A common thought used when describing the entrepreneurial life is “entrepreneurs like to take risks”.  Well, my friend, the fact is that NO ONE LIKES RISK.  Why would they? The reason some are willing to deal with risk is in hopes of greater reward.  It is the reward they like, not the risk.  Now, the risk may bring a level of exhilaration but ultimately that energy is experienced upon success, not failure.

So how could they trade security for risk, isn’t that gambling? The said truth is if you are asking this question, you are likely blind to the fact that they aren’t.  In fact, entrepreneurs often have more security than a regular wage earner.  I mean, think about it. If the company you work for is struggling, who gets fired first, you or the owner? Now don’t mix this up with any publicly traded behemoth who has a board and such with high CEO turnover. The CEO isn’t the owner anyway, its the shareholder.  The owner holds the cards!! They will always be the last to go, obviously.  Typically, the choice for entrepreneurship is simply a choice or exchange of differing risks, not risk v. security.  This doesn’t mean everyone should start their own gig, many shouldn’t nor have the desire to.  It is, however, a reminder that risk exists even within the big company.

Everyone has job security when times are hot, and that is when no one needs it.  Its when struggle comes that we rely on our security and this is exactly when the behemoth has to cut back (as does the small guy).  When you actually need the security is when you lose it! Employee or employer, we all need to heed that point.  As Daniel Isenberg over at HBR said in a recent article discussing a list of questions you should ask yourself:

“I like to take risks” is not on the list. People don’t choose to be entrepreneurs by opting for a riskier lifestyle. What they do, instead, is reframe the salary vs. entrepreneur choice as between two different sets of risk: the things they don’t like about having a steady job — such as the risk of boredom, working for a bad boss, lack of autonomy, lack of control over your fate, and getting laid off — and the things they fear about being an entrepreneur — possible failure, financial uncertainty, shame or embarrassment, and lost investment. In the end, people who are meant to be entrepreneurs believe that their own abilities (e.g. leadership, resourcefulness, pluck, hard work) or assets (e.g. money, intellectual property, information, access to customers) significantly mitigate the risks of entrepreneurship. Risk is ultimately a personal assessment: what is risky for me is not risky for you.

So… do you want to be an entrepreneur? How do the risks line up for you?