Passion for an idea — not money — is best motivator

The old joke begins with a question: "When did you first decide to become an entrepreneur?"

"Well," goes the reply, "I decided right after my boss said those two little words: 'You're fired!"'

It's a good joke, but it begs an even better question: Why do entrepreneurs become entrepreneurs? And perhaps more importantly to the aspiring entrepreneur: Why do you want to become an entrepreneur? The answer to that question likely will be significant in answering yet another one: Will you succeed as an entrepreneur?

People decide to start their own businesses for a multitude of reasons. Perhaps the three most often mentioned are necessity (I'm not making enough money), money (as in I want more of it) and self-determination (I want to live life on my terms). Other motivators might include a passion for a specific product or idea, hunger for personal prestige or power, a love of risk or a desire to "win the game."

Most successful entrepreneurs focus on developing a profitable operation, but I think the best entrepreneurs are driven by something even more compelling than a nice paycheck. They want to invest themselves in something that will change the world in greater or lesser ways. This might sound like a high standard, but most often a game-changing product or service is NOT required to qualify. Instead, the entrepreneur's passion might revolve around something as simple as the idea of creating a better workplace, solving a nagging but not life-threatening problem or marketing an existing product in a new and innovative way. The key here is that the entrepreneur is focused on the IDEA, not just the money.

For example, a local entrepreneur founded a company that is marketing a previously known but recently unavailable anti-bacterial product that is just as effective and much longer-lasting than the more commonly used alcohol-based products. He launched the company after he learned about the growing problem of antibiotic-resistant staph and other infections and found a way to do something about it.

Fred Smith, the founder of FedEx, prepared a term paper for his college economics class that laid out the basic ideas of his first-of-its-kind company six years before it was actually launched. Even though the project faced daunting obstacles (including the capital cost of securing 14 jets before operations could begin), he was sufficiently passionate about his idea that he put up his entire $4 million personal and family fortune to make it happen. The first night the company shipped only 182 packages on those 14 jets.