Everyone wants to be an entrepreneur! But why? What is promised with this lifestyle that other lifestyles do not give you? The word entrepreneur comes from the French word entreprendre which means to undertake. An entrepreneur is enterprising, or in other words, undertaking a bold or complex project. A modern-day definition of the word entrepreneur is: a person who sets up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit. Many of us in this generation like the idea of owning a business, but how aligned are our ideas of what reality really reveals? In this article I will at least talk about some characteristics of entrepreneurship that you should be aware of:

 

Commit to a cause

If you guys know me, you know I love banging out this phrase. It’s because it is true. Commitment is a quality of discipline that aligns you with a focus. When you train your heart and mind to stick to one thing, then you are able to go further than you previously imagined. Sometimes telling yourself you will arrive is enough for you to get a result. Check out this article for more information!

Stay Creative

“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere” – Albert Einstein. Albert has a point! Creativity is the ability to use your faculties to discover solutions to a problem in a unique way. In the book by Daniel H Pink – A whole new mind, he states that there are 5 ways to be more creative and they are:

• Association
• Questioning
• Observing
• Networking
• Experimenting

If you can increase and direct your activities towards these 5 in some way, you’re getting far. Just think, everything around you was once imagined, and using creativity has been brought to fruition.

Learn your industry

Never call yourself a serious entrepreneur if you have no idea about your industry. Brian Tracy in his book, 21 success secrets of self-made millionaires, states that one should aim to be in the top 1 – 10% of leaders in their industry. That requires you to know your stuff really well. Take the required qualifications, go to the events and seminars that will educate you, and really use all your will to become the best at what you do. An entrepreneur is not only an innovator, they also want to be the very best!

Master key skills

Will Smith couldn’t have said it better when he said “Talent is what you have naturally. Skill is only developed by hours and hours and hours from beating on your craft.” Look where he is. You need to be obsessed, nothing else. Do you think Grant Cardone wrote the book Be Obsessed or be Average for banter?! No! Block out and schedule the time to develop the skills necessary to execute your business well. There is a plethora of information out there, however, you need to sieve through the crap and find the resources that will truly help you become special. This can be found in courses, webinars, online material, books, audios, and people. Whatever you do, do it well.

Create a plan, strategy and system

I’m going to tell you now, stop doing things on a whim, it can only take you so far. When you have a logical plan to follow, a strategy that positions you for success, and a system built around an environment that allows you to focus and work, why wouldn’t you become successful? This isn’t advanced quantum mechanics, this is simply common sense that isn’t applied. You do know most of your failure is due to the fact that you don’t take a plan seriously. Pick a day like Sunday just to plan your week and your activities. It makes a huge difference! When I started to plan my content, I felt like I had additional time throughout the week. Get serious or get lost!

Be good with numbers

People say that you don’t need to be good with numbers in order to go far. Even though this may be true, it pays a lot at the beginning to know how to be good with numbers. Of course throughout your time as an entrepreneur employing someone like an accountant is a wise move, especially if a software doesn’t serve it’s purpose as well anymore, but be in the know. Get good at creating theoretical models that create scenarios that inform how much money you could make in a situation, or the amount of inventory you may need. This whole thing is a numbers game. Let me simplify it for you:

High demand + Opportunity = Money

High demand, in this case, is your audience, or the size and quality of your market. Opportunity could be a low barrier to entry, or a chance to improve a product or service in such a way that increases your commercial activity. Follow the numbers, make them your best friend, and attack your goals.

Take educated risk

If you learn your industry and you have a plan, are you really taking a risk? It is only a risk if it is purely not based on any comparative model. Yes, there is a risk that you may not get the result that you want, but ask yourself is a result worth enough for you to know what to do next? That should be the question. Your lack of action is really based on fear. Stay educated, stay in the know, and motivate yourself in such a way to take a leap!

Learn to be rational

In addition, it is also important to add that it pays to be experienced and savvy when it comes to business in general, especially in your industry. There is no room for emotional decision making. Of course, you can express emotion, but you cannot be frantic with what you do. You need to be methodical, due-diligent and firm in your decision making. This means that your emotional intelligence in general needs to be great. Take control of your negative emotions, and think about what your overall aims are.

Form great networks

Any successful entrepreneur usually has a very big network. If you do not get good at marketing yourself, you won’t be successful. Your business is dependant on people. The more and more you get involved in business, the more you realise that this is a hard and solid fact. Attend periodical events and stick to them in order to become known in that circle. Become part of the trade associations and online platforms where you can engage and share knowledge with others. If you don’t have one already, develop business cards with your product, services or brand.

Develop a brand with purpose

Branding is key! It is both the face and soul of your business. This is about how you edify the “Why” behind your business and express it in a way that communicates that message to your audience. Start this as early as possible if you can. Remeber it is not just a logo and a strong colour scheme, it is also you. Everything you do must edify this brand, and support the wider vision of the business. In simple terms, it is the psychology of your business implemented in a neat and clean way.

Become a marketing god

Marketing initially starts with market research. The honest truth is, marketing never stops. It is the ability to effectively promote your products and services in such a way to bring in business. You could produce the best products in the world but if your marketing is not good how are you going to sell them? Have you ever noticed that you need a market in order to market? In other words, if you have no sizeable audience to market to, you’re wasting your time. The reason why leaders and famous people make money fast when they release a new product is because they have a huge market to market to. Don’t be delusional, grow your audience and develop a know, like and trust relationship.

And there you have it, 11 things that help you define entrepreneurship. Hopefully, this will give you a better idea of what entrepreneurship entails and how you can better get involved. Re-read these 11 points again, and apply them to your life.

Why not check out 100 other ways to stay motivated via this link. I hope you have found value in this article, especially as they are not the most conventional ways the common person employs. Follow through with these ideas properly and I promise, you will be more motivated to take action!

To further develop your understanding of these principles check out my self-published book Understand Reach Expand: 15 Super Effective ways to Manage your Mind out now on Amazon via Kindle and Paperback.

If you want more check out my FREE video series, 5 Models for Success Mastery!