In a recent survey for the Inc. 500 Companies, entrepreneurs gave these reasons for wanting to work for themselves:
- Entrepreneurship has suited my skills and capabilities - 29%
- I wanted to be my own boss - 20%
- I had an idea I just had to try -18%
- I wanted financial success – 11%
- I admired and wanted to emulate other entrepreneurs –9 %
- Other – 13%
Employers are increasingly challenged to hire quality employees, especially those with an entrepreneurially bent. The question is: why would somebody with these attributes rather work for you than start their own company? What can your business offer these people that they can’t provide for themselves?
Although some jobs (such as piloting an airliner), require working for a large business, many of today’s fastest-growing companies don’t fall into this category. I believe that today’s most successful companies understand that, instead of controlling people as “employees,” they need to liberate them as co-workers and team members. Ask yourself what you can do to help people do their brightest and best work while working for you.