What Are Entrepreneurs Anyway?

People often ignore that fact that most attorneys are entrepreneurs. After all what is an entrepreneur? It is a person who organizes or operates a business. And the law profession is a business.

Which brings to mind something that happened yesterday. I had the opportunity to be speaking with a group of attorneys at a gathering. One-by-one they complained about how they hated that practice of law. Each took his turn to point out how they did not like the clients, they did not like the work and they did not like the fact they weren’t making as much money as they thought they should.

Why Not Change Careers?

I couldn’t help myself, so I asked them why they didn’t quit and do something else. Each of them said, in one way or another, that they could not make as much money doing something else.

I heard reasons like, “I’m too old to change careers,” or “I have kids in college,” or “This is all I know how to do.”

So, what it boils down to is they are just unhappy with where they are in life.  Being entrepreneurs isn’t the bed of roses it was expected to be. Now that is understandable. Let’s face it, almost no one ends up living the life they dreamt about in high school or college.

Change Is A Constant for Entrepreneurs

But here is the one thing that was pervasive in yesterday’s discussion. They all said that the law practice had changed “so much” from when they first started. Ah! And therein lies the problem.

You see, everything changes. It always has. It always will. No succesful business in existence today is the same as it was years ago. We should be happy about that. But some people (these attorneys in particular) refuse to adapt. They refuse to accept the changes. Some entrepreneurs fight and resist the changes because that is not how they started. Shame on them and the entrepreneurs who say, “Things are so different now” and doesn’t take the action they need to incorporate those changes into their business model.

Entrepreneurs Must Adapt or Die Off

Look, I know change is not easy. But if you do not adjust your business plan to accommodate the changes, you are going to soon become obsolete.

It wasn’t that long ago that Facebook, Linkedin and Instagram roared onto the scene as legitimate business tools for entrepreneurs. Rest assured that there will be new and better tools in the not-too-distant future. I don’t know what they are going to be. But I know they will come.

To be successful as an entrepreneur you need to be able to adapt to changes. If you find yourself exclaiming that things aren’t the way they used to be, it should serve as a warning for you that you need to start looking for ways to change.

Would you do this for me? If you have anything to add to this, please leave a comment. If you liked the article, please share it with your friends. Thanks.