AF287 - Do you Have What it Takes to be an Entrepreneur?

Business ain’t for everyone. Entrepreneurship requires constant growth. Growing requires change.  There are essential characteristics of successful people that have been studied over time. If you want to be successful it’s time to grab your pen and take notes. Do you demonstrate these qualities? Do you need to improve in certain areas? In this challenging episode, you will be encouraged to reach for your absolute best self. 

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I am doing the 10,000 small businesses program for Goldman and Sachs and it is fantastic. I am learning a lot, and meeting really cool people to network with. I have been in business for 20 years, but there is nothing like rubbing shoulders with other people that have been in business, that have started their own businesses, that have grown those businesses, and that are like-minded people that know exactly what you are going through.

It is interesting to me because I have read and studied a lot of different characteristics of successful people and entrepreneurs and made my own observations and see not only my own life but all of the clients and people I worked with. All these Goldman Sachs students are from all walks of life, from different kinds of businesses, everything from child care, code writing, car detailing, professional development, people creating parts for cars, and things like that.  

A successful individual may not be a business owner. If you are exchanging money for goods or services, you have a business. You are a business owner. I could say if I look at your business as not making any profit, then you have an expensive hobby. If you are doing business and making a good profit, then you are an entrepreneur. You do not have a boss. There is no one telling you what to do. There is no one laying out your schedule and paying your check.

I had a conversation with a gentleman. He said, “I go to my job, I do my thing, I get my check, I go home. I have no idea how business owners run their businesses” 

Even if you are getting a nice size check and you love what you are doing, there is an alleviation of responsibility. If something happens, if the company gets sued, that guy does not have to care.  

As an entrepreneur, there are so many things that people have no clue about. An entrepreneur takes a certain amount of character in order to handle being an entrepreneur. That certain desire that you are running your own business comes with a huge level of responsibility.

Until you can hire someone to run everything for you, you are the one emptying the trash. You are the one ordering the supplies, putting the products together, doing the listings, fixing problems, and being on the phone with Seller Central. Entrepreneurship is not for everyone, but it is for those who have these characteristics and that are willing to work on them and develop them.  

Do you have what it takes to continue being a successful entrepreneur? There are a lot of entrepreneurs out there that are not successful. What is it that you are going to do and be if you want to be a successful entrepreneur? Who do you need to be in order to step up to the plate and handle all these things?

Courage - Being bold is a quality that enables you to encounter danger and face difficulties with firmness. 

I am scared all the time, to do new things; but I do it anyway. Failure is better than regret. I would rather fall on my face or put my foot in my mouth, which happens a lot. Loose lips and sink ships? That would be me. Have to have the courage to do the unknown.

The thing that you are doing now, you once did not know how to do. Have the courage to take a risk. Business is always a risk. There is no guarantee, even in the best of the best training and even in the best of the best or proven. You have a certain turnover rate. The result I desire is stronger than the fear I have to start and move. 

Are you showing up for your own life? Are you present in your dreams, desires, hopes, and future? Are you surviving and getting by? How can you be brave today in your business? 

Some of the technologies today that we love and live on our phones are things that were once laughed at by people. Courage to not care what anyone thinks about your great idea and to spend the money and invest in yourself no matter what people are saying, no matter what you think they are saying. Someone once laughed at Uber as a crazy idea. But how many of us have Uber and Lyft on our phones and use them regularly? Courage is what it takes. 

Patience - it is not going to happen overnight. 

Friends' results that are lasting are not achieved at a fast pace. Lasting results take time to produce lasting results. We are meant for growth. We were created to constantly grow and change and adapt and evolve as humans. You are always going to be in progress. 

What are you in progress with right now? And are you being patient with yourself? Am I ever going to reach my goals? Is this ever going to be different? Am I always going to have a hard time? 

Rome was not built in a day. You are seeing someone’s end result after probably 10 years or more of working. The results you get are the cumulative efforts of your consistent actions and choices over time. You do not gain 20 pounds on Thanksgiving. You gain those pounds by eating chocolate and cookies and chips and drinking wine every single night. Small habits are the sum of our lives. Our small habits reflect who we are right now. 

Persistence - grit and firmness of purpose, making up your mind about something. 

The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Repeated behavior supported by a belief. If I practice every single day, I will improve.

Do you trust that your result will come? Or do you give up and stop putting the work in because you are not seeing it right now? 

Determination - making up your mind that this is what you are going to claim and you will take steps to get there. 

Discipline - You can not just do whatever you want and expect to see the results. You must do it. You must sacrifice. You will give something up to obtain something better.

It is part of the job to develop specific behavior through instruction and practice. I have a team to support. I have a business to run that has specific tasks that I must do in order to earn an income.  

Did you know that if you work at Starbucks and you get sick and do not show up today, that they still make and serve coffee without you? 

If I get sick and do not show up to work and do not do my job, I could potentially lose everything. The struggle is a real discipline, specific behaviors, instruction, practice, and doing.  

Commitment - you must be dedicated and devoted to learning.  

You cannot continue to improve, grow and change if you are not willing to learn and study new things. Accept your growth and decide you can grow more. There is no such thing as a rival. I was scared to death to go back to school at 42 years old.  

I am committed to learning, whether it is reading an article every morning about something that interests me or learning to do things out of my comfort zone, like bookkeeping and accounting. 

Optimism - this is not always everybody’s strong suit and not having rose-colored glasses, but a certain level of optimism to believe this will work out for you and will pay off.  It is not about sunshine and rainbow.  

It is a choice to believe that the outcome will be positive. 

Awareness of yourself and others - being aware of and empathetic, being aware of what’s around you, people around you, things around you, and the culture. 

Get off your phone and look around you. Be aware of how you carry yourself and how you treat people. 

Community - a body of people having common rights, privileges, interests, and goals. No one does anything alone. No one is self-made. 

Community is what makes people successful. No matter what, we need each other. We need different and similar perspectives. Get into a community. 

QUOTE: 

“I used the word determination because I used to always call myself stubborn. And I always realize that I am not really stubborn, I guess I am just determined.” - Kristin Ostrander

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Have questions? Email me directly at [email protected] with all your questions, concerns, or doubts. I would love to answer them all for you.

Keep on bundling…

-KO