Why Accidental Entrepreneurs Are My Favorite Clients
I recently joined a Mastermind group for female, solopreneur, service-based business owners (amazingly specific and niched down!). On the first meeting the Mastermind host asked us all a standard question so we could get to know each other and our businesses.
“Who you are and what your business is (including who you serve).”
My answer was,
“Hi! I'm Tina, an eCommerce Strategist and Coach based in Raleigh, NC. I work with creative women who have an existing eCommerce business but need help figuring out how to scale their marketing. They are often accidental entrepreneurs and are great at in-person selling, designing or making, but struggle to find a sustainable way to market their products.”
One of the fellow Mastermind members answered, “I love that you work with accidental entrepreneurs and help them market.”
— In This Article —
Are You An Accidental Entrepreneur?
What is an accidental entrepreneur exactly?
As the name implies you didn’t set out to build a brand, create a product or company with intentions of making it a serious business. You were fine with it being a hobby or side hustle, a just for fun way to spend some of your free time. The idea of turning it into a business might have been a daydream or far-off idea in the back of your head, but what you wanted was to make something that -
solved a real problem
was a gap you found in the market and you just had to tackle it your way
was something you always wanted but couldn’t find to buy
something you invented and designed
a hobby or passion that somehow became a business (often this is the path for artists and makers)
The business usually grows organically out of your side hustle, Etsy shop, Instagram drops, Facebook marketplace selling or weekend markets where you start testing out selling this product.
Friends and family are your early buyers and supporters and help you grow through Word of Mouth and referrals.
Before you know it you have a real business and need expert help to figure out what that means and how you can turn this into your new career.
What Is The Opposite Of An Accidental Entrepreneur?
If that is how an accidental entrepreneur is made, what is the opposite of that? I call the other type the Planned Entrepreneur.
This type of business owner has 2 sub-types.
The Business School Entrepreneur
Type one is the person who knows their entire life they are destined to be a business owner. They are the ones who start dreaming about getting their MBA in middle school. They know their path is pre-determined and they have big dreams of the C-Suite, getting funding for their start-up The speak of angel investors, VCs, incubators, etc.
They will tell you their business idea in terms how the business model is similar to FAANG companies (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix & Google).
Their love languages are in systems, finance and management.
I grew up in Silicon Valley and lived many years in San Francisco, I know this type very well. They were my high-school classmates, parents of friends, neighbors, and my bosses.
The world needs this type but they don’t have the same motivations, drive and end goals as the accidental entrepreneur.
The Dreamer EntreprenEUr
The second type is what I call the dreamer entrepreneur. They have big dreams,. You could say their eyes are bigger than their stomachs.
They are easily swept up by the fantasy and tall tales that are marketed by the Bro Marketers and Girl Boss Coaches out there.
They want to make fast cash with little effort. They watch hours of YouTube videos and Instagram reels, and free webinars about “ How You Too Can Get Rich Fast with eCommerce.” All you need to do is find that perfect Dropship niche product.
There are a lot of shady companies that prey on this type of person - selling pre-made dropship “get rich quick” schemes. The red flag is if someone wants to sell in the Pet or Supplements niche. I know that likely 95% of the time they are a dreamer entrepreneur.
They are lovely people, but I don’t think the reality of entreprenuership is for them. They are much better off sticking with the security of a day job. Being an employee is not a bad thing or a bad word.
Entrepreneurship is very scary, financially and mentally taxing and if you don’t have a DEEP WHY, your reason for doing this, beyond “I want to make money” then this is not the path for you. Especially since the get-rich-quick story is a complete fabrication.
What Makes the Accidental Entrepreneur Special?
This got me thinking, about what is special about the accidental entrepreneur. Why do I love working with them? What value do I bring to this specific sub-set of eCommerce business owners?
As I mentioned above, the accidental entrepreneur is partly defined by the meandering path that got them to where they are, but behind that lives their deeper WHY. Their Passion for what they do.
This is what keeps them up at night making, designing, problem-solving so they create that thing they want to solve the problem they see.
This type of person is borderline obsessive about their interest in the subject.
Makers can tell you all about the chemistry and ingredients of their soaps, skincare, jewelry, etc.
Manufacturers know everything about their designs technical specs, factory processes, materials, timelines, etc.
Curators know everything about the history of their vintage finds, where they sources specific items from in the world, the story of each maker.
Inventors will share the story of how they bought every possible solution on the market until they decided to take the problem into their own hands. How they tested and kept failing, until they developed the current solution.
Through their deep interest and passion for the problem, and solution (product) they are naturally able to connect, identify with and speak to their ideal customer.
What Does The Accidental Entrepreneur Need To Succeed?
The accidental entrepreneur has many amazing gifts and talents they can also have some significant points of weakness and this is where I come in to support, guide and coach.
Potential Weakness #1: Trying To Do It All
It’s a gift that this entrepreneur is scrappy and able to do it all until they just can’t anymore. At some point you need to start bringing in experts to help you formalize your systems, manage your finances, plan and scale your marketing, and evaluate your legal protections.
You also need to have trusted advisors to ask the hard questions, to vent to, to celebrate your wins, to support your mental health.
This is where your Circle of Influence becomes vital.
Potential Weakness #2: Burn-Out
The constant pace of work and the lack of structure can easily lead to burn-out. You are so used to being in growth mode that you lose track of yourself and your needs. The business becomes a hungry monster that you can’t control. This is another place where having a coach to help you define how to set boundaries and address mindset challenges is important.
POTENTIAL WEAKNESS #3: LACK OF AN END GOAL
For the successful accidental entrepreneur, there comes a time when you have to make strategic decisions about the future of the business.
This could look like decisions on scaling up and getting bigger - hiring staff, doing your own manufacturing, opening a brick-and-mortar, franchising, etc.
Or it could be deciding to exit the business - through a sale, passing on the business to a child or family member, or simply closing.
The last path is to decide to keep it at a certain size, revenue, and product lines and decide to hold steady without significant growth. Maybe the path is to just make what you have more profitable so you can work less and get paid the same.
The important thing is that you know what you want! Not what you think the expectation is of you from society, from a spouse, family, friends.
This is your business that you built and I want to give YOU permission to decide what you want and to follow that path!
This accidental business might have chosen you, but now you get to choose where it goes and what it looks like.
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