<< Small Business America – Know Your Entrepreneurial Strengths >>
What does an entrepreneur look like? Can you spot one on the street? What do you think of when you picture an entrepreneur or a small business owner?
Perhaps they are the quintessential tech geek.
Or maybe they are the globetrotting Maverick.
You may think of the youthful (or perhaps not so youthful) visionary.
But the truth is these are the exceptions…not the rule. Most entrepreneurs look, well…just like you and me. Joe and Jane Average. They are not a certain age, sex, or race. They are typically not smarter, wealthier, luckier or holier than the rest. They just decided to take a leap of faith in to small business ownership.
However a quick Google search will bring up another image. Myriads of sites and blog posts propose a litmus test for characteristics of people who are entrepreneurial including:
Characteristics
◦ Risk Taker
◦ Follow Their Gut
◦ Independent
◦ Problem Solvers
◦ Big Picture Thinkers
◦ Competitive
◦ Dreamer
◦ Driven / Tenacious
In my experience the last one is the only one that counts. You have to be driven. I have meet with over 1,000 entrepreneurs in the last decade and I can tell within 15 minutes of meeting if a person is going to go into business. I can tell because they look me in the eye and say: “I don’t care what you say. I don’t care what you think. I don’t care if I have good credit or money or resources…I AM GOING TO START THIS BUSINESS!”
Now, I can’t claim to know who will be successful in business. Nobody can. If they could pick successful ideas on a lark why would they waste their time in anything bust picking single stocks in the lottery we can an efficient stock market.
You Have To Ask Yourself…Do You Like These Words?
We all like and aspire to the words above in black but rarely does an entrepreneur think about the words in red. That’s what makes entrepreneurs special. According to the SBA office of Advocacy about 1 in 12 adults in the United States are actively involved in either starting or owning a business. On the flip side that means that about 11 out of 12 people are probably not very entrepreneurial and therefore are probably pretty risk adverse. Herein lies the problem. When you go to tell people about your new business idea 90%+ are not going to have the mental capacity, risk acceptance or vision to see the opportunity…to see what you see.
When Twitter fist came out I thought it was the bane of our social existence. After all, what can you possibly say with 140 characters. Until the river in my city filled it’s banks and Twitter became an invaluable communication tool to know where to go to sandbag to save our town, not to mention a tool to topple governments by connecting the people. Talk about short sighted. And, this was with years of experience talking to thousands of entrepreneurs about new ideas for infinite markets.
So who knows if you are an capital “E” Entrepreneur…the truth is only you know. The truth is that most entrepreneurs are made not born. While you may not be a risk taker you can become one by taking a small risk, realizing that it’s not so bad and then taking ever bigger risks on ever better business opportunities. So go out there are live your dreams of starting your company and getting your piece of the small business pie.
Bonus Material
Starting a business isn’t a decision to make overnight. You need to take a few weeks to think about whether or not you really want to start a business. Here are questions to ask yourself before starting a business.
1. What are you passionate about?
2. What tasks do you not like to do?
3. What do you do on your day off?
4. How well do you plan and organize?
5. What skills do other people compliment you on?
6. Do you have the physical & emotional stamina to run a business?
7. What have you always wanted to try but never had the time?
8. Are you determined to be successful in business?
9. Can you afford to advertise your business all year?
10. How good are you at making decisions under pressure?
11. How well do you get along with different personalities?
12. Are you able to hire an employee or get a helper every once in a while?
13. Are you willing to spend hours working late and early in the morning each day?
14. Can you save enough money in advance to pay for six months of business expenses?
15. Are you ready to be the receptionist, salesperson, bookkeeper and the product guru?
16. Do you and your loved ones understand how business ownership will affect your family life?
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