Employment To Entrepreneurship – Eric S Burdon is a self-employed writer since 2015. Aside from working with various companies as a ghostwriter, he writes on his blog, ericscottburdon.com, and Medium, sharing his experiences and insight in areas of mindset, entrepreneurship, and self-improvement.
The story of my career so far can be described in a single word: unusual. It’s unusual for someone to devote a long time studying one thing only to abandon it for something else. Unusually, my resume has a few short-term works sprinkled about with companies I’ve worked for years. I feel like an outlier – even amongst millennials – when it comes to employment. I’ve been able to show devout loyalty in the right circumstances and indifference in others. But through these experiences, these have shaped my career path into what it is today: a path where I’m truly free to do what I wish. By all means, it sounds like a dream for many, I’m sure, but it’s not something so simple. It took me a long time to adapt to it, and I had to make some serious changes. But in the end, it was worth it.
Employment To Entrepreneurship – The Job That Started It All
The first job I ever took was not a typical job flipping burgers. Instead, I was delivering papers at 12 years old. I was a completely different person back then: shy, anti-social, and not entirely there, mentally speaking. A job where I wasn’t around that many people was an environment that I felt very comfortable in and was able to thrive in it. I was able to work for that company for seven years. Even though I had a handful of other jobs – including doing volunteer work at three companies and working for an insurance company and the Canada Revenue Agency – I consider that job to be the foundational aspect of my career.
All my previous work experience amounted to devotion to a career that I didn’t truly wish to be part of. That or other circumstances got in the way, whether logistical reasons or employment were through a program. This is further driven by the fact that my career has evolved from being a newspaper carrier to being a freelance writer. A path that I’ve been on since 2015. As the years go by and I pursue my writing career, I learned about those two groups: how my first job fits me even now and how the rest of the experience didn’t fit me at all. From that, there have been all kinds of lessons that I think will be valuable to anyone who ever decides on either starting a full-time career in entrepreneurship or making a side-hustle.
Building Is Hard
The first most important thing to keep in mind is that building anything at all is difficult. Whether you are going at this in a team or not, you will face an uphill battle the entire time. I say this because an unusual aspect of my story is that I often tell people I didn’t start in 2015 but rather in 2017. I mean by this, even though I officially started my brand – Eric Scott Burdon – in 2015, I didn’t start earning money until 2017. Before that point, I was writing exclusively on my website and posting the occasional YouTube video while living in my childhood room at my parent’s place.
Looking back over those two years, there were a lot of mental challenges that I faced. I wasn’t the most productive individual back then and struggled with procrastination and adapting to a much different schedule than what I’ve been trained for years. In all my previous jobs, there is a structure to how your life is. It would be best if you arrived at a set time, and you have clear duties that you have to follow while there for a period of time. In these kinds of instances, all of the preparations have been made. You’ve got a specific wage you’re paid, and your duties are all lined out clearly.
When you start a business, that entire foundation is gone, and it’s up to you to determine how you’ll be making money and how you’ll go about it. It sounds simple on paper, but there are so many things that can conflict with your ability to do so. When I first started my business, I didn’t have that much of a direction. All I knew was I wanted to write in a particular niche, and that’s it. It’s gotten easier over time, but recognize that things require to build up and mental preparation. Not all things go according to plan.
Background Isn’t As Important As You’d Think
Typically, entrepreneurs build their business based on previous work experience, relying on their background to qualify themselves. I’m of the mind that your background doesn’t really matter so much in the grand scheme of things – with a few exceptions. Of course, if you want to open an accounting firm, you need to be a CPA. If you want to open a medical clinic, you’ll want to be a medical professional. The same is true with a lawyering firm and so on.
But beyond that, the background doesn’t always make a big difference in who you become. For example, my entire business is built around writing on self-improvement, entrepreneurship, and mindset. Aside from the years of experience I have in writing at this point. My previous experience was studying to be an accountant with a little government experience, a bit of bookkeeping, and volunteer work. Anything can be done with enough practice and dedication. You can even apply this to your own careers as well. If you’re looking for a job, why not try to create something relevant to that field.
To get clients in writing, I showed them the years of writing experience I have on my blog and other places. This logic can be applied in other fields. A programmer could make a simple app. Graphic designers can make their own artwork. Animators can make their own animated videos. It doesn’t matter so much what those people were like before this. What matters is what you’re doing right now.
It Pushes You To Grow
I find entrepreneurship encourages individuals to grow more than in other occupations. We see time and time again how people are still relevant despite some of their older views and aren’t as fresh or new. Even though industries are constantly evolving, individual growth has stifled to some extent. That doesn’t seem to be the case in entrepreneurship, where individuals are encouraged to keep growing in their craft or as individuals.
I see this in cases with my own previous experience. Not once in my previous work experiences was I encouraged to read or keep tabs on the industry or better grasp it. As a writer, I’m expected to hone my writing skills and read more articles from other people. I’m pushed to develop my own style while still making content to keep myself relevant with other writers.
This little bit and consistent growth, the everyday build-up to something grand and fulfilling, encourages me to pursue this career. I can’t say that many people really encourage this sort of behavior in other industries beyond this. For this particular reason, I think qualifications in things don’t always matter as much as they used to. People can learn, grow, and make things from those experiences for any industry. There is more precedence for that, I feel, rather than placing your entire weight and relevancy to what you’ve already accomplished thus far.
A Road Worth Travelling
The world continues to change and grow, and as people, we need to change and be open to new possibilities. Not just in our own respective industries but also looking for other options to survive and thrive. The entrepreneurial world opened my eyes to this sort of possibility and continues to challenge me and many others to keep doing what we have been doing. Through my own experiences, I hope that you’ve had the opportunity to learn more about what it takes to become an entrepreneur.
To your growth!
Eric S Burdon
Also read A leap of faith: How I transitioned from corporate to entrepreneurship
