Of all the successful entrepreneurs in the world, you're hoping you will be a successful entrepreneur, right? Here's how to avoid initial mistakes and be your best business owner!
2 Ways To Nurture The Successful Entrepreneur Inside Yourself
If an innovative business idea has emerged urging you to give it a try, this is your inner entrepreneur seeking your approval and the green light to put things into action.
In hopes of redirecting your attention from your mundane day job, soap opera, or weekend chores your mind is hoping to draw your attention towards something that inspires you.
These are the moments that will haunt you in later life if you don't seize the urge to make your dream of starting a business a reality. The truth is a lot of people begin here, and subsequently get stuck. Reasons might be:
- Their financial circumstances
- Ongoing commitments
- Lack of time
Or their own neurosis convincing them they can't be an entrepreneur, let alone a successful entrepreneur.
Being an entrepreneur isn’t a choice, it’s:
- A constant desire to try a new idea
- To venture off on your own
- To dream big
- To aspire to build your own business empire
Or even to become a digital nomad.
It may even become an obsession. This is your gut telling you, you shouldn't be working for someone else - you have ideas - and you owe it to yourself to give them a try.
Committing to becoming an entrepreneur, however, takes more than an initial concept. It takes:
- Hard work
- Dedication
- Planning
And research to walk your idea throughout the necessary stages to fruition.
You will need to fuel your concept with all of the available opportunities to be successful and help your small business grow. But, important to consider, it may also take several failures before you get it right.
Let's delve in to our list of ideas on being and becoming a better entrepreneur, to think of and create a better business. In short, the profile of a successful entrepreneur...
Isn’t it odd how much our own fear controls us, even in the case of standing in the way of something we really want to do? This is your inner voice (and sometimes external voices) convincing you that:
- You can’t do it
- You’ll fail
- What’s the point?
- Your idea will pass
You may take comfort in knowing you are not the only one to feel this way. If you research a list of successful entrepreneurs, you will find many had initial question or doubt. With that in mind, you may convince yourself that if your business makes a profit, the fear, anxiety, and self-doubt will slip away. However, this isn't quite true.
No matter how successful you become, always expect your inner fear and criticism to be a part of your entrepreneurial journey. You just need to discover how to work WITH it, not against it.
Here are few ways to control and use your fears to your advantage.
- Improve your self talk - Changing the way you talk to yourself is a consistent task you must undertake to encourage your own self-confidence and self-esteem. Keeping a positive, professional attitude will enable you to overcome the numerous hurdles you’ll encounter in order to help you get to reach the next milestone.
- Pay attention to the fears you can control - Being aware of your self-talk will allow you to understand the cause of why you feel a certain way and what you can do to change it. For instance, fears may derive from a lack of confidence socializing at a networking event. You can tackle this fear. It is within your control to change it! Practice speaking to yourself in the mirror or pitch your business idea to family, friends or work colleagues to improve your charisma and confidence in this scenario.
- Stretch your comfort zone - The type of stressful situations you’ve coped with prior to becoming an entrepreneur shall determine the events you can easily overcome as you build your business. For example, if you’ve experienced handling strict deadlines and short turnaround periods, you may be adept in handling a heavy workload under pressure effectively. Linked to the concept above of tackling the fears you can control, means also pushing yourself to stretch your comfort zone. Become familiar with tasks you may usually shy away from because you don't have enough experience or knowledge. By constantly doing things that scare you, you are consistently stretching your increasing your scope of view, building self-confidence, and acquiring experience for tackling new problems.
- Get out of your own way - Rather than mulling over the ifs and whys of not completing a task because you’ve convinced yourself you cannot - step aside. Quieting your mind, whether through relaxation, meditation or taking a walk, can help you come back to an event or problem with a fresh perspective. Then you can re-approach without fear and anxiety.
"You have to see failure as the beginning and the middle, but never entertain it as an end." ~Jessica Herrin, CEO, and founder of Stella & Dot.
To Be A Successful Entrepreneur, Commit To Continued Learning And Keep An Open Mind
Continuously stretch your experience and improve your business intelligence. Remain open to innovative ideas and new ways of doing things. The most successful entrepreneur businesses have this in common.
- Reading
- Registering for new niche courses
- Continuing your formal education
- Listening
- Attending industry conferences and events
- Exploring the world
All will allow you to create, think outside the box, and prevent your business from becoming stagnant.
During your voyage of launching a business, possessing the following will enable your entrepreneurship to flourish, increase your business opportunities, widen your perspective and grow your intelligence:
- Technology - If you’re not in the tech sector or find technology daunting, you are missing the opportunity to grow your business, increase brand awareness, host an online 24/7 shop on your website, improve efficiency, and save money. You may pride yourself on attaining a retro approach for your business processes, However, this is unlikely to benefit you in a world that is increasingly dependent on technology. Your competitors will more than likely use the latest technology to keep ahead of an ever-changing digital sphere. By being open-minded to new technology and making an effort to discover technology that can help your business processes, your business will adapt and function better than remaining stagnant. You may wish to explore Fax API for sending paperwork online, a cloud server for storing data online, social media management (organizing your Facebook and Instagram feeds), or even a laser printing handgun for labeling new products with ease.
- Mentor - Seeking a mentor, or multiple mentors, can help you to avoid costly mistakes. You'll gain advice on business hurdles and support and inspiration to become a better business person. You also have someone to look up to. When you choose a mentor, do not limit yourself to your industry or assume that an older business person will have more wise words than a younger person. Remain open-minded to receiving advice from different business owners about a wide range of topics and varied age ranges and backgrounds. For example, a young millennial with a successful tech company may have more relevant knowledge for your tech company as opposed to a retired person. With the internet at hand, you can source a mentor for guidance online, some sites of which mentors offer their services for free.
- Education - Dedicating time and money to expand your knowledge and learn about business, people management, improving productivity, personal development, a new language to encourage international trade, and/ or the industry you are aiming to break into, could be the right tool to set you apart from your competitors. As you acquire more skills and intelligence your business has more potential to grow without restrictions. Plus, you will acquire more confidence and improve your self-esteem, while continuously challenging yourself to become a better entrepreneur. With an array of courses online, you can opt for something that will fit around your existing schedule and perhaps run even run alongside starting your new venture.
”Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.” ~Anthony J. D’Angelo
Successful Entrepreneur - In Summary
Armed with the advice above you can move forward becoming a successful entrepreneur.
By effectively managing your fears and expecting setbacks you will overcome hurdles with ease and handle stressful situations in your stride.
By striving to continuously develop your knowledge and remain open to the prospect of new ideas and incorporating these into your own business, your business will possess room to grow and remain sensitive to adapting with technological advancements to improve existing business processes.
Equally, seeking a professional mentor to consult about business practices will give you the leverage to avoid some mistakes and gain additional perspective on how to grow ad become a successful entrepreneur.
The most important thing: Stop merely thinking about your idea and take action.
A Final Inspirational Quote For The Successful Entrepreneur
“Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” ~Warren Buffett
FJ