I wanted to be an editor or a journalist… but I soon found I had to become an entrepreneur in order to keep my magazine going. ~Richard Branson
You’re not a writer.
You’re not a content producer.
You’re not a blogger.
You’re an entrepreneur.
Bookmark and Promote!
Related Articles
Copyblogger runs on the Thesis Theme for WordPress
Thesis is the search engine optimized WordPress theme of choice for serious online publishers. If you’re a blogger who doesn’t understand a lot of PHP, Thesis will give you a ton of functionality without having to alter any code. For the advanced, Thesis has incredible customization possibilities via Thesis hooks.
With so many design options, you can use the template over and over and never have it look like the same site. The theme is robust and flexible enough not only to accommodate a site like Copyblogger, but also to enable the site to run far more efficiently than it ever has before.
{ 11 trackbacks }
{ 33 comments… read them below or add one }
Simple and to the point – and definitely true. There are things we will all specialize in online, but when it comes down to it, we are all entrepreneurs who need to think creatively and be able to run a successful business.
Now this comment is longer than your post.
Wow, I guess I’m an entreprenuer in more ways than one!
Jay
DatMoney.com
I’m not sure if I find that depressing or encouraging(!) That said, that part of his autobiography is a great read, especially the way he got his initial advertisers and the way he created a professional image while only having a phone box at his disposal.
Don’t limit yourself. Don’t label yourself.
Damn right!
A blog is like a billboard if a billboard were an encyclopedia full of octopi.
It seems like the majority of people who want to get serious about blogging want to be writers, and end up having to learn all of the social marketing and SEO and everything else to serve that desire–to get their words into other people’s brains. But blogging also has an incredible power to advance business interests in other areas.
For example, I write about psychology. Do I do this because I believe I can make a living on psychology-related PPC ads? Absolutely not. I do it mostly in order to market a very prominent private practice that will not exist for another 4 years. I do it to create a visibility and authority around the things I actually want to do so that I can do them instead of having to kiss asses for the majority of my career as a therapist. And, of course, I do it because it’s a lot of fun to talk about the things I think about all day anyway.
I’m an entrepreneur. So maybe I need to become a writer so I too can own a tropical island. Mmmmm coconut…
A successful artist once offered some advice I’ve found very helpful. He said it’s great making your paintings and stuff – in other words, yes, be an artist – but if you come up with an idea for the world’s greatest shower curtain, go for it.
WDOC: You’re missing a few intermediate stages! You need to become a writer, start a magazine, then start a record store, commit tax fraud when importing records, start a record company, have a giant hit with someone like Mike Oldfield, then branch into the airline business, before floating your record company on the stock exchange. THEN you can have your tropical island!
This is my new favorite post ever.
Simple.
“Focus”, she says. ” He is usually right.” She looks at her tiny efforts and back to the screen. Just has to keep that bar raised doesn’t he?
All best, Jan
Yeah, that’s the way I think of it. Then, it makes my business seem a lot more legitimate to others around me.
Not that I care what they think…
That innovative spirit is what engages readers. It’s what differentiates a mediocre post into a post that is dugg or stumbled upon. Bloggers are so many things, but entrepreneurs probably tops the list.
There is no secret about it: everyone would be glad to be an entrepreneur / leader / boss / guru. Even if you are a writer, you would like to explain to others how to write, would you not?
I read Richard Branson’s autobiography (reviewed it on my blog a while back), it’s a great read. And this post is quite aligned with what he writes in there (but he needs more words!).
What struck me, was that no matter what business he got himself into, he got into trouble with that business. Cash flow problems, and his strategy for solving his cash flow problems was getting more revenue…FAST!
Yeah, that’s the entrepreneurial spirit
Simple points… that’s true.
It follows the Pareto’s Principle of 80 / 20. Educated People (80%)earn degrees and Entrepreneur (20%)make money.
@Santosh: That’s not quite the way the Pareto principle works… It defines a relationship between effort and result. Like 80% of your work accounts for 20% of the results (which is the wrong 80% to focus on obviously).
And the same relationship goes for the entrepreneurs too. Like 20% of the entrepreneurs account for 80% of total profit earned
It’s not like they all make money.
Super great reality check!
Sharing with all my colleagues!
Thanks!
Maria
Great quote from Richard Branson! I am just beginning to realise that to succed as a writer you have to know a bit about marketing too … huge new learning curve.
Brian, I’ve been meaning to thank you for all your fantastic advice since recently signing up to your RSS feed. Inspired by Darren’s lovely post, today seems a good day!
Sorry the day is nearly over, hope you had an excellent start to the week!
@Moondreamer – exactly. What went through my mind as I finished reading this post was this:
. . . and entrepreneurs are all marketers.
An entrepreneur is the essence of marketing. The even market themselves. I call it “The Entrepreneurial Learning Curve.” Sounds like that’s what you’re going through right now.
On the one hand, we’re supposed to do what we love.
Me: write.
So doing what I love might pay someday. It’s not even close now. Not even in the neighborhood. But…
I’m not a writer. I’m a content producer?
I don’t want to be a content producer. I want to write.
Mixed messages?
Brady, I think you may have misread the post. You’re not a content producer if you want to make money writing online, you’re an entrepreneur. That’s how you need to think for the money to come.
I must already be an entreneur because none reads my blog!
I think the ultimate lesson all of should take away from Richard’s post is that he was able to say, with 41 words, what would have taken the rest of us pages to say.
Live From Las Vegas
The Masked Millionaire
Am i? ahahah
Yeah, I was so not trying to be an entrepreneur. Thanks Mr Branson
gotta love branson
I agree
Ah, now Brian’s subscribing to “The Seth Godin Model” of blogging–but with pictures.
Interesting, the power of concise authority.
30 comments and how many links now?
Got to love that guy. He’s not much of a writer though. Guess that why he’s The Entrepreneur.
This is, by far, my favorite post on Copyblogger to date. So, so, so, so true.
Sharp and to the point.
This morning I just got 200 pcs of Name Cards for my blog printed and delivered.
Reaching my target niche (readers) aside, I focus primarily on giving them what they come for in the first place – fun, inspirational content.
Cheers!
Great comment. Very relevant to the times. I was a salesman, who became a journalist, then a publicist, followed by media analyst, internet publisher and blogger, and now I’m a social and community entrepreneur, who covers many things to help pay the bills, including the life and times of Virgin, Richard Branson, and the business of blogging. Does this strike a chord?
In the past, writing to me was very tedious, however I always felt a lot of respect for all writers, until I decided to express with my own words my own histories. Today, it has become less complex to write and I can even tell it like it is. However I am still learning. Thanks