrow.
Has this ever happened to you? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I will post again on this subject when my thoughts have marinated more.