Renegade Entrepreneur Advice: Two Keys to Help You Dive Headfirst into Startup Success

The most groundbreaking ideas often come from those who we describe as mavericks — renegade entrepreneurs who flip the script. It’s time to consider there’s no reason why you can’t be one of them.

“Renegade entrepreneurs — those who buck the system and go solo — can now test, launch, and scale their projects extremely quickly and on the cheap,” writes Khary Cuffe, co-founder and CFO of Heritage Link Brands, in this guest post for Inc. But just because those and other traditional barriers have fallen doesn’t mean the risk involved with starting a business has followed suit. The difference between those succeed and those who fail can often come down to how entrepreneurs choose to face — and, in some cases, embrace — that risk. Having thrived through ups and downs, Cuffe credits two keys to helping him do just that.

First, entrepreneurs shouldn’t limit themselves to their primary business idea. Instead, they should also consider offshoots, spinoffs, and side projects, or, as Cuffe refers to them, “side hustles.” Such projects can provide crucial buffers. “In essence, I went from viewing our side hustles as optional — glorified chump change — to viewing them as keys to the kingdom,” Cuffe writes. “They are integral cornerstones of our financial foundation that solidified the path for us to pursue our passions.”

Cuffe also recommends taking the renegade entrepreneur advice not be afraid of risks, especially when opportunities — and customer feedback — call for it. “Whether you adopt a completely new paradigm, or commit to constantly questioning your assumptions and remaining open to startling new ways of thinking,” writes Cuffe, “it could just generate your next big business triumph.”