Business Entrepreneurship

Maybe you have wondered how successful entrepreneurs got that entrepreneurial killer instinct. They see opportunities and capitalize on them. Are those people born with it or is it a skill that can be learned?

There are probably some people where it runs in their veins, but I know that I am not like that. My shift from working for large coporations to entrepreneurship has been a bumpy ride. However, I am sure that, as long as you learn from your mistakes and you have a lot of desire to start a business of your own, you can make a success of owning and running a business.

However, if entrepreneurship does not run naturally in your veins, then you will have to spend more time learning the nature and principles of owning a business. During that learning process you will of course make mistakes, but that in itself is not a bad thing. If you do not make mistakes you will never learn.

For those of us that have not been born with that natural entrepreneurial instinct, here are some things you need to do or avoid to be a successful small business owner:

Know your Strengths and Weaknesses.

“Our strength is often composed of the weakness we’re damned if we’re going to show.” Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic’s Notebook, 1966

Knowing our limitations and acknowledging them is a real strength. It is only when we ignore and hide our weaknesses that we get into trouble. We are who we are and our strength and weaknesses are part of our makeup and makes us unique as a person. That special trait often gives us an advantage if we apply it to our business ventures. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses also will guarantee that you ask for help when your skills and experience do not match those needed to complete a task successfully. Not asking for help at the right time can really mess things up. 

Do Not Make Rush Decisions.

“One’s action ought to come out of an achieved stillness; not to be a mere rushing on.”  D.H. Lawrence

When an opportunity presents itself, successful entrepreneurs will not rush into it. They are not impulsive and will take the time to look at an opportunity to make sure it will produce maximum benefit for minimum effort and resources and they decide if the opportunity fits with their goals and objectives. If it does not meet their criteria they will let it go because they know other opportunities will come along that are a better fit and a better use of their time and resources.

Set Goals and Objectives.

“If you don’t know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else.”  Lawrence J. Peter

An entrepreneur can significantly increase the chances of success by setting clear goals and objectives and by working in a focussed way to achieve those goals. The art of setting goals can be learned and become a very powerful tool in your business enterprise. Successful entrepreneurs habitually start on a new project or business venture by setting goals and timelines. This will bring focus to what they do and increase their efficiency. They set short both term and longer term goals and are not afraid to change them if they feel that they need to be rewritten due to changing circumstances.

Strive for Excellence.

“Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing.” Harriet Braiker

The successful business owner strives for excellence. He wants the best for his customers, employees and other stakeholders in his business, but he knows how to avoid falling into the trap of wanting everything to be perfect. There needs to be a balance between what is attainable and what is affordable. They are in business to make money and know when a product or service meets customer expectations and

Keep a Balance.

We find our energies are actually cramped when we are overanxious to succeed. Michel de Montaigne

The successful business owner knows how to strike a balance between the business and his personal life. She or he is able to focus and work hard when required, but also knows when to take time off and relax and not think about work. To maintain that balance is crucial for attaining longevity in both personal and business life.

So the bottom line is that you can be successful as entrepreneur, even if you do not have it in your veins. Most things you can learn, but sometimes that means learning the hard way. However, if you have the desire to be your own boss and be successful, do not let fear hold you back. Many successful people have failed and some have failed several times.

“The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.” Elbert Hubbard, The Note Book, 1927

If you are not sure what is involved with having your own business, have a look at our website and download our FREE eBook “Want to Start a Business?”

With the number of home based businesses growing and even more people looking for ways to earn significant income within the walls of their own homes, there has never been a more prudent time to master the skills that are part of entrepreneurship management.  This is because the ability to effectively manage a home business makes it infinitely more likely to become a successful and profitable enterprise.

Managing Yourself – Harder Than Managing Others?

Some people look at the concept of home business and mistakenly assume that managing this king of an office is all cupcakes and butterflies.  Yes, it can be a lot easier to eliminate the headaches of working for someone else, but the fact is that it also requires self-discipline and a strong work ethic to make a successful home business work optimally.

People who are unable to manage themselves – sometimes the most challenging task of all! – will have a hard time achieving the most from their home business opportunity.  This is one of the primary parts of becoming an effective user of entrepreneurship management principles.

Keeping Track Of The Details

The best managers of their own home business opportunities are able to keep track of the details that surround their business, ranging from nuts and bolts to important concepts.  The good news here is that there are many ways to keep excellent track of these things, based solely on the implementation of technology and the internet.  With this ability, it becomes quite simple to manage even a surprising number of tasks in a very short time.

Some people find it easier to rely on others (a personal assistant or a secretary) to manage these details, but the simple fact is that this requires money.  On the good side, your computer can easily manage most of the tasks formerly tackled by an employee, making it far easier to get things accomplished than while flying solo.

Managing More In Less Time

There are countless examples of entrepreneur managers accomplishing amazing levels of financial profitability with their own home business… and doing so on their own, with only the input of a designated coach or mentor to guide them along!  

This is a tribute to the efficacy of people who take the time to learn, implement, and fully master the skills that make a budding entrepreneur into a great entrepreneur.  This is truly excellent management, whether the team has one person or one hundred!

The general notion about entrepreneurship is that it is only about starting a business and making it successful. However, that is far from the truth. The fact is that entrepreneurship has everything to do with implementing ideas, and for that reason it becomes important that you have a basic set of qualities in you.

Here we shall take a look at some of the qualities that you must possess in order to be a good entrepreneur.

You Must Be a Good Leader

You cannot be a good entrepreneur without being a good leader first. When you are implementing an idea, you will definitely need to enlist the support of some people, and these people will start looking up to you for various reasons, probably because you pay them or because you teach them or something else. The crux of it all is that you need to be a leader. You have to be able to extract the services you need from these people and make sure that you give them their remuneration for it.

You Must Be a Good Time Manager

A person cannot be an entrepreneur without being a good time manager first. That’s because everything is time-bound; if you are implementing any plan, time is certainly of the essence. You have to make sure you are making optimum utilization of it, because time is indeed money.

You Must Be a Good Resource Manager

You will have some resources at your disposal if you are becoming an entrepreneur, or at least you will be gathering some resources to use so that you can implement your idea. You need to make sure that you know to handle them well. You have to always remember that there is a limit to the resources you will use whether it is money or time or people or something else and you have to work within those limits.

You Must Be Good at Understanding What People Want

Businesspersons may seem like obscure celebrities, but the fact is that they are more tuned in to what people want than anyone else. If they don’t understand popular public demands, they don’t stand a chance at whatever they are doing. Another hallmark of a successful entrepreneur is that they must listen to public demands, and that’s another quality that you must have in you.

You can unleash your entrepreneurship potential if you so wish and start a business that you take to super success, but before you can do that, you need to think about certain things. You don’t want to end up like most people who start businesses and then don’t succeed because of various things, mostly because they hadn’t planned out things properly earlier. So that you don’t end up that way too, here are some things that you might want to think about.

Do You Have the Passion and the Knowledge?

One of the most important ingredients for business success is that you should be passionate about what you are intending to do. You might have thought about entering a particular business niche, but then it is important that you feel about it deeply. It is only when you are interested will you be able to carry on with it for the long term.

The best business ideas are those which have some kind of innovation in them. There has to be something special, something in it that other businesses aren’t providing. Now, that can only come with knowledge. Do you know enough about the entrepreneurial venture you are planning to come up with something new? Remember that the biggest business ideas in the world have been the ones that have innovated something or the other.

Are You a Dynamic Individual?

If you need a lot of pushing to do something, you will probably not do well with your business opportunity at all. An entrepreneur needs to be dynamic and self-moving. You have to take initiatives. You have to make decisions. You have to not just plan something out, but you also have to see to it that you can carry it out till the end. If you don’t have this personality trait in you, you will probably not be able to do very well as a businessperson.

Will You Be Ready to Work More?

People who are venturing into businesses should be prepared to work a little more than the average job-seeker. There won’t be fixed hours; you will be expected to put in a lot of extra work, most of which won’t pay out right away. However, if you have an entrepreneurial flair, you will understand that your efforts will soon pay out soon.

Can You Experiment?

You will also have to try out things a lot. Your strategies may or may not work, but the important point is that you have to plan them and implement them. You will have to stick your neck out sometimes and see if things work or not. You may have to invest in places that mightn’t pay out too; be prepared for that.

Do You Have the Capital?

You cannot start an entrepreneurship venture without a sufficient amount of capital to pay for your needs. You will either have to have the required amount of capital with you or you will need to have the eligibility to apply for financial help.

Over the last 10 years, entrepreneurship has become a growing trend with growing importance within the global marketplace. In fact, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), about 330 million people, or 14% of the adults in the 35 countries surveyed, are involved in forming new businesses.

Whether it is the desire to be your own boss, pursue your own ideas, or the hope of financial rewards, people are changing their outlook on how to do business. Within the scope of entrepreneurship there are four demographics that are increasing faster than ever.

Women Entrepreneurs

In 2002, the most recent year the U.S. Census Bureau collected business ownership data, there were 6.5 million women-owned businesses. That number is up 20% from 1997. Traditionally, women-owned businesses were most prevalent in the health care and professional services industries. But surprisingly, the fastest growing areas of women-owned businesses are construction (up 30%), agricultural services (up 24%) and transportation (up 20%).

Minority Entrepreneurs

The number of minority-owned businesses has also risen sharply over this same period. Growth in African-American owned businesses is up 45% from 1997 to 2002. Both Asian-owned businesses and Native American-owned businesses have also increased, at a rate of 24%.

Senior Entrepreneurs

Although the U.S. Census Bureau does not specifically collect data on senior-owned businesses, there is strong evidence to suggest more seniors are getting involved in entrepreneurship. This dramatic increase can be attributed to corporate downsizing, growing worries that seniors are going to need more income to cover future health care expenses, and an increasing desire for older workers to obtain personal fulfillment in their lives after retirement.

Young Entrepreneurs

Perhaps the fastest growing demographic of entrepreneurship is young people. According to a Gallup study, 7 out of 10 high school students want to start their own companies. Interest in entrepreneurship is also growing on college campuses. Presently there are 1992 two and four-year colleges that offer at least one course in entrepreneurship. This number is up from just 300 colleges in 1985.

No matter who is starting all these new businesses, entrepreneurship is undoubtedly a growing trend throughout the world. As the economy is struggling and people are getting laid-off, more and more people are realizing the benefits of entrepreneurship. The desire to become a corporate eight to fiver is losing steam, when are you going to jump on board?