Playing at being an entrepreneur is easy because it allows you to avoid risk. As long as you are focused on superficial tasks, you don’t have to face the possibility of failure.
If you’ve been working at the same startup for a long time and haven’t made much progress, there’s probably a good reason.
I was invited to speak at a local entrepreneurship event. It was the usual atmosphere: a room full of ambitious young founders, lots of networking opportunities, and endless buzzwords. After my talk, a young entrepreneur approached me, eager to tell me what he was working on.
He was enthusiastic as he shared the vision for his company, and I could tell he had worked on his presentation. He had a fancy logo, a branded sweatshirt, and a stack of freshly printed business cards with his name followed by “CEO/Founder.”
Curious, I asked him a little more about what his company really did and how things were going. He began talking about his social media growth plans, his upcoming pitch competition, and how he had connected with several “important” people on LinkedIn who could potentially help his business in the future. However, as he spoke, I realized something: he wasn’t talking about his business itself, but about himself. More specifically, he was talking about his image of himself as an entrepreneur.
Clearly, he had invested a lot of time and energy into looking like a founder. But had he really done the job of a founder? Had you made any sales? Built a product? Got a client? He didn’t mention any of that, and it didn’t seem like he was trying to hide it; It felt like he simply hadn’t advanced beyond the stage where he was actually building a business.
This is not an uncommon problem. Seeing yourself as an entrepreneur is very different from actually being one. If you’re not careful, you can get caught up in playing the role without ever discovering the real work that needs to be done.
As strange as it may seem to those who remember when “entrepreneur” was synonymous with “unemployed,” being an entrepreneur has become something of a glamorous path. The lifestyle has an air of mystery about it: the freedom, the potential for financial success, the thrill of creating something from scratch. Unfortunately, this idealized version of entrepreneurship is often just that: an ideal. The reality is much more complicated and much less glamorous.
But those who are just playing at being entrepreneurs never discover this. Instead, they focus on the easy and superficial, things that don’t require much commitment. Anyone can create a website, order business cards, create an eye-catching presentation, and update their LinkedIn profile. These things make you look like you’re building a business, but they’re just props in a stage show of entrepreneurship. None of these elements are the core of what will truly grow a business.
On the contrary, true entrepreneurship is about creating value. It’s about building something that solves a real problem. If you’re doing that, having a catchy logo and title doesn’t matter. Your business will speak for itself through the value it creates and the customers it attracts.
Sure, writing about the importance of creating value is easier than understanding what that actually means, especially if you haven’t yet built a company that creates significant value. To help those trying to figure out if they’re being entrepreneurial or just playing at it, here are some signs that you might be more focused on appearance than actual progress:
- You Spend More Time Networking Than Selling: Networking is valuable, but if you spend all your time “connecting” with people who could help you in the future, you are losing focus. Entrepreneurs must focus on selling: selling their products, their vision and their values. You should be thinking about customers, not hypothetical future connections.
- You Talk More About Your Vision Than Your Product: Having a great vision is great, but if you only talk about your big ideas without actually working to make them a reality, you’re not moving forward. Real entrepreneurs don’t just dream; they execute. If your big ideas don’t include concrete steps to realize them, then you’re just talking in circles.
- You’re Obsessed with the Brand but Not with the Customer Problem: Entrepreneurs often get caught up in creating a polished image. You spend hours choosing fonts, designing logos, and refining your color palette. But if you haven’t even talked to potential customers or spent time really understanding their problems, you’re not building a business; You’re just playing dress up.
- You’re in a Pitch Competition Every Two Weeks: Pitch competitions can be valuable for raising money and gaining visibility, but they can also become a crutch. If you’re constantly pitching your idea but never building or selling, you might be hooked on the adrenaline of pitching instead of the actual process of growing your business.
- You’ve Been “Preparing to Launch” for Months (or Years): Waiting for the perfect moment to launch usually means you’re afraid of what will happen when you do. If you’ve been working on your product forever but never release it, you’re avoiding the realities of the market. A real business cannot exist only in your head.
Playing at being an entrepreneur is easy because it allows you to avoid risk. As long as you are focused on superficial tasks, you don’t have to face the possibility of failure. Sure, you can tell yourself that you’re “just getting started” or that you’re “waiting for the right time.” In reality, you’re just avoiding the hard work of building something that might not succeed.
True entrepreneurship is difficult because it requires vulnerability. It requires putting yourself out there and risking failure. It requires accepting that your ideas might not work, that customers might not care, and that investors might say no. But this willingness to face uncertainty and overcome obstacles is at the core of what defines “true” entrepreneurs.
Ultimately, the difference between playing entrepreneur and building a business comes down to whether you’re looking for validation or value. If you’re more interested in looking entrepreneurial than getting the job done, you’ll struggle. But if you’re focused on creating meaningful value—for customers, employees, and yourself—you’re on the right track.
Remember, entrepreneurship is not about the title, business cards, or networking events. It’s about solving real problems and building something that matters. So before you order another batch of business cards or perfect that LinkedIn post, ask yourself: Am I building a business? Or am I just playing entrepreneur?
