Entrepreneur- Every Journey Begins with A Single Step
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“When you cease to dream you cease to live”
- Malcolm Forbes, Former Chairman& Editor-in-chief, Forbes Magazine
It is not easy being an entrepreneur. But it is not impossible either. Dedication and will, you need loads of it. And a never say die attitude. Why slog tirelessly day and night for someone else? Why struggle to build someone else’s dreams while letting your dreams take a backseat? When you have the god damn ideas why not implement it? There, now you are beginning to sound like an entrepreneur.
So, who essentially is an entrepreneur?
Entrepreneur is an individual who initiates to start a venture and setup a business hoping to make a profit. He essentially takes a financial risk to run the business. So, he is seen as a person who drives the economic growth of a country by introducing new ideas to the market that should eventually lead to profitability.
What are the traits of being a successful entrepreneur?
Entrepreneurs are those who have a keen vision to achieve their goals and ambitions, at any cost. They have a penchant to observe things around them and they are good listeners. They are good communicators as well as proficient in delegating tasks to others. They are risk takers too. But other than these the entrepreneurs have some main common traits which are:
1. Nothing great can be accomplished without passion-
Passion makes you reach for the stars. A successful entrepreneur is passionate about his work and he always goes the extra mile to make things work. He is ready to put in extra hours of work anytime and he sees to it that the work is accomplished.
2. Let your mind run wild with creativity-
Creativity runs in an entrepreneur’s blood. That is where he gets his ideas and that is where innovations are made. What better example than Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook? He launched his idea of Facebook from his university dormitory room and his net worth today is an estimated 64 billion US dollars. Constantly reinventing things through creativity to stay afloat in the market is necessary for an entrepreneur.
3. The most beautiful outfit is confidence-
There is no question about being a success or a failure. An entrepreneur knows no failure. What he knows confidently is success in achieving. He is confident of his ideas; he is confident of his skills.
4. Discipline is the foundation of success-
Entrepreneurs are self-taught discipliners. They know that discipline and hard work is the fulcrum for success. And they are disciplined in their line of work. No distraction is ever going to hinder their goal achievement.
5. Wake up with determination-
Entrepreneurs are so determined to implement and achieve things that they are not frustrated by failures, even repeatedly so. It is their determination and focus which is the tool for sustenance of their dreams.
6. Honesty is appreciated-
Honesty is the most prized and valued possession of an entrepreneur. Know that trust and honesty is what keeps a business running till the end. So, every entrepreneur must possess integrity and there can be no compromise on it.
The main traits of a successful entrepreneur hover around the above six characteristics. He has an innate talent of thinking out of the box.
How does one get started as an entrepreneur?
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There are around 400 million entrepreneurs worldwide with the numbers still growing and more than 50% of the small business entrepreneurs are in the age group of 50-80 years. So, it is never too late to start as an entrepreneur. Here below are tips on how to get started:
* It is now or never: Don’t wait for opportunities. There is no right time. Now is the time. If you wait for things to fall into place, you will have a lost opportunity. Get started, things will start moving by themselves.
* Build a framework: Structure your venture properly. Plan a feasible layout and work accordingly. Make a plan for resources and manpower as well as for clients and markets. Take a survey prior to laying out the plan.
* Plan your finances: How big will you start on your venture? Are you having enough resources to fund it yourself? Or will a partnership deal manage it? Will you be scouting for angel investors for funding your business? All these need to be sorted out and see to it that apart from the money you plan to invest in your business, you have kept aside enough money to meet the expenses of your family.
* Put efforts on building a network: Whether it is for selling your products or services or for getting the word out about your new venture, networking is important for the business to grow and succeed. And there should be no hesitation in building and cultivating connections or asking for help from them.
* Take the leap: When all the financing and marketing aspects have been sorted out, take the leap and start your business. Promote it through social media and the internet. Hire a great startup team. Motivate your workers and all the while keep yourself positive and believe in yourself that you will achieve success soon. Work towards it with single-minded determination and devotion.
And to stabilize your business in the market, keep innovating and keep your business evolving. Follow the latest trends in the market and try to incorporate those in your business. You need to constantly change and upgrade the business if it has to not only survive but also grow in profits. As an entrepreneur you need to constantly keep yourself updated and upgraded. There is no alternative to that.
What are the things that evade an individual from being an entrepreneur?
Entrepreneurs have to face many hurdles when starting on a new venture. That precisely is the reason why they say that being an entrepreneur is quite tough a job. That is true to some effect because many a startup have failed because of plenty of reasons. So then when an entrepreneur starts on his business he has the following fears in mind:
- Financial burden.
- Not getting investors
- Fear of failure
- Not taking sufficient risks
- Lack of creativity
- Competitions and rivalries
- Hiring people with the right skill sets
- Bureaucratic hurdles
- Rules and regulations
Conclusion
Entrepreneurs are seen as the leaders and innovators of business ideas. They are an integral part of the growing economy. They are the small people who have achieved it big in life.
“If you want to build something great, you should focus on what the change is that you want to make in the world”
- Mark Zuckerberg, Chairman& CEO, Facebook
