The 10% Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurship doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing proposition; Patrick McGinnis shows how to integrate entrepreneurship into your career and your life on your own terms.Conventional thinking says that entrepreneurship is all about excitement and big bets, while traditional career paths are all about stability. They are presented as two distinct paths—you take one or you take the other. But now that technology makes it cheaper and easier than ever to start and manage a business, that trade-off no longer applies. You can now manage, advise, or invest in businesses by using your smarts, your network, and your smartphone, and you don’t need to quit your day job to do it.Venture capitalist Patrick McGinnis offers a pragmatic new approach to entrepreneurship. Although many traditional career paths cannot offer the autonomy and potential rewards of entrepreneurship, full-time entrepreneurship is not for everyone. Rather than watching full-time entrepreneurs from the sidelines, you can join them by integrating entrepreneurship into your life without leaving your day job. By dedicating at least 10 percent of your time and, if possible, 10 percent of your capital to invest, advise, and start new businesses, you will forge a path to greater autonomy and personal satisfaction. McGinnis shows how to use entrepreneurship to build a portfolio of investments, activities, and relationships that lessen your reliance on your day job to build something for yourself.McGinnis profiles “10% entrepreneurs” from a wide variety of backgrounds and offers crucial advice:Play to your strengths. Focus on ventures that sit at the intersection of the things you enjoy and the things you do well. This strategy will allow you to tap into your interests, passions, and skills while using your time and your energy most efficiently.Spread the wealth. When you embrace an entrepreneurial mindset, you quickly learn that your power comes from your expertise, but it also comes from your network. Knowing who to call saves you time and allows you to work with people you respect and trust.Never compromise your day job. Your 10 percent provides you with a myriad of benefits, but it doesn’t pay your salary, so always put your day job first. By bringing the new skills you learn back to the rest of your career, you can also become more successful at the office.