Should I Be An Entrepreneur – Find Out the Answer

Some of your friends are doing it. People who do entrepreneurship are on the front pages and web almost every day. Even President Obama is talking about it. So, you may also think – Should I be an entrepreneur?

The idea of working from a funky coworking space seems better than grinding out the 9-to-5. Meanwhile, computer programming has rebranded as “coding.” It is now endorsed by supermodels.

The media also fans the flames of entrepreneurship by announcing news of startup valuations that rival some nations’ GDPs. Social media feeds of entrepreneurs often show glamorous lives.

But entrepreneurship is not for everyone. Entrepreneurs are more anxious than others. They experience more day-to-day stress.

It often takes years of hard work and no recognition to become successful. Many entrepreneurs fail for other reasons. This includes running out of money.

Over 50% of all businesses fail after five years in the United States. Overall, 90% of startups fail.

40% of startup failures are due to a bad fit, followed closely by 38% from lack of time and involvement.

You may fail three times in a row. But that fourth time in entrepreneurship could be your brilliant success.

Suppose multiple failures without any guarantee of success scares you. In that case, it is probably a sign you are not cut out to be an entrepreneur.

In this blog, we will show you the traits you should consider to be an entrepreneur.

Some Tests and Indicators to Evaluate Whether Or Not Be An Entrepreneur.

You enjoy your comfort zone

Entrepreneurs do not enjoy the same day every day. One day you could be by yourself all day with your work. The next day you could be interviewing people or fielding sales calls.

If you are an introvert, the first option seems a bit more appealing. But you need to put yourself out there. Be okay with being uncomfortable.

It may sound cheesy. You may not recall the last time you took a risk. Then, maybe entrepreneurship is not for you.

You think to be an entrepreneur is a path to quick money

I cannot imagine a slower way to make money than being an entrepreneur. You could work for years without any money.

It takes a lot of time to make a profit from your startup. You work more than an eight-hour day. It leaves little time for other income-generating opportunities.

While it is possible to start a blog or business that generates money relatively quickly, most do not generate anything for a year or more.

It would help if you started your business with the mindset that you will still be working on it five years from now.

Nothing is guaranteed in the future. You cannot treat your business like a get-rich-quick scheme. It just will not work.

You are a procrastinator

If you cannot manage your time effectively, you are bound to fail as an entrepreneur.

When you work for yourself, no boss is looking over your shoulder or monitoring your time card to make sure you are working hard.

You have to work hard at your own business. If not, why are you even doing it?

If you are working hard but feeling like you are not getting anywhere, you need to take a step back and prioritize your tasks.

Your tasks can only fall into these categories.

Urgent and important

These are things that cannot wait. It may be a quote for a new client or hitting a publication deadline for your blog. You need to make sure it happens.

Important but not urgent

This is an important task, but the world will not end if you do not do it right now.

That could be returning some regular emails or updating your social media accounts.

Urgent and not important

This could be renewing your business license or getting new office supplies.

You can delegate these tasks.

Not urgent and not important

Do not even waste your time with these tasks! Please get rid of them.

It could be about exploring a new business idea. It does not mean it is a bad thing to do, but it will not help your current business.

Leave it on the back burner. Do it when you have the proper time.

Research has proven that multitasking is not practical.

People’s lack of focus costs the global economy an estimated $450 billion annually!

Most people get distracted after spending just over a minute on a task.

Even more surprisingly, it can take more than 25 minutes to get back on track with their work after a distraction.

Multitasking has a bad effect on the brain. Multitasking can lower your IQ by 15 points! That is a temporary effect but still shocking.

People who multitask also take an average of 50% longer to complete a task and make 50% more errors than people who focus on only one task at a time.

This should be enough impetus to give your work your full attention.

You cannot create a marketing strategy

This is a tough one. Learning marketing takes a long time. But when you are starting, you need to wear all the hats.

You are the CEO, the marketing department, and the janitor all rolled into one.

Sounds fun, right?

You can have a truly fantastic product, but no one will ever know about it without the proper marketing.

It would help if you spent time investing in learning how to market your business.

Here are the main things you need to include in your strategy.

A customer persona

How will you know what product to build or how to sell it if you do not know whom you are selling to?

Think about your ideal customer. This is the person you are creating this product or service for.

Write down everything you know about them.

Your customer persona should include various details. It should have their age, salary, pain points, and how your product helps them.

Your value proposition

This is the reason people buy your product or service. It is what makes you unique, innovative, and worth the money they are spending.

A good value proposition includes the key benefit of your product in a way that is not pushy.

A good example is Uber. They focus on being the “easiest way around.”

Uber explains how it works in one sentence. “One tap and a car comes directly to you.”

They never say that public transit is horrible. They just focus on explaining the service clearly. The firm shows how it seamlessly fits in with your day.

I am a big fan of Uber. I use it to get around whenever I am traveling instead of renting my car.

Your marketing and sales goals

You may not know precisely how to market your product right now, but do you know where you are headed?

Having clear goals for your marketing strategy is very important. It is helpful for the long-term success of your company.

Writing down your goals makes you 50% more likely to reach them.

If you are creating a new software product, your goal is probably to get as many users as possible.

To be an entrepreneur, it would help if you got specific with your goals.

How many users do you want this quarter? Next quarter? By the end of the year?

Break it all down. Track your progress regularly.

You cannot think of any problems to solve

Think about your daily life. Can you think of something that would make your life easier?

Your idea maybe an automated dispenser for those thin produce bags. You could also invent a store app that includes a map of all the shopping aisles.

But in all seriousness, if you cannot think of even one small thing to improve your life, how will you improve others’ lives?

Being an entrepreneur means coming up with creative solutions to problems and putting something new into the world.

Your idea could come from years of experience. It can also come out of the blue one day. But you need to have an idea.

Most startup founders came up with their ideas. They worked in their industries for a while. They saw the problems first-hand.

At 19%, a close second is founders who invented something they wanted to see in the world.

In third place, at 11%, are founders whose ideas are copies of other businesses but do something different or better than they do.

You need to figure out how to get users. This is regardless of your business category. Find out the problems that people have. Solve it.

If you cannot do that, you are not an entrepreneur.

You make many plans but do not take action

Many people think making a business plan means they are starting a business.

I am afraid that is not right.

I could plan out my meals for the week, but will I be eating them unless I actually cook them? Nope!

Planning means nothing without action.

Many people are afraid of failing in a business. Almost 40% of people considering entrepreneurship are scared of failing. This was found in a recent study in the European Union.

Financial considerations are understandable. Many entrepreneurs go broke before they ever become successful, which was true for me.

Surprisingly, a “fear of losing personal freedom” also made the list of people’s top entrepreneurship fears.

I hate to break it to you, but an entrepreneur’s life is not a forgiving one.

In the early stages of building your business, you are especially pressed for time. You will not be able to spend as much time with family and friends as you would like.

You might feel like everything you are doing is for your business because it probably is.

Being an entrepreneur is not for the faint of heart, and it is not for people who are afraid to fail.

Make plans to start your business. Take daily action to get there.

Maybe you need to raise finance for a store.

While you are doing that, you can still apply for business licenses, research what products you will carry, and set up relationships with suppliers.

You can always push your business forward through some tasks. If all you are doing is making a to-do list instead, those items will never get done.

You get along with everyone

Being an entrepreneur does not make you Mr. Popular.

From hiring and firing staff to working with business partners, you need to know when to fight for your ideas when others disagree.

According to research, antisocial teenagers were more likely to become entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurs have been found to have much stronger persuasive abilities than the average person.

Part of being persuasive is convincing other people you are right when they think you are wrong.

If you are the type of person who cannot stand confrontation, being an entrepreneur is not for you.

I am not saying you need to yell at people or use intimidation to get your way. Those are childish tactics that influential leaders do not use.

You cannot be so concerned about if your employees like you or not that you are unwilling to deliver harsh feedback or do complex jobs, like having to let someone go.

82% of people do not trust business leaders to tell them the truth.

That is crazy!

A good leader will always tell their employees the truth even if it is not good news.

It is your job to captain the ship. Ensure your employees feel like they have lifeboats if trouble arises in the company.

You have to make tough decisions and act quickly. Not everyone will like you. But people respect leaders who tell the truth.

Reasons to Be An Entrepreneur

The opportunity to control your destiny.

When you work a 9-to-5, you are at the mercy of your boss and the company you work for. They can decide to hire or fire you. They decide how you spend your working day. What happens there affects you beyond that time.

You have little control. In exchange, they give you a paycheck. The problem is today’s economy. Gone are the days of working at a firm all your life and retiring with a pension. 

These days entrepreneurship is the new pension plan. Your income is too significant to leave in the hands of someone else.

Freedom to spend your time doing what is important to you.

Life is short and time is the one thing we will never get back. This makes time one of your most valuable resources, and you should treat it accordingly. Entrepreneurship helps you to balance your time.

You can decide to forgo any work for a certain day if other responsibilities arise. You do not have that kind of flexibility at a job.

Your work should fit into your life. It should not be the other way around. The life part has to come first.

Be an entrepreneur for unlimited earning possibilities.

Your earning potential is set by the job. You can get raises and promotions. But those are the exception, not the rule.

Your earning potential is capped. This is true no matter how long you stay at that job.

You could earn nothing at your business. However, those who jump into entrepreneurship are self-motivated. They want to build a profitable business. 

Entrepreneurs are not happy with the status quo and continue to grow their business and income. There are no gatekeepers to keep your income regulated in entrepreneurship.

Be an entrepreneur for location independence.

Entrepreneurship helps you to create something that supports you no matter where you are in the world. There are 2.5 billion people online every day.

This means you could have an unlimited customer base. Also, you can build a location-independent, online business.

You do not have to be tied down to any one location. You can have the freedom to be where you want.

Also, different environments can foster innovation and creativity. You just cannot beat that.

The chance to leave a lasting legacy.

Your business can carry on to your family. It starts as a quest for freedom. But it can end as something that’s in your family for generations.

A firm such as Ford has been passed down through the generations. 

The passion behind your business will impact lives for years and generations. You can leave your children something you are proud of.

Conclusion

Entrepreneurship is not for everyone. There is great toil that goes into starting and growing your own business. It is enough to scare most people away.

You need to make friends with failure. Learn how to live outside your comfort zone.

You also need to take action on your ideas. You have to manage your time efficiently.

Starting a business can be lonely at first. You might have a co-founder. But it will still feel like the two of you against the world.

If you are lucky to have a partner who has the same dedication as you, it can help make the startup journey easier.

If you are going it alone, it is hard to remain positive and push through roadblocks.

You will still fail at some point even if you do persevere. It is inevitable for entrepreneurs.

You have to pick yourself back up. You have to learn from the failure and keep going. Not everyone can do that.

If they could, everyone would be an entrepreneur.