The potential to earn money is often the primary motivation for entrepreneurs to start their own businesses. The desire for control is another major factor that drives many entrepreneurs who aspire to achieve a leadership position. When you are the head of your own organization, you have the power to make all the decisions, from who is hired and on what salary to what new strategic directions your business is heading. Workers who are dissatisfied with their current company or those who work with an incompetent CEO may be especially motivated by this factor.
Once they have established their own business, entrepreneurs have full control over all decisions made within it. However, this responsibility also comes with additional stress and pressure. Some entrepreneurs are not as interested in money or experience as they are in leaving a lasting legacy. They may want to become the face of a brand and gain recognition along the way. They might want to create something that will outlive them and even pass on the business to future generations.
This motivation is one of the strongest for entrepreneurs, as it cannot be achieved in any other way and it lasts much longer than money or experience. Meeting a need or gap in the market was also pointed out as a major motivator for entrepreneurs, with 40% of those surveyed citing this as their primary reason for starting a business. It is common for entrepreneurs to feel the need to revolutionize the market with a product or service that they believe is lacking or in demand. However, achieving success in an existing industry can be difficult, and many entrepreneurs recognize the need to reach out to other business owners who have made a niche in a competitive arena. Having a real passion for their business also motivates entrepreneurs to succeed. An entrepreneur has a very specific way of feeling that a successful business should be managed, and this motivates them to start their own business and get directly involved. The main message here is not to hide your true motivation from yourself, your team, or your investors.
If you can't find any intrinsic motivation for what you're doing now, it's probably time to take a closer look at your lifestyle and future. Thousands of anonymous contributors to Wikipedia and other open source platforms such as Linux are motivated by the internal satisfaction they gain from sharing their knowledge. Understand your own motivations before you get involved; in the long run, you'll feel more satisfied. Sometimes, an entrepreneur is motivated to start a business because they may feel that they will be more successful if they can control their own destiny. Your level of motivation in each dimension will fluctuate depending on the stage of growth of your business, as well as your circumstances, values and priorities at any given time. It makes a convincing argument that the best leaders and entrepreneurs follow their intrinsic rather than extrinsic motivations.
