Why Corporate Professionals Struggle With Entrepreneurship — And the Mindset Shift That Changes Everything
When I started teaching entrepreneurship to corporate professionals, I assumed the challenge would be coming up with business ideas.
I was wrong.
The real challenge was getting them to think differently.
These were smart people. High achievers. Engineers. Analysts. Managers. People trusted with real responsibility. But they were trained in a world of:
- long processes
- structured meetings
- committees
- approvals
- slow movement
- layers of support and teams
Entrepreneurship is none of those things.
Entrepreneurship is scrappy.
It’s fast.
It’s action-driven.
And there’s no committee to lean on.
So when I asked them to think like entrepreneurs, they froze — not because they lacked ability, but because they were conditioned by corporate culture.
That’s when I tried something different.
I told them:
“You are the company now. Your employer is your customer.”
And instantly, the room changed.
We broke it down into four simple roles every real company has:
- Operations — the work you deliver
- Marketing — how you make yourself visible
- Finance — how you manage your career and money
- Research — how you watch trends and prepare for change
Suddenly, the class wasn’t about building a startup.
It was about taking ownership.
Their assignments required them to talk to their “customer” — their boss, their internal stakeholders, the people who depended on their work. And when they did, something unbelievable happened:
They became clear.
They became confident.
They felt in charge again.
One student said after the first hour:
“This is why we’re here. This is what we’ve been missing.”
Within weeks, I saw:
- promotions
- pay raises
- visibility
- renewed motivation
- better opportunities
Not because the job changed.
Because they changed.
Seeing themselves as a Company of One got them unstuck.
It restored ownership.
It brought energy back into their work.
And it unlocked the opportunity they didn’t realize was already around them.
If you want that same shift — that same clarity and confidence — start with the first step I give them:
👉 Get your Idea Engine
If you want help turning what you already know into income,
grab The Idea Engine — it’ll walk you through it step by step.
🎥 See the video on my Youtube Channel.
You might also like this podcast -> “You Don’t Need Permission.” <- check it out.
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