How to Know Whether You Can Be an Entrepreneur
Can Everyone Be an Entrepreneur?
Do you think you can be an entrepreneur? Being an entrepreneur is desirable but the truth is that entrepreneurship is not for everyone. Everybody wants to become his/her own boss.
They believe that the way to achieve this is by starting their own business. Starting your own business is good. I am even one of the advocates of self-employment. But before you take the plunge or before you resign your present job, it is good that you carry out this self-assessment so as to determine whether you can actually be an entrepreneur. There has been an argument on whether entrepreneurs are made or born. My own stand is that it can be either of the two. You can be born an entrepreneur. You can also learn entrepreneurship to become an entrepreneur. It depends on your desires and determination. Nevertheless, before you decide whether you want to be an entrepreneur, there are certain characteristics you must possess. These are discussed below:
You are Passionate
You can be an entrepreneur if you are passionate. If you notice that you like doing what you love with all passion whether someone rewards you or not, I will say that you can become a successful entrepreneur. Without passion, no one can go far in entrepreneurship. The path to entrepreneurship is filled with obstacles and challenges. If you are not passionate about what you do, you can easily give up when faced with challenges. When you are faced with obstacles, it is the passion in you that will help you forge ahead. Passion is what makes you greater than any obstacles that might come on your way. I need to repeat that to be an entrepreneur, you should have passion for what you do.
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You take initiatives
If you are a self-starter who doesn’t wait till somebody stands over your shoulder before you work, this is a sign you can be an entrepreneur. If on your own, you can discover what needs to be done and do it without anybody telling you, you will be a good entrepreneur. You usually find people with this attribute volunteering their services whether in a group, organization or community.
You don’t take no for an answer
Anyone that will be an entrepreneur should be someone who doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. You should be dogged in spirit. The fact that you did not get something right does not mean you cannot be right. After spending number of hours in a project and at the end, it is possible it didn’t turn out the way you expected. If you are the type that goes back to start a process over again until you get it; you will be a successful entrepreneur. You should be like Thomas Edison who failed several times when inventing bulb. Instead of giving up to failure, he said; “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work”.
You possess people skill
Every entrepreneur needs people skill to succeed. Why did I mention this last? Any skill can be learnt. If you know you are an entrepreneur by nature, you can learn skills that will make you succeed.
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You are very hardworking
In entrepreneurship, there is no substitute to hardworking. Have you ever seen any successful entrepreneur who is not hardworking? You can only complain about their excessive hardworking style. You can’t be an entrepreneur if you are not hardworking. Besides, you will be multi-tasking. In many occasions, you see an entrepreneur performing different roles.
‘Why not me’ mentality
Have you ever seen something great and awesome and said to yourself ‘why not me?’? Any person that will be an entrepreneur should possess “I can do’ attitude. If you are not intimidated by someone’s achievement but instead, you say to yourself ‘if he can do it. I can do it too’ you will be a good entrepreneur. Let me share this personal experience with you. I know I like writing. I am not saying that I am a great writer. I just like writing. This made me to apply to an organization for me to become a columinst (not for money). They turned me down severally. I just summoned this courage and said to myself, ‘if nobody engages me, why can’t I engage myself?’. This gave birth to this blog. I can say that this is even more fulfilling for me. I am happy that someone somewhere else is reading this article, even though I may not know them. What a joy?
You like doing the right thing
Entrepreneurs don’t mind going against the popular opinion. They believe in doing the right thing regardless of any negative comments. It means you need to have inner strength to withstand opposition. Without this, you may not qualify to be an entrepreneur. What would you say to someone who is just promoted to a lofty position in an organization; and then resigned his appointment to start a small business? Definitely, you will say the person is crazy. The truth is that, you need to be called ‘crazy’ first before people can later admit that you are truly an entrepreneur. Please, note that I am not saying you should go and resign your appointment. Taking such step requires adequate planning and well calculated approach.
Your definition of success
How do you define success? Is making money your own definition of success? Entrepreneurship is much more than that. If you rank fulfilment, freedom and seeing other people succeed above money, you can be an entrepreneur. Everything is not measured in term of money. If you have money and still, your inner man seems not fulfilled, it can be an indication you can be an entrepreneur.
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