A Must Read For Anyone Interested In Becoming An Entrepreneur

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So why would anyone want to take on the hassles and risks associated with becoming an entrepreneur? Well, the 3 main reasons are…

Becoming Your Own Boss:

The lure of becoming your own boss is one of the primary reasons people become entrepreneurs. Rather than working for someone else, these individuals prefer to follow their ambition of starting their own firm. Overall, people decide to become their own boss for a variety of reasons based on personal circumstances. Some examples include being laid-off, or being frustrated with corporate structures or the lack thereof.

Realizing Ideas, Dreams, and Passion:

Another reason people start their own business venture is to pursue their own ideas, dreams, and passion. While many of us share similar desires, only a few people actively work on realizing their entrepreneurial goals. When asked, many entrepreneurs stated that they were somewhat forced to start their own business because their previous employers were resistant to ideas, change, and innovation. Rather than let their desires simmer, these individuals consistently focused and worked at bringing their ideas, dreams, and passion to fruition through entrepreneurship.

Financial Rewards:

Last, people become entrepreneurs to reap the financial rewards associated with those perceived opportunities. The reason that I say perceived is because most small businesses do fail. People must realize that the average entrepreneur doesn’t make more money compared to working at a traditional job, hence why many never take the plunge. While it’s not impossible, it’s very unlikely that you’ll reach a level like Larry Page and Sergey Brin (Google), or even Jerry Yang (Yahoo). To me, it’s never a good idea to make financial rewards the primary motive for becoming an entrepreneur. While financial incentives are important, it should not be the main reason for starting a business. Instead, entrepreneurs must posses these three characteristics, that if mastered, will help you become an extraordinary entrepreneur.

Passion:

The single most important characteristic shared by successful entrepreneurs is passion. These individuals have a tremendous amount of passion for their business and believe that their organization will positively influence our world. A prime example is Sergey Brin and Larry Page. Both individuals have more than enough money to survive for several lifetimes. But instead of retiring to a life of luxury, they’re still working on their passion – Google.

Honestly, you should not become an entrepreneur if you don’t have passion for your business. If you’re only partially committed to your business, you will not survive. In today’s competitive and dynamic business environment, entrepreneurs must be fully committed to working long hours to fight off competition while continually innovating on new products and services that’ll help the business grow and succeed. Without passion, you’ll succumb to the never-ending demands of your business and ultimately fail.

Focus & Tenacity:

To meet the never-ending demands of your business also requires focus and tenacity. Entrepreneurs must focus on delivering value to their customers by providing high-quality goods to improve their lives, thus creating a winning situation for all stakeholders. In addition, they must also have the tenacity to fight through setbacks and failures, especially since both are inevitable. Because most start-ups fail, entrepreneurs must always focus on the end goal and work tenaciously on achieving their mission and vision.

Execution Intelligence:

Above all else, every entrepreneur should strive towards execution intelligence – the ability to effectively execute business ideas and strategies as efficient as possible. This includes building a viable business model, raising capital, establishing clientele and partnerships, managing finances, leading and motivating employees, marketing, etc. Through execution intelligence, and by having an uncanny ability to translate innovative ideas into measurable actions and results, you will increase your odds of success as an entrepreneur. In the end, becoming an entrepreneur is hard work if you want to be successful. You must ensure that the items mentioned above are aligned with the necessary skills and resources needed to tap into legitimate business opportunities capable of providing adequate financial rewards for years to come.

Feel free to read my previous posts about entrepreneurship. Before you decide to venture down this road, I leave you with “10 Chinese Proverbs” to help you reflect on some of the requirements of entrepreneurship.

“To open a shop is easy, to keep it open is art.”

“In every crisis, there is opportunity.”

“Defeat isn’t bitter if you don’t swallow it.”

“Failing to plan is planning to fail.”

“If a thing’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.”

“Cheap things are not good; good things are not cheap.”

“Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.”

“Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.”

“Patience is a virtue.”

“Make happy those who are near, and those who are far will come.”

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