Do You Have What it Takes to Be an Entrepreneur?


Nellie Akalp is CEO of CorpNet.com. Since forming more than 100,000 corporations and LLCs across the U.S, she has built a strong passion to assist small business owners and entrepreneurs in starting and protecting their business the right way. LIKE the CorpNet.com Facebook page for exclusive discounts and giveaways! To learn more about Nellie and see how she can help your business get off the ground quickly and affordably, please visit here.

Theres no shortage of articles that examine the qualities of a successful entrepreneur. But after working with countless entrepreneurs and business owners over the years, I have a slig! htly dif ferent take. Succeeding as an entrepreneur is more than just great ideas and execution. Youll also need to develop the personality traits that will anchor you and keep you sane amid a hectic lifestyle. After all, your happiness is a top priority, right?

SEE ALSO: 9 Ways To Increase Your Productivity While Working From Home

Before you make a big change and quit your nine-to-five, conduct a careful self-assessment. Do you feel you have these qualities?

  • Can work without a playbook. When you run your own business, you call the shots. This can be both a blessing and a curse. To thrive in this environment, youll need to feel comfortable navigating some uncharted (and often rocky) waters without guidance. If these arent your strengths right now, know that youll need to learn them pretty fast.
  • Can work long hours (with no end in sight). Never quit your day job with the assumption that, as a business owner, youll work fewer hours. In very few cases does that four-hour work week actually exist. Rather, the first few years as a business owner can be excruciatingly tough. The bottom line? When running a business, youve got to love and believe in what you do.
  • Can sacrifice a steady lifestyle. Accounting for your current stage in life, assess the importance of the following: a steady paycheck, two weeks paid vacation and employer-sponsored health insurance, to name a few. Most entrepreneurs will need to forgo such perks for the first few years of running their businesses. You need to account and plan for uncertainty and lean times both financially and mentally.
  • Dont think fail is a dirty word. I constantly remind myself of Sven-Goran Erikssons maxim: The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure. As an en! treprene ur, its easy to get stressed or downright panicked at times, but dont allow fear to paralyze you or prevent your business from accelerating. Know that even the most successful entrepreneurs fail more than they succeed. On the bright side, if you learn from each failure, its not really a failure, now is it?
  • Can feel satisfied without external recognition. When you own a business, theres no boss to pat you on the back or give you a raise, and no teacher to give you an A. This means youll need to rely on yourself to stay appreciated, motivated and inspired.
  • Can live without perfection. Too often, perfection can be the enemy. As an entrepreneur, your livelihood is tied to launching a product, service, website, blog, application, etc. You cant wait for perfect. As an entrepreneur, youve got to be able to let go of that unattainable ideal. Shake off mistakes, correct minor glitches and move on. Go with what you have and build on what you learn.
  • Can get past temporary disappointment. When youre passionate about what you do, its hard not to take rejection personally. As an entrepreneur, youre going to receive your fair share: rejection from investors or an incubator program, a lost sale, a lackluster blog review, etc. To dwell on the rejection or feel bitter is a waste of time. Take each rejection as an opportunity to learn and try harder next time.
  • Can be open-minded. Being committed to an idea is important, but the ability to pivot is equally essential. For instance, you may tackle an initial project only to encounter a change in customer behavior or market conditions. Therefore, that original idea may need to be tweaked. Recognize that the customer and market arent wrong period. Youll need to listen to customers, watch the market, learn from each failure and make adjustments on a regular basis.

Image courtesy of Flickr, Andrew Scott

More About: business, entrepreneurs, startup

For more Startups coverage:



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

12 startup founders discuss working on Christmas Day

Image
Well, it would seem a trifle rude to not begin proceedings with a warm Merry Christmas. But I must askwhat the hell are you doing reading this when you should be playing your new Nintendo 3DS, or guzzling that tenth mince pie of the day? But then, you will probably ask what the hell am I doing here writing this piece on the holiest of holy-days. My excuse? I love what I do, so its not like Im really working per seplus, I actually prepped much of it yesterday. And your excuse is likely along the lines of I love all things tech, why would I switch off just because my calendar says December 25? Fair point. Confucius once said: Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. Nice sentiments for sure, but theres still the issue of a healthy work/life balance to contend with even for startup founders. So I asked a handful of founders and CEOs whether they would be working on Christmas Day this year, or whether theyd treat themselves to a day off. I mean, it is a...
Keep reading

Flipboard needs to branch its content out from US/UK, heres why

Image
Earlier this month, an eagerly anticipated iPhone app was finally launched as Flipboard took its highly acclaimed iPad app to the phone. The app has been out for a few weeks and, with the deafening chorus of cheers fading, Ive found myself shunning its beautiful and innovative design for the simple fact that its content isnt relevant enough for me. Compared to Zite , which may not be as aesthetically pleasing, Flipboard comes up wanting on content. Zite is, among others , an app which aggregates content from my social web Twitter, Google Reader and others giving it to me in a magazine style layout. Though it lacks the page flipping ingenuity of Flipboard, the reading is more varied, which is ultimately what Im looking for from a social magazine. There is credit to be given to Flipboard however, as it is addressing the issue by building an editorial team, as its founder told Robert Scoble recently . The company has also started curating content publicly too, with @flipboardtech cura...
Keep reading

Digitimes: Apples iPhone 5 to include smaller screen and metal chassis

Contray to previous reports that suggested Apples next-generation iPhone would include a 4.2-inch touch screen panel, Asian technology publication Digitimes reports that the device will feature a smaller 4-inch panel, adapting the rear of the device to ship with a metal chassis instead of reinforced glass. Digitimes points out that the many of the rumoured specifications expected to be featured in the iPhone 5 are the markets expectations, with sources indicating that the device will possibly adopt a significantly smaller screen than first imagined: The sources pointed out that the upcoming iPhone will not have many differences compared to iPhone 4 in terms of components and the panel will still be less than 4-inch. The iPhone 5 will adopt a 3.5- to 3.7-inch panel with a design to allow the bezel of the panel to become thinner and make the screen look larger. The inclusion of a metal back will divide opinion, given suggestions that Apple had intentionally utilised glass designs to boo...
Keep reading