The Mechanics of Entrepreneurship

by Shawn Cohen

 

Wade Myers offers tips on life and business from a biblical perspective.

 

At the recent San Antonio Christian Film Festival in San Antonio, I think I sported the most colorfully-decorated name badge out of the thousands of attendees, sponsors, and vendors. All this thanks to the children of Wade Myers. Myers is an entrepreneur out of Dallas, Texas, and a committed homeschooling father of four. A decorated Army Ranger and sought-after speaker at venture capital and entrepreneurial events, Myers has made it part of his purpose in life to instill an entrepreneurial mindset in homeschooling dads and grads across the country—as well as in his own children.

 

The Spiritually Mature Entrepreneur

According to Myers, anyone who wants to become an entrepreneur will have to sidestep society’s norms. “The initial step is to get out of debt,” he said. Because of debt, Myers noted, many fathers would never dream of leaving their job.
Spiritually speaking, Myers also made it clear that a father needs to “get on his knees” and lead his family in personal devotions and family worship in addition to pursuing his entrepreneurial endeavors. “Men of faith set aside time to lead family devotions,” he said.
Myers promotes the idea of a “holistic integrated vision where everything in family life is integrated: work life, worship, and training up children.” He said that he looks at every part of his life as an opportunity to train his children in the way they should go. Like their name badge decorating venture at the film festival, for instance.
“ One thing I like to tell young homeschool grads is don’t ever go down the path of having a high cost of living,” Myers said. “Once you get in, it could take you years to get out.” Instead, he advises families to be creative to keep expenses low.
Myers makes it clear that starting one’s own business isn’t easy. Although there are financial ups and downs, “this is a way God can sanctify a man,” he said. If a family has gotten out of debt before starting a business however, “the ‘financial storms’ of owning your own business are easier to weather.”

 

A New Website for Entrepreneurs

In an effort to encourage fathers to leave the “wage slave” workforce, as he calls it, and enter the life of an entrepreneur, Myers has founded New Venture Lab, an interactive website full of tips and tools for the budding entrepreneur. You can visit New Venture Lab at www.newventurelab.com to take advantage of the site’s many resources. New Venture Lab showcases a Q&A posting, a blog, a glossary and even a venture analysis tool that will tell you how profitable your business idea will most likely be based on the information you insert under each question. “If someone is starting to think about a business, at that stage they may not know how to analyze the idea,” he said. “The venture analysis walks them through 50 steps, asking questions and providing tips in terms of the quality of a business plan.”

 

Relevant Intern Opportunities

Myers not only has a desire to help homeschooling fathers with their business ideas but he also has a vision for raising up another generation of entrepreneurs. In order to bring this dream to reality, he has set up a mentoring program where young men with an entrepreneurial mindset can intern with him for six months, learning the ropes of what it takes to run a multi-million dollar enterprise. The interns “work very closely with me as my assistants,” Myers said. “They do real work in a real business, have a real salary and a real job.” Currently, the interns learn entrepreneurial techniques while working in Myers’s large property management company that employs over 100 personnel throughout several states in the U.S.
The interns’ studies are personally overseen by Myers who plans their curriculum, including case studies and selected books they read on entrepreneurship. “Each intern is expected to put together a life plan and business plan that will lead to the eventual launch of their own business,” he said. And their training isn’t all brain work either. “We exercise together regularly and I have them in my home frequently because I want them to develop every aspect of their lives.”
Myers is also encouraging entrepreneurship among his own four children. Their name badge decorating was only one of many small ventures they’ve begun. “They are always thinking up ways of making money,” he said. “We have a lot of conversations about entrepreneurship and even though they are younger, I am doing everything I can to raise them to think and act entrepreneurially.”