Mar. 26, 2021 In 2010, I stepped away from a 3 year employment situation to start my own firm, Red Leaf Architectural Products Inc. This company was a start-up and essentially, I became an entrepreneur. An exciting time, one of bravado and satisfaction that I could finally run a company my way. The company went on to achieve award-winning status and we were able to sell North American wide...not just local to Vancouver. In fact, product demand extended to the point where we could build our own custom 57,000 SF digital manufacturing property. The organization had grown from trunk of car to exporting product as far south-east as Miami Florida and as far west as Hawaii. In late-2019, we were presented with an opportunity to exit, and in light of changing times we decided to capitalize on this opportunity.

Now is a new decade, and new course of action. After nine years as an entrepreneur, I am now returning to the job market. Although Vancouver receives global focus as a great place to live, the reality is such that the local economy is small, in comparison to Toronto or any metropolitan area in the US. I knew such a transition would take time to find the right fit, and as such, I began ringing the bell of intention within my network, amongst recruiters, and some organizations already in 2019. There seemed to surface one fundamental question within the conversations that I was starting to have:

“Are you sure you are going to be comfortable to work for someone else?”

Having had my head down for so long, being a bull-dozer for action, this question at first seemed flippant...but then as the question was repeated by so many, in separate conversations, I began to feel as if the entrepreneur is seen as some sort of outlier. A personality, or character, that corporate North America might perceive as a wild untamable beast. It struck me as if those posing the question didn’t really have a true sense of what an entrepreneur was in reflection of a corporate employee. I suppose until you’ve been one, its difficult to visualize what the life of an entrepreneur is really like. For those sitting in company chairs, the entrepreneur would that guy on the other side of the fence. The one that is talked about in journals, podcasts, Silicon Valley lure...he calls his own shots, makes tons of money and can take vacation whenever he wants. I can share this, that is only a concept. Sure, some live the life of unicorns and achieve incredible success. For most, this reality is not true...at least not for the first 20 years. It is a reality of hard work, determination, fear, mistakes, break-throughs, long hours and limited free time.

50% of my career has spanned working for other corporations. Beyond this, I have also participated with start-ups, and only 30% of my career as an entrepreneur. I share this to qualify what I feel is credibility in both domains; because, here’s the piece I would like to impart: there is no significant difference between an entrepreneur and a corporate leader, except (a) risk tolerance, and (b) setting a unique idea into motion. That said, (a) and (b) are emotions and actions that face the entrepreneur when a company is born. That moment in time when that entrepreneur takes that fateful plunge to jump start their own business. But a corporate leader also needs to start a new job from a position of commitment. He cannot leave when things get uncomfortable...he needs to remain resilient; just like the entrepreneur. From there, daily life is similar. The level of responsibility is tremendous and each faces a life cycle that demands a tremendous amount of time, focus and creativity. The statement “from the illusion of security to the illusion of freedom” springs to mind...because that is really what that transitionary point represents.

Regardless on which side of the fence one sits, the circumstances are simply hard work. Showing up and being the leader; no matter the role, you need to serve. There is no simple ride. The grass does not feel greener. The work, as an entrepreneur, in comparison to a corporate leader, is to a large extent the same. One has to contribute technical talent, salesmanship, hire and grow people, know thy self and deal with a tremendous unpredictability. Work hours are long, vacation is tough to schedule and the mind is always switched on. In my view, one thing that really rings true for me is, whether you are an entrepreneur or a corporate leader, you will always have a boss: the customer. So long as one is providing a spectrum of products or array of services, the organization requires customers. Without them, the business is pointless. The customer is the source of existence and business resilience. A corporate leader is not just someone in the C-Suite. It is also middle management and supervisors. All of us are in service to the customer and also fellow employees. In order to succeed, we need to be switched on and we need to be focusing at achieving our personal best at all times if we want to achieve success. We need to deliver.

I am an entrepreneur. Can I work for someone else? You bet I can. I do it everyday. Business is insanely tough; the organization needs to serve the needs of the customer. And these needs change constantly. In my experience, we (the leaders or entrepreneurs) cannot face these business challenges alone...we always need a team in order to succeed. When there is team, there is a corporation. And when there is a corporation, we not only need to serve the needs of the customer, but also the needs of the team and the individuals in it. And then, although the “owner” (entrepreneur) might be writing checks to grow the business, they remain a corporate leader, contributing all the fundamentals that are commensurate with that role. If the goal is for the business to succeed, that leader is not free to do what they want. That is an illusion. And from there I fail to see any real difference between the two. In fact, I welcome the opportunity to work within a corporation...at least I am no longer signing the fronts of checks to grow the business.

Steffen Waite