{"id":9238,"date":"2014-09-26T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-09-26T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/creator\/?p=9238"},"modified":"2020-03-30T18:59:58","modified_gmt":"2020-03-30T22:59:58","slug":"one-serial-entrepreneur-says-trusting-instinct-everything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/one-serial-entrepreneur-says-trusting-instinct-everything","title":{"rendered":"Why one serial entrepreneur says trusting your instinct is everything"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ever since I can remember, I was fascinated with entrepreneurship. I may not have known the term, but I was always looking for a way to improve things, build a business model around problems, and revolutionize the way things were being done.<\/p>\n

I am what some might call a \u201cserial entrepreneur\u201d.<\/p>\n

I started with a newspaper route and lawn mowing business as a kid and evolved into an adult with an independent financial planning and investment management practice, among a bevy of other \u201chobby businesses.\u201d Some of my skills are learned, and some innate. But I\u2019ve come to find success and happiness by following my all-knowing gut \u2014 an internal compass that drives many entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n

In 1999, I founded The Online 401(k)<\/a>. I had this great idea and a higher purpose to help people overcome the fear of saving for their retirement. I saw a need in the marketplace for the small business audience, and I wanted my company to be a social enterprise with a business model I would never compromise for maximizing profits.<\/p>\n

My higher purpose will always be profits with a conscience, even if we are viewed as the black sheep or \u201csmall business savior.\u201d My gut told me to jump on this opportunity and to help people recognize the grave importance of personal savings. I listened to my internal compass to set up this company, and we took off.<\/p>\n

Here are some lessons I\u2019ve learned as an entrepreneur. Understand your industry. The retirement and financial services industry is rife with duplicitous service providers in pressed suits that like to rob you of your future self because you don\u2019t read the fine print in your plan. It\u2019s also impossible to find the fine print, even with a high-powered magnifying glass. They\u2019re called \u201chidden fees\u201d for a reason and these scam artists will take advantage of folks who don\u2019t know what to look for (see: the vast majority of America \u2013 you are not alone).<\/p>\n

So what did I do? My company dropped the jargon and provided access to easy and inexpensive retirement plans, a benefit that everyone should be entitled to. I saw a problem and created the solution.<\/p>\n

My field is inherently competitive; motives are questionable and antiquated. The challenges I faced in the first couple of years were unpredictable because we were breaking new ground in our industry.<\/p>\n

If there is anything you could take away from my experience as an entrepreneur, it\u2019s this: Surround yourself with people who complement you and your vision so you are able to delegate to people you trust and respect. Just because you\u2019re a founder with a vision, it doesn\u2019t mean you should make it come to fruition by yourself.<\/p>\n

Trust your gut and enact leadership through your own instincts through delegating to the right people. In entrepreneurship, instincts are everything. The challenge is do you have enough conviction to follow them?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ever since I can remember, I was fascinated with entrepreneurship. I may not have known the term, but I was always looking for a way to improve things, build a business model around problems, and revolutionize the way things were being done. I am what some might call a \u201cserial entrepreneur\u201d. I started with a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1293,"featured_media":9270,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43902],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-professional-development"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy one serial entrepreneur says trusting your instinct is everything<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In entrepreneurship, instincts are everything.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/one-serial-entrepreneur-says-trusting-instinct-everything\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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