How I Became an Entrepreneur

by James T. Berger, 11 May 2005

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Entrepreneurs in some ways resemble great leaders. Some are born entrepreneurs. Some become or evolve into entrepreneurs, and some have entrepreneurship thrust upon them.

My entry into entrepreneurship came about through the third scenario. I never really considered going into my own business until I was confronted with unforeseen circumstances. I was vice president and account supervisor for a moderate-size advertising agency and handling the shop’s most lucrative account. That unfortunately was my problem. All the rest of the business in the agency was going nowhere and when it came time for my salary review, I was politely told there was no money because the rest of the agency was doing so poorly — even through my account was doing beautifully. I refused to accept this excuse.

At this time my career was at a crossroads. I was about to turn 40 and the birth of my fourth and last child was imminent. I started doing some networking and discovered a number of former and erstwhile clients would be interested in my services if I started my own business. Inside of two weeks I accumulated four small clients who provided me with as much cash income as my salary from the agency. I also found a fellow entrepreneur who invited me to office in his space temporarily for no cost.

The long negotiations with the agency finally ended on a Friday and they offered me a rather decent 12 percent raise. On the following Monday, I submitted my resignation – and thus entrepreneurship was thrust upon me and I never looked back. I’ve been at it for more than 20 years and within 10 years, that agency went out of business.

What an exciting adventure it was at first as my little company bloomed. However, along the road, I have climbed peaks and fallen into valleys. Four times I took on almost full-time positions with companies, but I never gave up my business or stopped paying rent on my office. I was fired from all four positions. Once one commits himself/herself to entrepreneurship, it’s extremely difficult – in my case impossible – to turn back and return to the employer/employee relationship.

While I have hardly been a shattering success, I have still managed to maintain a beautiful home, educate my four children, take an occasional vacation and get up each morning and go to work with the satisfaction of knowing I am working for myself. When something good happens, I am the one who reaps the rewards, and when something bad happens, I suffer the consequences.

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Author
James T. Berger, managing editor of The Wiglaf Journal, has been in his own strategic marketing consulting business for 22 years. As a free lance writer he has written over 100 articles and he teaches marketing courses at Northwestern University and Roosevelt University.

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