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Entrepreneur – Man or Machine?

BY: Andrew0 COMMENTS CATEGORY: Personal Development
In light of recent worldwide events such as 9/11 and the terrorist events in London, Paris, Brussels and recently in Las Vegas, more and more people are taking steps to improve the quality of their lives. 

One such step is to get away from the corporate world and embark on a new journey as an entrepreneur.

In fact, according to the Pew Research Center, three-in-ten U.S. jobs are held by the self-employed and the workers they hire.  That’s 44 million jobs or 30% of the national workforce.

The benefit of this is that you can be your own boss, put your ideas into action, potentially earn more and have control over your time. 

Factors such as the lack of job security and economic uncertainty also prompt individuals to take the plunge. 

What Does It Take?

So what does it take to be an entrepreneur? 

Are you born with it, or can it be taught? 

In my opinion the greatest determinant of the success of an entrepreneur is their character and their skills. 

To be an entrepreneur you have to be ambitious, you have to want to achieve, and you have to want to be successful.  You are going to make a poor start if there is no powerful driving force.

Stating your own business isn’t easy; expect several years of really hard work, it’s extremely challenging and stressful. 

It won’t feel it at the time, but when you look back you might even say it was fun. 

One word of caution, however difficult you think it will be, expect it to be a lot worse. 

The volatility and uncertainty of starting your own business is the buzz and when the point of financial stability is achieved, nothing beats that sense of achievement.

What Is It You Want?

I always consider what I hope to achieve out of every venture I get involved in. 

This would cover money or wealth, working hours, risks (if I invest in it), stress, independence, achievement, power and so on. 

I then match this to the particular project in hand and decide whether it fits the bill.

Will Your Business Survive?

Did you know that half of all businesses never survive longer than 5 years? 

You may just be unlucky; failure can be through no fault of the entrepreneur. 

Should this ever happen to you, you need to assess the situation, be honest to yourself about the contributory factors and move on. Learning from your experience is crucial as nobody gets it right first time, or even every time.

Can You Do It?  Yes You Can!

A good entrepreneur must contain all the skills possessed by a salesman, an accountant, an inventor – and then some.  But none of this even matters if you have this one skill…

This can be encompassed in one word – passion. 

Without it, you haven’t got any chance of achieving anything remarkable. 

It’s not to say that you can’t make a profit without passion, but extraordinary results comes only through extraordinary drive and determination.

To improve your chances of success there are three elements that you should consider:

  1. Identify your strengths and weaknesses and try to overcome any shortcomings.

  2. Ensure that the market has the necessary growth potential for your idea to work.

  3. There is enough Cash to cover your needs and there is also a secondary source of cash available should growth be slower than expected.

  4. As with all factors in life, planning is the key, ‘if you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail.’

I wish you all the best of luck in your endeavors, if these steps are followed you stand a great chance of success!

Posted in Personal Development