Cosplaying entrepreneurship.
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There’s a strange trend in the online business space that I can't help but notice:
The rise of the entrepreneur cosplayer.
cos·play: noun
the practice of dressing up as a character from a movie, book, or video game.
You've probably seen them online. Their profile is filled with photos of their laptop next to a cup of coffee. Maybe a beach in the background. They tweet about "hustling hard" from a co-working space in Bali. Their background is a shelf filled with business books they're showing off (but probably never implemented).
They're busy performing entrepreneurship for an audience. They just forgot to do the work.
If you don't know how to find one of these cosplayers, look for this routine. They start by reading the latest popular business book. Then they share all of the "blueprint", "hacks”, and "tricks" on social media. You'll see elaborate morning routines, vision boards, and infographics. And don't forget the expensive masterminds and selfies with the experts.
All of this makes them feel like they're an entrepreneur. The big problem is that they're not usually building anything.
People building businesses don’t spend 90% of their time performing. They spend it doing.
Yes, you need marketing. And of course, social media can be extremely helpful. But if you’re only performing? You’re likely not building.
A friend of mine runs a $40M business. You've probably heard of him and seen him occasionally on social media. But he's way too busy working to record 15-minute morning routine videos or take perfectly curated selfies by the beach. His approach to business is stupidly simple: He wakes up, drinks coffee, and gets into the flow.
No pomp. No circumstance. Just plain old work.
We had a conversation a few weeks ago where he was walking me through his work process. It wasn't complicated. He said he just tries stuff. If something works, he does a lot more of it. If something doesn't, he stops doing it.
It's not cool or hip. It's not great for viral content. It's not even that interesting. But it builds his actual business.
The problem with cosplaying is that it creates the illusion of progress. Reading a business book feels productive. Buying a domain feels like you're building something (note to self). Following the latest "proven system" feels like you're on the path to success.
But businesses aren't built like this.
They're built on serving customers. On creating value and solving real problems for real people. On learning painful lessons through trial and error, that are passed on to others.
It’s not a highlight reel.
It's messy. It's confusing. It's filled with failures that never make it to social media.
So here's my advice: Less performing and more doing.
Delete the entrepreneurship books from your Amazon cart. Cancel that mastermind. Put down your phone and pick up the work.
Wake up tomorrow. Drink your coffee or tea. And instead of planning how to become an entrepreneur, just be one.
Do some work. See what goes well and what goes poorly. Learn from it. Adjust. Repeat again the next day.
No cosplay required.
Just work.
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Great read. 🙏
To clarify, you are referring to people that teach without necessarily going through the thought process, pains and learning of entrepreneurship, correct?
I believe they are called “reporters”, however they label themselves as entrepreneurs, and that is the misleading part. Is that the idea?
What if they create guides, courses and master classes - doesn’t that make them digital products creators? Isn’t that a form of entrepreneurship these days? Curious to expand on this as I find it intriguing a little.
Some of the online spaces are jam-packed with people repurposing knowledge but without the expertise. I am definitely after falling into the lake of social media overload this week and have been trying to get some of these cosplayers out of my feed. I must have hovered for too long on the cool pictures of cool cafes!