Hustlers and Entrepreneurs.
Same thing? Not even. Sure, most entrepreneurs have the heart of a hustler. Many entrepreneurs start as hustlers. But not every hustler becomes an entrepreneur. Let me explain the difference.
A hustler is usually liquid income-driven. Making the next sale is what’s important to the hustler. Hustlers have to keep hustling or else their income suffers. Being a hustler is not a bad thing, but it needs to be scaled into entrepreneurship.
An entrepreneur is focused on building long-term wealth and opportunities. Entrepreneurs tend to be hustlers who have learned the importance of building and sustaining. The biggest difference between a hustler and an entrepreneur is the SYSTEM he or she has or does not have in place. Entrepreneurs build systems and processes that keep their businesses functioning and growing. Entrepreneurs build the systems that hustlers work in. A good car salesman is a hustler, whereas the car dealership owner is an entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurs sometimes go into hustle-mode if their business is lacking; however, it is with the intention and purpose of rebuilding the structure to ensure the lack doesn’t happen again.
I was a full-blown, natural born hustler. I hustled just about anything I could get my hands on that was profitable (notice I said JUST ABOUT anything haha). I sold makeup, skin care, jewelry, purses, travel benefits, legal protection, poems, candy, posters, ad space, you name it! I even sold my homework papers in grade school to my friends who had to turn in late work and just wanted to copy mine that had already been graded.
H-U-S-T-L-E-R.
In everything I did, I was looking for my next sale. I was trying to generate income to help my family. I was attempting to pay off some debt. I was trying to buy diapers for my newborn. I wanted spending money to go to the amusement parks and McDonalds. I wanted new shoes. I needed to pay a bill or two. I wanted something supplemental to what my husband was making.
These were all motives I had in various hustle times.
Now, I’m building a business.
I want to hire a staff to make more impact in this market. I want to invest in travel and rental properties. I want to fund a nonprofit that teaches teens how to start businesses. I want to create career opportunities for my child, if he so chooses to work in my field. I want financial freedom. I want to create passive income that generates residual. I want to create investment opportunities for those who want to see their money grow. I want my grandchildren to have an inheritance and shares in my still-thriving company when they are older.
These are some of my new motives for why I became an entrepreneur.
What made the biggest difference?
M I N D S E T.
My mindset as a hustler is tremendously different than my mindset as an entrepreneur. I had to level up in my thinking in order to level up in my “money moves” so that I can play on a different level in the business world. But it started with shifting my mindset concerning money, business and my future.
Being a hustler isn’t bad. But it also shouldn’t be your only aspiration. Take your hustle, learn new systems, build a sustainable business and then hire hustlers to keep the wheels turning!
If you say you’re an entrepreneur or want to become an entrepreneur, but you find yourself constantly in hustle mode, something is off base. Either your system is flawed or doesn’t exist. Let’s fix that.
If you need help building systems in your business, www.theecrenee.com/booking