The Reluctant Entrepreneur: Turning Dreams into Profits

INTRODUCTION

Entrepreneurship: What It Is … and Isn’t

When Mary Kay Ash decided to start her own business, she did it the hard way. She quit her job, cashed in her savings, and invested everything she had in an idea that some called “crazy.”

The odds were overwhelmingly against her. She had to overcome obstacle after obstacle. But she triumphed. Today, Mary Kay Cosmetics is a billion-dollar company.

Hugh Hefner’s path was similar. He financed his crackpot idea for a men’s magazine by talking 45 skeptical friends and family members into lending him money. And like Mary Kay, he struggled for years before making it big.

We love stories like these because they are so inspiring. But they are also misleading. They perpetuate the myth that to become hugely successful you must be willing to risk everything—your money, your reputation, even your close relationships.

In fact, most successful entrepreneurs got to the top by taking a very conservative approach.