You Have To Truly Desire Success
Sure, there’s a lot of ways to be in business for yourself. There’s a bunch of alternative ways to earn a living without being employed by another person, however there’s really only one way to be a entrepreneur. That is to put everything on the table and go for it everyday.
In writing biographies on many of the entrepreneurs from the 20th and 21st centuries, I have found that there are only a few of them that had anything when they started out in life. It had been the rare exception that a really successful entrepreneur had any financial support to help them get going.
In some respects, I feel the lack of cash and wealth might have actually been a bonus when these noble business leaders made themselves into entrepreneur superstars. They were not terrified of losing something they did not previously have. At the end of the day, the willingness to risk all for the vision is just not a simple one that most people are ready to swallow.
But this is one of the genuine tests of a true entrepreneur. How bad do you really want it. How much do you aspire to be an entrepreneur. Because if you are merely willing to dip your toes in to see how the water is, you’ll probably never jump in the pool. The success stories are about the women and men who looked at the water, did not ask what the temperature was, and just jumped in the deep end and started to swim for their lives.
You Have To Understand What You are Doing
I do need to explain one thing. While there isn’t a question you have to be 100% committed to your decision to go ahead. It also helps to take some time to know what you are doing first. Don’t expect to know everything before you get started. That kind of procrastination will take you down hard and fast.
But you should be smart about your dive in the pool. If the water is only a few inches deep and you dive in head first there’s no question you’re gonna get hurt. So, be sure you know what you’re getting yourself in to. Make a plan, then learn about your market and your competition. Recognize the requirements and wants of your prospective customers. Then, last, but not least, work out a flexible and executable model that will give you the best chance at success.
Don’t Be Afraid Of Mistakes
No matter how good your plan is, there are going to be bumps in the road. You are likely to have to adapt and correct all the time. That’ s what being an entrepreneur is all about. If you believed that once you put together your slick plan, everything was all going to fall into place, you might be in for a rude awakening.
I have seen some very sharp people, with years of experience and a load of success’s under their belt, get hit with surprise after surprise. But, the incredible thing is, that no matter how rough the situation was, I never saw them fold. That is why they were a success.
Great ideas come and go. Sadly, they’re going away leaving behind a long list of failures. Many of those failures were just inches away from success, if they only would have hung in there and been prepared to challenge the next obstacle. So take the risks, make the mistakes, but keep moving forward.