Entrepreneurship for the Rest of Us

Chapter 5Don’t Set Out to Become Rich

When the subject of successful entrepreneurs and their riches comes up, we all have our favorite images. For some, it is owner of the Virgin empire (records, airlines, space travel) Sir Richard Branson and his private seventy-four-acre isle in the British Virgin Islands. (You can rent the island, which comes complete with accommodations for thirty, for about $60,000 a night.) Others love the idea that the riches that come from creating a successful company allow you to follow just about any whim. Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, bought the Washington Post, overpaying substantially when he wrote a $250 million check.

My favorite image relating to entrepreneurial riches was a picture in the New York Times on ...