I won’t try to sugar coat it, because it isn’t fair to mislead someone or to feed a preconceived notion about everyone having the ability to be an entrepreneur. Not everyone is meant to be an entrepreneur, and that is 100% OK. Sometimes it doesn’t fit with someone’s personality, their goals/objectives/dreams, or what they have going on in life right now. I’ll repeat, that is absolutely OK.
That being said, what does it take to be one?
It has been said that entrepreneurs are of a different breed. I can’t say I disbute that at all. You need to be:
- A very driven/motivated person;
- Creative & innovative;
- Passionate about what you do;
- Able to take calculated (and uncalculated) risks;
- A problem-solver,
- Willing to work crazy hours to accomplish what you want,
- Able to accept that failure could happen (not a bad thing, but more on that later), and;
- So much, much more!
In fact, here is a video that goes over some more: 25 common characteristics of successful entrepreneurs.
Being an entrepreneur or having the characteristics that are inherent in all entrepreneurs is not something that you have to be born with, with the exception maybe of creativity. In fact, I believe it is better that way. I am a believer that what can help you develop the skills/characteristics needed to be an entrepreneur the most is life experience and learning from your mistakes and your achievements.
Here are some quick questions to ask yourself if being an entrepreneur appeals to you and you think you’ve got exactly what it takes.
- Do you have a great idea for a produt/service that helps your customers solve a problem they are having and would be willing to pay for?
- Why do you want to be an entrepreneur? What is that thing nagging in the back of your head saying “Do it! Do it!”.
- Do you want to make a difference in the world?
- Do you want to follow your passion and make a living doing what you love
- How good are you with stepping outside of your comfort zone and dealing with uncertainty and risks?
- Are you good at multi-tasking and taking on all of the roles required in an organization until you can either:
- a) hire someone to do those tasks for you so you can focus on the main ones (i.e. payroll, HR, marketing, etc.), or:
- b) outsource the tasks to someone else (i.e. an Accounting firm for all of your books and a Social Media Manager to handle all of your social media accounts).
- Are you passionate about the industry you operate in and your product/service?
- So much so that you cannot imagine doing anything else?
- Are you able and willing to devote all the time that is required in order to make your business a success?
- Are you good with making short-term sacrifices for long-term gain?
- Are you ready and willing to always be in a state of learning new things?
- Are you willing to accept and take responsibility for the success and/or failure of the business?
- Will the business be profitable enough to handle both giving you a decent pay and potential growth?
Just some things to ponder, and take care when pondering these answers. It took me a solid week or two of so many emotions before I was able to give a resounding “Yes, I have what it takes to be an Entrepreneur”, because almost all of the traits needed where ones that I developed through making some not so great choices and learning from them later on. I haven’t looked back since.
That’s all for this week. You know right where to find me if you need anything. Cheers!
Rachael