What they don't tell you about entrepreneurship | Mark Leruste | TEDxCardiff
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Published 2017-07-19
The reality of being an entrepreneur is much harder than most people are willing to open up about. In a culture where successful entrepreneurs are idealised like rock stars it's easy to feel like we're not good enough when comparing ourselves to the picture that’s painted by social media.
Mark Leruste exposes the truth behind the life of the every-day entrepreneur and why it’s important that we talk openly and truthfully about the pressures and struggles associated with starting a business and what it actually feels like.
Finding your path isn’t always a straight line. It usually takes hits and misses and trying many things out. This is how it was for Mark, whose journey towards his dream career started when his video CV, ‘A dream job would be nice’, went viral on YouTube and helped him land a position as Country Manager at the Movember Foundation. There, Mark raised €2.8 million for men’s health and inspired 110,000 fundraisers to sign up at Movember.com, winning multiple awards along the way.
Four years into the job, it became clear that Mark couldn’t ignore his entrepreneurial itch anymore, which had been around since he was 12 years old. So, against conventional wisdom, he decided to turn his passion into his full-time job and took the plunge to found The Unconventionalists, a weekly podcast, talk show and coaching & training business helping organisations and individuals find their voice.
From making Nelson Mandela’s right hand man cry to asking Tim Ferris about his fear of failure, Mark is an expert at using his warm manner to tease out the truth & create moments of honesty.
To date, Mark has worked with hundreds of unfulfilled professionals and frustrated small business owners and has interviewed more than 200 world-class leaders, entrepreneurs, athletes, politicians, CEOs, authors and adventurers from around the world, providing him a ring side seat in understanding how ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things.
Visit www.markleruste.com or connect on Twitter, Facebook or YouTube.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx
All Comments (21)
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We are entrepreneurs because we hate working for people, love making money and love helping people
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"If everyone had a purpose, no matter how small, the world would be a better place for us all."
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I actually always found the solitude of being an entrepreneur to be the best part to be honest. If you're an introvert being alone all day just provides you with an endless well of productive energy to tap in to, which is just invaluable, particularly in those first few years when you're going all out trying to make things work. I do think the loneliness factor probably plays a big role in the number of businesses that fail so quickly though, it's certainly something that would be hard to adapt to if you're a people person. Self employment definitely isn't for everyone, taking full responsibility for all the different areas of a business at once isn't easy, nor is working 70-80 hours a week when nobody is stopping you slacking off and watching Netflix instead. You need a heck of a lot of drive and self control to make things work. I think the key really is you have to love what you are doing, even the mundane parts that would make most people want to poke their own eyes out, because if you don't it'll be really hard to summon up the energy to keep going. The rewards if you can find that sweet spot though are incredible. It's difficult to describe how wonderful it feels when you work 12 hours a day (even at weekends) but at the same time don't feel like you've worked a day in the last decade. It's just bliss.
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Going on 4 years of owning my own business, hardest year of my journey. Wish all entrepreneurs well, keep pushing forward.
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loneliness is the first step in the entrepreneurial journey.
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I’m an entrepreneur and literally YouTubed a video like this just so I could have something to relate to. It is so lonely, miserable and the stress is beyond comprehendable - especially when you have a team of employees depending on you for income. That if you fail, you fail everyone. It’s the middle class earners who have the luxury to boast their wealth and wear nice clothes and enjoy life. Upper income earners don’t have the luxury of time - we can’t spend it. At least not in the first 2-5 years when you’re still establishing the business. There are days you’ll be miserable, literally balling your eyes out at your office desk. Then you have to wipe your tears away and get back to work because your business does not care how many tears you shed, nor does anyone else. No one wants to hear you complain either about how being rich is so stressful. There are times I contemplate doing a 9-5 job just so I could have time and have friends. I get told I’m so lucky, that my life must be so glamorous - if being a depressed mess is glamorous then yes, everything is FANTASTIC. Entrepreneurs have often 7 streams of income not necessarily because they’re greedy for more money, because its absolutely a terrifying thought to have one business and it fail, something you put blood and sweat into - gone. We start several businesses literally out of fear and anxiety. The best thing we can do with our money is make life great for the people around us that we love.
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Being an entrepreneur is the hardest thing I have ever done! Also the the one that made me the happiest!
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I’ve been an entrepreneur since 2016. It was so lonely..... the second year. I didn’t realize it the first year because I was too busy with the initial start up. I actually took a job as an overnight pet sitter the second year bc I wasn’t sleeping anyway and I loved being around animals. It definitely wasn’t for the money lol Now, I have my support group; two CLOSE friends who I meet up with regularly and we feed off each other’s ideas and refresh and encourage each other with ideas, possibilities and comradery .
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Entrpreneurship is for those that are multitalented like myself we can truly do anything and everything but nothing feels right if we aren't taking risks and pursuing our own dreams.
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the loneliness is the worst part. i thought about getting an office job just so i'd have people to chat with every day
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Them : "it's okay to cry it's good for you" "go ahead and let it out" Me : "tears don't sell"
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I swear I wasn't born to work 40 hours a week, a 9-5 job for the rest of my life! I'd rather work hard 100 hours a week now and be successful later on than to work 40 hours for someone else in the future.
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Being an entrepreneur is never about chasing money, its the FREEDOM that it brings!
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I started business and currently losing... due to a product that lost its value. I am sad but I know this too shall pass. And this will help me to become a better entrepreneur in the future. Hugs to all people who are doing the business.
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I really enjoyed your talk Mark. It's very comforting to know that it's usual to feel anxious, afraid and lonely in your entrepreneurial journey. Thanks for sharing your experience in such a sincere manner.
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This person is the real entrepreneur! Tells nothing but the truth, doesn't hype it like others. What a speaker! I'd love to pitch ideas to this person... And work with him. Because he's not just resourceful, but someone who seems to be optimistic and more of my type.
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Dang this dude is a great speaker.
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One of the BEST decisions I've EVER made was deciding to run with my passion and start my own podcast marketing agency! I speak with some of the most empowering professionals and I am so thankful each and every day for taking that HUGE step and living out my dream! This is such an inspiration to those who are eager to take that step but are worried about leaving their comfort zones. Just GO for it!! Great video :)
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Sales fixes everything.
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Perhaps, the biggest away from this talk is that it is our natural instinct as humans to yearn for quest & adventure...something no longer present in our daily lives. It also explains why we love to tell stories of adventure in books, novels & movies. Entrepreneurship serves as the answer to that yearning for some of us & yes, while it's image is truly inflated. I believe the ones who are in it are in the long run not for those flashy images but because they believe in changing the world. Great talk
