About You

About You - The Entrepreneurial Mindset

Are you fed up with the economy? Are you tired of being and employee? Have you thought about becoming your own boss or running your own business? Are you prepared to take control of your own future and destiny? Would you find it fulfilling to know that you're impacting other people's live in a positive way?

Well then what does it take? Are you of the personality and nature to take on the title of "entrepreneur"?

During a series of interviews of distinguished entrepreneurs, they were asked what characteristics were essential to be a successful entrepreneur. One of the unanimous traits was "good health". Successful entrepreneurs are physically resilient and in good health. They can and typically need work for extended periods of time, and while they are in the process of building their business, they simply refuse to get sick.

In many cases and especially while building their business, there is no depth of management, the entrepreneur must be there. You may not be able to afford a support staff to cover all business functions, and therefore you will need to work long hours. We all know people who use part of their sick leave each year when they are not sick. Entrepreneurs are not found in this group. At the end of the eight-hour day, when everyone else leaves for home, the entrepreneur will often continue to work into the evening, developing new business ideas.

Many entrepreneurs do not operate well under a structured environment where they haven't determined the structure (self-governing).  They do not like someone having authority over them. The entrepreneur is typically thrilled by the challenge of creating business ideas and the journey of achieving their goals. They are constantly striving for more and resetting new goals once they achieved their initial goals.

In large, structured organizations, entrepreneurs are easy to recognize by the statements they make: "If they wanted that job done right, they should have given it to me." A dominant characteristic of entrepreneurs is their belief that they are smarter than their peers and superiors. They have a compelling need to do their own thing in their own way. They need the freedom to choose and to act according to their own perception of what actions will result in success.

Entrepreneurs exude confidence when they are in control of what they're doing and working alone. They take on challenges with a level of determination, persistence and confidence that can make them unstoppable in achieving their outcomes even if they have not determined how they will actually go about it.

Successful entrepreneurs have assimilation awareness of peculiarities and complexities of business. They can be multi-taskers working on multiple ideas, strategies, situations and outcomes at the same time.  They hold themselves accountable devoting themselves to solving and dealing with the immediate developments of the business on an ongoing basis while keeping an eye on their overall outcome.

The entrepreneurial mindset is cause-based and innovative where they accept things as they are and make choices appropriate to the specific situation from a place of control and not from a victim mentality.  They find innovative solutions to the challenges of the day instead of focusing on finding blame or excuses.  It is through this process that the entrepreneurial mindset advances our world to a better place while serving society at the same time.

Employee vs. Entrepreneur

Many may believe that these traits only apply to those that want to be business owners, are business owners or entrepreneurs. The reality is that this mindset and these traits are what allow companies to grow and individuals to grow even as an employee.  It is important to understand that we are in "value economy". In a value economy we are compensated based upon the value we provide (not time or hours served). The value you provide is based upon the complexity and importance of the decisions you make and problems you solve.

If you are an executive or manager, it is important to nurture this mindset and these traits as this will bring innovation and growth to your business like you have never seen. You will gain additional perspective from your team and a greater understanding of dynamics that exists outside your normal scope of vision.