Entrepreneur Today

Becoming an entrepreneur today is easier than ever before and at the same time it is not. True, access to information, how to guides and free advice can be found fast just by searching the internet. At the same time this also causes the problem of information overload, discouragement and inability to get started at all.

In my eyes it is therefore good to start with the true definition of entrepreneurship in order to understand what the ultimate goal is.

Simply said being an entrepreneur means “Having the ability to create a profitable, commercial enterprise which works, without you” This very short and powerful statement will bring you on the right path of creating an entity worth your time.

Go back to this basic statement every time you struggle and remind yourself what you need to do. While this will always allow you to keep the ultimate goal in mind, there are many other ingredients to entrepreneurship.

Learn before you earn

You have what it takes, otherwise you would not want to be an entrepreneur in the first place. You have a dream, an idea and are ready to execute it.

Now there are specific things you need to know about being in business for yourself and they are not necessarily being taught.

If you operate on a tight budget you need to study a lot of the basic business skills yourself, this takes some time, but is well worth it to avoid costly mistakes later on.

Visit networking opportunities and surround yourself with like minded entrepreneurs. Ask questions, keep an open mind and read as much success literature you can get your hand on. Learning from people who have accomplished what you want is the best way to set yourself up for success.

Think like an entrepreneur

If you have been an employee until now, you are conditioned to think and act like one. However, If you always do what you have always done, you will only achieve the same results.

A typical entrepreneur is the driving force behind the company he / she builds. He / She always has the complete overview, leadership abilities and motivational attitude.

As a business owner you think in profits, not in wages, you have a can do attitude and a convincing personality. People follow you, trust you and acknowledge you as a leader. You have a clear vision of your goals and the ability to communicate it, your faith is unwavering, you just know for certain that success is your birthright.

You are considered crazy by the majority of your close friends and family members and they will try to pull you back or slowly disappear from your life.

This is just to prepare you for what awaits you on your path to entrepreneurship and that is only the beginning.

Dream bigger than you ever have

As an entrepreneur you have to have big dreams. Most people want to start little, just to make sure they are not losing to much money and avoid failure.

If you think like that, you are already setting yourself up for failure. You are subconsciously acknowledge that failure might be a possibility, frustration will be your constant companion.

Don’t get me wrong, you will fail, probably many times, but instead of expecting failure, make it your friend. Appreciate failure as learning lessons, the only person who ever really fails is the one who stops trying.

This should be the lesson behind failure, but nothing else. So why not dreaming big and set your company up as large as you can imagine? It does not have to be at the beginning, but can you envision it?

Trust me the larger your idea is and the more passionate you are about your dream, the easier it will be to attract investors to your business.

As an entrepreneur you are a problem solver. You have the ability to foresee what peoples demands and needs are. You than establish a system to solve these demands by either creating a product or service.

Never, ever give up

It does not matter how many times you have to try, what matters most  is that you find a way to never ever give up on your dreams. An entrepreneur does not have to have all of the knowledge about how to run a business by himself, you can hire specialized talent to execute that part.

What you must have more than anything, is emotional intelligence combined with the ability to navigate your inner communication through the ups and down of your venture.

You as an entrepreneur must find the answers, adjust, correct, lead, motivate yourself and people who work for you, as many times as it takes to reach your goal. If you will give up at any time, you will always ask yourself if success would not have waited around the corner. Just trying one more time. Keep going and never have regrets.