The past couple of decades have brought forward a myriad of entrepreneurs that have truly defined the essence of entrepreneurship. Now to be a successful entrepreneur you do not really need to have the experience. Yes, it is true that famous entrepreneurs include people who worked in high places and were top executives. However, if you turn the pages of history you will also find entrepreneurs that went on to be immensely successful, despite having no experience when they were starting out. And I believe, that is what entrepreneurship is all about.
Why experience is not important
Unlike most of the other fields, entrepreneurship isn’t really taught in school. That needs to change, however, at the same time, it is also the beauty of it. Experience kind of sets a precedent of how things are done, or should be. Entrepreneurship being the embodiment and essence of innovation, shouldn’t have to require experience in the first place.
When you enter the world of entrepreneurship, you learn the art of it over time. It is an evolving process and actually prepares you for the difficult journey ahead. If you get stuck and hooked on to the idea of being experienced before you start something, you will never be able to. If everyone started embracing that approach, there would be no more game-changers and breakthroughs in the future.
What you should do instead, is be open to learning and being corrected always. Create your own experience, and get better along the way. Ultimately, you reach the point where you are experienced. But to get there, you need to start. Didn’t every successful founder and business owner do that at some point? You should always be open to experience, but you should definitely not let it be a limiter.
Examples of successful entrepreneurs who started with no experience
If you are young with no experience or money, yet you want to start your entrepreneurial journey, you really should! The story of the following entrepreneurs should inspire and encourage you to go ahead with it.
Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg is the epitome of an entrepreneur that entered into the business world without any prior experience. Zuckerberg was a Harvard student, from where he dropped out after founding Facebook. He wasn’t the person handling the business dynamics of Facebook. That was looked after by Eduardo Saverin, his co-founder. However, after the two had a falling out Zuckerberg eventually had to take over that area as well. He went on to become Facebook’s CEO without having any formal business training or experience. In fact, he did not even study business at Harvard.
Zuckerberg learned everything about business and fulfilling his role with the course of time. He did not let his inexperience stop from creating the #1 social media platform in the world.
Also Read: Mark Zuckerberg Facts
Richard Branson
Richard Branson started his entrepreneurial journey at a very young age. His first venture started out of a church and eventually grew into the famous Virgin Records that we know today. Richard did not do particularly well in school and had no formal education. Ultimately, he had no experience, business training, or knowledge, to lay the foundation of his entrepreneurial journey. He just started working on selling records and learned his way up to success. He had no experience, however, he did have the passion and the desire to succeed. And that is how he was able to establish a brand.
Andrew Carnegie
This name goes down in history as one of the most successful, and wealthiest industrialists of all time. Andrew Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry and went on to become one of the richest Americans in history. He dropped out of school when he was very young and had no business training either. He entered the railroad industry and went on to build himself an empire that made him a fortune. The extent of his wealth is so massive, that its peak is said to be more than twice of what Bill Gates is worth currently!
Read: The Story of Andrew Carnegie
These examples of successful entrepreneurs who made it big without any experience should motivate you to go ahead and start your own thing. If they could do it, so can you! By no means am I promoting the idea of not getting any experience, I am only suggesting to not let it be a limiter. That is all! Either get that experience early or learn it through trial and error.
