Who is an Entrepreneur?
An entrepreneur is an initiator, a challenger and a driver. Someone that creates something new, either an initiative, a business or a company; who, rather than working as an employee, runs a small business and assumes all the risks and rewards of a given business venture, idea, or good or service offered for sale.
Tips to make it as an Entrepreneur
As an entrepreneur, your ultimate goal is to take a business from zero to hero. For most of us, this doesn’t happen overnight. Typically, there will be trial and error as you wade through what will make your business successful.
However, there are certain characteristics that can help you navigate your way to the top.
Be Passionate about what you do
Working on something without passion is a sure fire way to accept failure. As an entrepreneur you’re probably going to work long hours, and the idea you have will become a large part of your life. If you haven’t got passion for what you’re doing, you might as well go back to the drawing board.
Essentially this is going to become a living breathing part of you, an extension of your being, don’t make it even harder by having no interest in it.
If you are passionate, you will be more creative with your idea.
Position Yourself as a Leader
Entrepreneurs lead the way. But positioning yourself as a leader is not just about having the right answers. It’s more about knowing where to find the answers. You’ll have to make a lot of tough decisions in your new line of duty, so you need to have confidence in the decisions you make on a day-to-day basis.
If you want to keep a hold of your biggest asset, you will need to lead by example. This means digging deep and doing things you don’t necessarily want to do. Leaders inspire from the front and nothing will gain you more respect that rolling up your sleeves and getting your hands dirty. If you don’t do this, you run the risk of losing your best staff to other employers who will inspire or losing them to entrepreneurship.
Building Long-term Relationships
Relationships matter. People do business with companies they know, like and trust. Furthermore, while it's tempting to stay on the hunt for new customers, your existing customers are your best source of repeat-business and your most profitable customers. To win their loyalty, you must nurture a relationship with them.
It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. In business this is a very relevant statement, in fact making connections is arguably more important than being good at what you do. There are people out there who are great at what they do, but they don’t have the connections to showcase their skills to.
Be Open-minded
Know when to say “when.” Your idea of what’s right may actually be wrong. Be open to other suggestions and ideas. Remember, your business is actually not about you. It’s about delivering a good product to your customers and doing whatever it takes to ensure that your customers turn into repeat customers. In other words, be ready to embrace fresh ideas, even if they go counter to your own beliefs.
Deliver Value – not just quick profit
Ensure your company delivers real value to clients. Successful entrepreneurs are in it for the long haul. They are not after a get-rich-quick scheme. Ensure your business provides services and sell products that actually deliver a substantially better result for your customers.
Set Deadlines
You really need to have a short, medium and long term plan in place for your business, however you need to set deadlines for your daily and weekly tasks.
If you set yourself a time budget that is realistic, I guarantee you will finish 99% of the things you set out to achieve.
Know what your clients really want
The purpose of business is to bring your clients a greater benefit, a greater advantage and a greater result. But if you don't know what their ultimate endpoint should be, then how can you help them? Don't assume you know the answer. Study their actions and talk with them to find out how you can become their hero.
Prepare for a 24/7 work lifestyle
Lots of people become their own boss because they want to work their own hours and have the freedom to do what they want, when they want. If your business model reflects this, then you’re lucky. If, however, your business requires the hours to be put in, don’t expect to be playing golf midweek like in the movies. There is no getting away from it, running a business and being an entrepreneur will demand a huge amount of your time, especially at first. Now this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, you just need to be prepared for it.
One thing that could catch you out very quickly is burnout. It’s likely that work will be on your mind all the time. Being an entrepreneur isn’t like a 9am-5pm where you can come home and chill out in front of the telly. Your brain will be constantly switched on, which is actually great, because if you’re passionate about what you’re doing you’re going to love it.
Seek new ideas – especially beyond your industry
Don’t focus solely on your industry as a source of novel ideas. Think outside the box, venture in uncharted territory and expand your intellectual scope. For example, the drive-through concept commonly found in fast food was an idea borrowed from bankers.
Inspire your team
Give people a reason to be excited to work for your company. Make it your goal to help them succeed in their job. They will stick by your side if you stick by them. Inspire, Invest, and Repeat.
At some point you are going to fail; very few have managed to get it right first time round. The key is to keep going, reinvent yourself and learn from your mistakes.
