10 Signs You Might Be An Entrepreneur. Intelligenthq
You may be thinking of starting a new business and wondering if you have the entrepreneurial skills to achieve these. Certainly there are specific attributes that entrepreneurs have that other people that are not entrepreneurs often do not have as many of. Being able to start your own business requires having a great idea to start with, or being able to identify a gap in the market that needs filling and being able to come up with a great way to fill that gap, but it also means so much more than that. Of course it also often means that you need money to get started too. As Robert A. Rice Jr. once said of this:
“An entrepreneur without funding is a musician without an instrument.”
Without the money or the drive to get funding it can be difficult to be entrepreneurial. But there are lots more instruments that entrepreneurs need aside from an idea and money to get underway. Writing for Entrepreneur magazine in 2014, John Rampton identifies 50 signs that indicate entrepreneurship. From Rampton’s list, we’ve narrowed this down 10 signs that seem to be most common to all entrepreneurs:
1. You are resilient and do not give up easily – entrepreneurs will hear the word “no” a lot of times. They will hear “no” a lot more than they hear “yes”. They are thick skinned and know that every no takes them closer to a “yes”. This requires determination, and the ability to listen to feedback and understand why they are getting a “no” rather than a “yes” and not letting them get this down – instead turning it around into a learning exercise.
2. You have always enjoyed selling stuff, even as a child – remember when you were a child and there was that kid that liked to make lemonade and sell it outside the front of his house? Or those kids that made “perfume” from flower petals and water and tried to sell that? Those kids were natural entrepreneurs. They wanted to find ways to make money by doing their own thing.
3. You don’t follow the pre-defined path – most entrepreneurs are comfortable stepping outside the box to do their own thing. They don’t think that they have to go to an office and get a desk job to make a living. They also don’t think they necessarily have to go to college – in fact many of the most famous entrepreneurs did not. They are comfortable doing their own thing and finding their own path.
4. You are uncomfortable working for others – entrepreneurs often get fired and do not make for great employees, often because they say what they think. They may also come from a long line of family members that did not work for others either. They do not necessarily believe that because authority says something then that means it is right, and they will challenge that.
10 Signs You Might Be A Entrepreneur.Intelligenthq
5. You have self-belief – entrepreneurs have to have a lot of self-belief… remember, they are going to hear a lot of nos.
6. You have a great deal of passion – entrepreneurs are attractive people to be around because they have a great passion for what they do, especially for their entrepreneurial ideas. This means that others gravitate towards them.
7. You don’t mind ambiguity – the life of an entrepreneur is often ambiguous and there is no guarantee that they will make it. Of course, they have self-belief that they will make it, which certainly helps, but they also don’t mind when things are not black and white. They can handle uncertainty.
8. You are willing to get some skin in the game – entrepreneurs know there will be a lot of hard work to get to where they want to be. They are not put off by this, and are prepared to put the time and effort in to achieve their entrepreneurial dreams. They are not fazed by a 60 hour week, and often won’t give that a second thought. It is just what they need to do to achieve their goals.
9. You see opportunities everywhere you go – entrepreneurial people are always looking for ways to make things better. That may mean building an app or gadget, or simply improving operational processes. They can’t help but see these things.
10. You know you need others to help – no man is an island, and no person has all the skills needed to build entrepreneurial dreams. They surround themselves with the others that they need to help them get there.
Paula Newton is a business writer, editor and management consultant with extensive experience writing and consulting for both start-ups and long established companies. She has ten years management and leadership experience gained at BSkyB in London and Viva Travel Guides in Quito, Ecuador, giving her a depth of insight into innovation in international business. With an MBA from the University of Hull and many years of experience running her own business consultancy, Paula’s background allows her to connect with a diverse range of clients, including cutting edge technology and web-based start-ups but also multinationals in need of assistance. Paula has played a defining role in shaping organizational strategy for a wide range of different organizations, including for-profit, NGOs and charities. Paula has also served on the Board of Directors for the South American Explorers Club in Quito, Ecuador.
