A recent survey found that more than 70% of people want to be some sort of entrepreneur. Becoming an entrepreneur is a sought after job for many reasons, including pride, purpose and possibly money. Starting and running your own business on a day to day basis is no easy task, but it is one that is truly worth the effort.
So why should you consider becoming an entrepreneur?
There are many reasons why you should consider taking that giant step and creating your own business. Here are just a few of them:
1. Autonomy- running your own business allows you to be in charge of your own destiny. It also helps you to avoid getting stuck in the “daily grind” or the “rat race”. For many people running their own business lets them have a career that is self-sustaining.
2. Opportunity- Being an entrepreneur opens up a whole new world of opportunity for you. You will have the opportunity to do anything that you want in life. This means you can choose to spend your life changing the world for the better, or you can live the type of life you want. Few other career choices can offer this kind of opportunity.
3. Impact- Many people who work for other companies truly want to work hard and help that company to succeed, but few are actually able to have such an impact. When you run your own business everything you do will directly impact the company, which can be very rewarding.
4. Freedom- this is the answer most people will give if you ask them why they want to become an entrepreneur. For many people the idea of doing what they want and how they want to do is the most compelling reason to take the risk and run their own business. It is true- having freedom in life and career does make a huge
difference!
5. Responsibility- when you run your own business you have the ability to be responsible to society and operate your business the way that you feel it should be run. This is especially true if you have the desire to help others or the world in general. If you work for someone else you may not be able to improve the world the way you want to, but if you are the boss you can.
6. Being your Own Boss- this is another common answer for why many people want to become entrepreneurs. If you are your own boss you can do things your way. You can make your own decisions, take your own risks and decide your own fate.
7. Time and Family- depending on your specific goals in life, becoming an entrepreneur could give you the freedom of time and allow you to spend more of it with your family.
8. Creating a Legacy- if the idea of forging a lasting legacy is important to you then few other careers give you the opportunity to do so like operating your own business.
9. Accomplishment- if you have specific goals that you would like to accomplish in your life running your own business could help you to do so.
10. Control- for a lot of business owners the sense of security that comes with the ability to control your own work is a major reason to become an entrepreneur.
What does it take to become an entrepreneur?
There are plenty of benefits of being an entrepreneur, but it is certainly no easy task to start your own business. Successful entrepreneurs, that is to say those who are able to accomplish their goals, earn a successful living through their business and enjoy the many benefits of entrepreneurship, all have specific traits. If you are considering taking the leap and following your entrepreneurship dreams then you will want to understand what these traits are so that you can instill the same traits in yourself. This will help ensure that you are able to achieve your dreams.
Successful Entrepreneurs:
- Have passion and a lot of it
- Are tenacious
- Able to manage their fear of the unknown
- Have a grand vision
- Believe in themselves
- Are extremely flexible
- Are able to defy conventional wisdom
- Are willing to take risks in life
If you have these traits, or if you can teach yourself how to develop these traits within yourself, then your likelihood of becoming a successful entrepreneur will increase. In addition to these personality traits, all successful entrepreneurs possess a certain amount of skills.
Some Skills That Will Help You to Become a Successful Entrepreneur Include:
Focus- running your own business requires dealing with any number of factors on any given day. Successful business owners are able to pinpoint their focus onto accomplishing specific tasks and goals at specific times.
Resilience- it is a skill to be able to weather the various ups and downs of business without allowing them to destroy your focus. Truly successful entrepreneurs are able to continue traveling down the path of success even when the future looks bleak.
Management Skills- a successful company requires the right people and successful business owners need to know how to properly manage these people.
Long Term Vision- while it is easy to focus on what the company needs to do in the next several days or weeks to be successful, truly exceptional entrepreneurs (the ones who see real success in their business ventures) are able to plan years ahead of time. Salesmanship- regardless of what type of company you are running, you need to be able to sell your vision to others in order to become successful. Entrepreneurs need to have great salesmanship skills whether they want to or not.
Self-reliance- this is one of the most important skills any entrepreneur can possess. It is vital for a business owner to trust that they can depend on themselves.
Self-reflection– the ability to pause, reflect and learn is a very valuable skill for the business owner. Entrepreneurs must be able to learn from their mistakes and reflect upon what they have learned in life.
Learning- the skill of earning knowledge is one that every successful business owner has. It is also a skill that they never stop developing.
To be successful in your entrepreneurial dreams you have to be able to learn from others. The best way to learn the skills of a successful business owner is to study the skills of successful entrepreneurs and then to grow those skills in yourself.