ARE YOU AN ENTREPRENEUR?
Find out once and for all if you really are meant for this path in life.
People think that if they start a business, that instantly makes them an entrepreneur. But there is a big difference between being an entrepreneur and being entrepreneurial. And a true entrepreneur is not made, he or she is born.
So are you truly an entrepreneur? Do you simply want to run a mediocre business or do you want to own something that will have a huge impact on society? Are you content sitting in the background or do you want to be at the top, at the forefront of all the action? If you love taking risks – calculated risks – refuse to be told what to do, prefer to see things change rather than leave them as they are, then you are the true definition of an entrepreneur. That means you live to create a startup, pull together a team of talented people, find product-market fit and blow it up. And for you, it's not a one-time thing. You are the keeper of a vision, and that vision is to build, scale and sell companies in a way that will accrue you enormous wealth over time, without having to be present at every moment to oversee their growth.
FAMOUS ENTREPRENEURS
Sara Blakely, founder, Spanx
Steve Wynn, luxury casino and hotel owner
Andrew Carnegie, steel tycoon
YOUR X-FACTOR
You have enormous risk tolerance. This means that you can personally weather the economic and emotional ups and downs of the business and are willing to take significant personal risk. This is rare, as many people are risk-averse, and that prevents them from playing full out. But you thrive in high-stakes conditions – it's where you find the best opportunities to shine. And even though losing is always a possibility, you're confident and clever enough to place all bets on your ability to succeed.
YOUR DANGER ZONE
You want to create, you want to be a thought leader, but the end goal is always to turn a profit. And when you are not meeting your monetary goals, you feel compelled to pivot your plan, or, sometimes, move on to another idea entirely. And one of the biggest problems with this is that you risk abandoning your mission earlier than you should.
Another risk you run being an Entrepreneur is a direct result, ironically, of the risk you take. There is always the chance that your idea does not gain the traction that you had planned, which can put you back at square one, which can take a toll mentally, and, of course, financially.
WHERE TO FOCUS
Surround yourself with the Managers and Artists that will help you take your business to the top. You must attract and effectively engage a Manager for each and every one of your businesses. Without one, you cannot create and build systems that will consistently empower the Artists to make the product or service that is the heart and soul of the company. And you must find Managers and Artists that you innately trust, because you are not going to be there to make sure the business is being run in an honest way or that the product or service is top-notch. It's not in your nature to micromanage or produce, so you better be sure that the people who are doing so are in alignment with your values and vision. The most important thing - start now - don't wait for the 'perfect' time, there isn't a such thing as the 'perfect' time.