What Does it Take to Become an Entrepreneur?

What does it really take?

Becoming an entrepreneur is a journey.  It just doesn’t happen overnight.   If anyone has lead you to believe that, I’m sorry – but its just not true.  There is a lot of hard work and creative energy that goes into going into business for yourself and you cannot rely on someone else to invest it.  Yes, you can get help, guidance, and even contract with different people along the way to help you, but at the end of the day, it comes down to you.  So what does it really take to become an entrepreneur?

It takes Passion:

I’ve joined a couple of online groups for entrepreneurs, and have seen people reach out and ask how can I become one? Does anyone have any work from home business opportunities? Does anyone know of anything that I can do to become an entrepreneur? These questions break my heart and hurt my soul a bit, because this isn’t something that you can just toss out like that.   You need to have passion: first, this is something that you are going to be doing day in and day out, and if you aren’t passionate about it, this will become like any other job.  Second, because it requires hard work, energy and sacrifice.  If you aren’t passionate about what you’re doing, you are going to find it hard to motivate yourself to do all that it’s going to take.

These people aren’t wrong, or unfit to become an entrepreneur or small business owner, they simply don’t know.  If you feel called to go into business for yourself but don’t know how or where to start, those feelings are wrong or misguided.  Take some time, do a little soul searching – what makes you happy? What delights your soul? That is where your business idea will be, hidden, but it is there.

It Takes Guts:

At some point, you are going to have to make a sale, to ask people to spend money on your products or services and in doing so, face rejection.  That takes guts.  I’m not saying that you have to be into skydiving or bungie jumping, or some kind of thrill seeker.  What I am saying, is that you have to believe in yourself and your business enough to go out on a limb and ask others to have a little bit of that same faith.  You have to know that you will face rejection, but that even when it does happen, the sun will still come up tomorrow.  And, if you pick yourself back up by your boot straps, you’ll have another chance to ask someone else.

Guts aren’t necessarily something you are born with.  Some find them easier to come by than others, and it might be due to their experiences in life.  You might have had some times when you were worn down and made to feel unsure of yourself, but there is power in what you believe.  Put your faith back into yourself.  Work so hard and make something so good that you have no other choice but to believe in it, and asking others to do the same will come easier to you.

It Takes Hard Work

Are you ready to get up early or stay up late, to work before or after your day job to make your dream become your reality?  That’s what I did to make mine happen.  Or, if you are ready to make the jump and leave your current position, are you prepared to work like hell to get to the point where you can start making money and rely on a new stream of income?  It’s not a switch that is flipped.  For most of us, it’s not an “if you build it, they will come” kind of thing.  It takes hard work, long hours, doing what you need to do in order to reach people.

A dream isn’t enough to start a business.  It is enough to inspire you to get started, but you cannot rely on a dream.  That’s a wish, or a hope.  But either without the hard will, will always remain just as they are.  You need a business plan, a marketing plan or a sales strategy.  If you don’t lay the ground work for the business, all of your hard work will crumble.  Take the time, do it right.  Read up on what experts recommend.  Chances are you’ll learn about things like SWOT Analysis, business model canvases and lean strategy – if you do, you’ll have the blueprints that will help you architect your dreams and make turn them into your reality.