Many entrepreneurs people read about today have everything. Mark Zuckerberg, Oprah Winfrey, Mark Cuban, Bill Gates, and Sara Blakely seem to have effortlessly climbed to the heights of business. Bill Gates and Paul Allen dropped out of Harvard and scored big with Microsoft. Mark Cuban sold his startup to Yahoo for a billion dollars. Steve Jobs came out of nowhere with Apple in the 1980’s. And where would we be without Mark Zuckerberg’s creating Facebook?
How Do These Entrepreneurs Make Success Look Easy?
Some successful entrepreneurs have a headstart by coming from successful families. They inherit some of the traits such as a strong work ethic, financial management and sales skills from their parents. However, your family cannot guarantee your success. In fact, some parents almost disowned their entrepreneurial children for not following into the family business.
All entrepreneurs face challenges they must overcome if they are to succeed. Many entrepreneurs who started small must also change while scaling their businesses. Bill Gates, Michael Dell, Mark Cuban, Mark Zuckerberg and others started with an idea. They didn’t realize their idea would scale into massive enterprises. These entrepreneurs had to grow internally to build the companies they founded. Growth is work.
Entrepreneurs make themselves, by choice or circumstance. Falsehoods that entrepreneurs were born entrepreneurs abound. For some reason, they had the right genes for tolerating large degrees of risk, patience, and luck. This is simply not true. Successful entrepreneurs commit to their success, focus on their goals, and work harder than anyone else. By choice or by circumstance, successful entrepreneurs create their futures.
Are You Ready to Become an Entrepreneur?
Perhaps you’ve noticed that something is happening in economics. There is a disparity between annual wage increase and the increase in real estate prices. The so-called “forty-year-plan” doesn’t work. Maybe you’re tired of working on your project manager cover letter or other related tasks when looking for a new job. You’re ready to work a little harder to build your own company. There are many logical reasons to start a business, but the learning curve can be steep financially, socially and emotionally.
The other side is that you will never know if you are ready to start your enterprise unless you start. You can use these five questions as a starting point to see if you are truly ready to begin your business.
Skills They Don’t Teach in College You Need as an Entrepreneur
Entrepreneurs develop different skills than those owned by the rest of the world. Some of them have acute attention-to-detail. Others have great sales skills. Others surround themselves with people who support their weaknesses. As you prepare for your entrepreneurial journey, there are other skills that you can learn while working for other companies. These experiences help you gain the skills necessary to start a business. Jobs in retail, food, sales, and management can help you develop the skills you need to succeed.
1. Retail
Running someone else’s business is a great way to learn how to operate a business. You will see what the top priorities of a successful business are. For example, to keep the lights on and the bills paid, the staff must sell. Managing inventory requires other skills such as attention-to-detail and organization. If your vision of the future doesn’t include retail, you can still learn valuable skills. Working in retail will teach the skills you need to make a business work.
2. Working in a Restaurant
Entrepreneurs handle extreme pressure as part of their day-to-day life. The restaurant industry teaches this like no other job can. Communication is vital to success in a restaurant. All team members must communicate clearly to ensure success. No matter the restaurant, the challenges are the same. Working in the restaurant industry is a great way to grow necessary skills for your future.
3. Sales
As an entrepreneur, you must sell. To learn about sales, jump in the proverbial pool and swim. Sales jobs can teach skills such as attitude. Your success is determined by your attitude. You must keep a positive attitude when closing sales. You will also improve your speaking and listening skills. You can also make more money through sales than working for an hourly wage. Sales jobs are a very rewarding way to learn vital business skills.
4. Management
Managing people as well as a business is another entrepreneurial skill. Leadership is crucial in management. You must have a vision of where your company is going. You will also need communication skills to sell your vision to team members to make it a reality. You will need to organize teams for maximum effectiveness on projects. Management jobs can be the icing on the cake to bring together your entrepreneurial skill set.
Choosing to become an entrepreneur is a rewarding experience. In the business world, the skills you develop determine your success. The expensive way to learn is to start your business and learn on the way. Preparing for this challenge can help ensure your success as an entrepreneur. Learning great business skills in someone else’s business can help you achieve your goals. You can also make money learning instead of losing money while learning.
