The past weeks have been busy for me and my writing has been restricted to the minimum(precisely zero), but I promise my utmost best to write the occasional thought here and there as my scheduling permits.
That aside, let me focus my discussion on the essentials of becoming a successful entrepreneur in any given industry, be it in a service or a product. I am sure that some of us if not most of us aspire to be entrepreneurs. I believe that given a choice, we would rather be employers than employees. The lure of managing your schedule, controlling your destiny, higher revenue and even for some a chance to fulfill their long held dreams is enough motivation to entice many to entrepreneurship. But my big dilemma can everyone make the grade/cut? Well if you going to attempt, then you better read on.
Ignoring the starting capital requirement aside and arguing from a perspective of equal playground as far as capital is concerned, I would like to focus entirely on the qualities and skills that one needs to develop/learn before we plunge into the entrepreneurial world. I am tempted to jump ship tomorrow, but when I assess myself I am not ready? Because I believe that there are so many skills that one needs, and ignoring the popular believe you need to work hard, I argue that working hard is essential but on its own am afraid may not be enough to help you make the grade.
The other day, one of my friends was boldly debating with me that he believes that some of the successful entrepreneurs around have been lucky in one way or another. This is an interesting argument/opinion but I completely disagree with him. I believe that those people who have succeeded have either mastered the technique to understand and gauge the demand for their product or service. They have also been able to do extensive market research to aid in selling their product and service. We are all capable of working hard at all times, but am not so sure that we all have the same levels of intelligence, insight and commitment to master the same techniques for business success. I believe that hard work and a little bit of luck is necessary but I still do think on their own, they are never enough.
With entrepreneurship, we must be prepared to face obstacles, and if you are the kind of person that quits when the going getting tough or you tend to shy away from challenges, then in my opinion you are not ready for entrepreneurship. Use your present job to learn all the skills that you need to, even a menial job can provide you skills that will be important in running a successful business. Be prepared to learn the skill of networking, I cannot emphasize enough of this. You need this skill in career advancement; you need it twice as much if not thrice as much to succeed in business. Be prepared to learn from your friends, family and even present co-workers.
Lastly, develop street smarts, and good instincts when gathering information. Read widely from business magazines to politics, social issues and environmental issues because neither academic, logical nor systematic techniques will help you succeed as an entrepreneur.
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ReplyDeleteI could not agree more with this post. There is a quote I love that says, "Chance favours the connective mind."
ReplyDeleteAnother very important skill to develop is learning to embrace uncertainty and fear. An entrepreneur has to constantly face uncertainty; whether it is launching a product that is new to the market or deciding whether to invest in a venture that he/she is uncertain it will be successful. This level of Uncertainty leads to fear and can cause many of us to stall in our pursuit of what makes us come alive.
But uncertainty is actually your greatest ally because it forces you to completely focus on what matters most to you and make decisions that are completely based on reality and not some imagined worst case scenario.. These worst case scenarios are toxic because in reality the risks you take as an entrepreneur are not as bad as you imagine.. Here is an analogy:
Picture the first time you learnt how to ride a bike. Before you got on that bike, you were scared to death; you couldn’t imagine balancing on it let alone moving. Thoughts of you falling and breaking your leg or cracking your head on the concrete were all that raced through your mind. It was so scary you were scared to even think of it. But you had to come to grips with this uncertainty if you wanted to ride. By focussing on what you need to do to be able to balance and then how to pedal one-by-one in order to start moving, you alienated the fear of falling. As you continued to master these basic bike riding skills, you fell a few times but it was not as fatal you had imagined. It was all a part of the bike riding process that you were so focussed on. You needed the uncertainty in order to take bike riding seriously, but you also needed to embrace it in order to trump the fear of falling. This the same case in business and in life.
I think embracing uncertainty and fear is a skill that has to be developed if you would like to achieve the level of freedom, success and happiness you desire.
Great added information. I enjoyed reading your perspective and input, it great and I believe in the long run we can overcome the fear. Great input.
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