Tweet

How To Become An Entrepreneur From An Employee

Guest post by: Maryjean Howe

Article Overview: Becoming an entrepreneur involves a lot of hard work and passion. If you have the burning desire to become an entrepreneur and plan every step before you make the shift, you will be able to handle the challenging life of an entrepreneur and never regret giving up the comparatively easy life of an employee.

How To Become An Entrepreneur From An Employee

An employee is often associated with a security of job and income. On the other hand, an entrepreneur may make no money at all for months. Shifting from an employee to an entrepreneur mode can be quite a challenge. Only those who are willing to take risks and face uncertainty can leave the comfort of an assured paycheck and get into the uncertainties of an entrepreneurship venture. However, if you have strong will, commitment, and perseverance to become an entrepreneur, the transition from an employee to an entrepreneur can be seamless process. If you are fed up with the rat race and dream of being your own boss someday, you may be tempted to think of becoming an entrepreneur. It is alright to be frustrated in your current job; in fact it is quite common. However, if this is the sole reason for your becoming an entrepreneur, it might turn out to be a hasty decision. It is necessary to do a self-analysis first and find out all the elements that are the driving force behind your decision to start your own business. Your skills, strengths as well as weaknesses should be taken into account while doing the analysis.

Running your own business is quite different from working for someone else. As an employee, you have limited freedom. At the same time, you have limited responsibilities as well. When you become an entrepreneur, you are free, but responsible for anything and everything related to your enterprise. There is no one else to blame for failure. You have to motivate yourself to work hard as there is no one to monitor or review you. You need to be self-disciplined and organized to work efficiently.

Moreover, as an employee you work limited hours. As an entrepreneur, you will have to put in more hours to succeed. For this, you have to mentally prepare yourself to face the challenges and believe in your ability to succeed. Similarly, when you stop being an employee, you have the choice to work from home. However, it is easy to get distracted at your home office. In general, you have to step out of the shoes of an employee and get into the shoes of an entrepreneur.

Even if you have decided to take the plunge and become an entrepreneur, you can't start the business unless you have a great idea or product. Networking becomes important in this scenario as it exposes you to fresh ideas and prospects. You might have neglected your contacts and friendships when you were trapped in the daily grind as an employee. It's time to refresh the neglected professional relationships and build new ones.

Likewise, your focus on your core responsibilities as an employee would have given you no exposure to other crucial aspects of running a business. Extensive reading and even taking some short-term courses will give you a general idea on the financial, legal, and several other aspects of starting a business. This knowledge and exposure will help you in shedding your limitations as an employee and equipping yourself to become an entrepreneur.

Becoming an entrepreneur involves a lot of hard work and passion. If you have the burning desire to become an entrepreneur and plan every step before you make the shift, you will be able to handle the challenging life of an entrepreneur and never regret giving up the comparatively easy life of an employee.

Related Articles
  Top Twenty Reasons to Become an Entrepreneur
  Be Your Own Boss - Be Your Own Employee
  The Benefits and Frustrations of Corporate Entrepreneurship
  Take Care Of Your Business, IX
  Plain English Guide to Employee Handbooks
  Knowing The Entrepreneur Definition Will Help You Become A Successful Entrepreneur
  You didn’t say I’d be fired!
  Five Attributes of Entrepreneurs
  The Way of the Guerrilla
  Confessions of an Accidental Entrepreneur
  Entrepreneurs the 4 key cornerstones to success
  SMEs - different types of entrepreneurs
  Employer successfully questions an employee’s medical certificate
  Successful Entrepreneurs and The Importance Of Building A Team
  Being an Online Entrepreneur the Right Way
  Flawed investigation leads to monetary compensation for former employee
  SMEs - African confusion with entrepreneurship
  Are Organizations Utilizing Employee Performance Appraisal Systems optimally?
  Transitioning From an Employee Mindset to a Business Owner Mindset
  The VC Version of Kick the Can

Article Tags: become an entrepreneur, becoming an entrepreneur, how to become an entrepreneur



Related Forum Posts
Post subject: It's Not Personal, just business - I so agree! Actually, the business world as we know it IS in trouble. I heard some stats last week that they expect by the time 2050 that 70% of workers will be freelancers. Employee/Executive Bullying won't be able to stand it when it could be easier for someone to simply contract with the nicer guy (or gal). I, for one, will be choosing the nicer ones!
2 Forums Updates - Many of you have been writing in suggesting that on my website and in my newsletter we include the link to the actual forum post and not just the name of the post and a link to the Forums home page. Well, after looking into it I'm pleased to announce that this feature is now available. Thank you everyone for the suggestions! We've also added names for members based on how much they post. Level one is Newbie, Level 2 is Intern, Level 3 is Employee and so on... There are 10 levels in total. I'm looking forward to seeing how everyone does! Keep the suggestions coming - they are great!
Young Entrepreneur Organization - All You Need To Know - The Young Entrepreneur Organization (YEO) is a global community of entrepreneurs. This non-profit organization aims to make its members successful in their business through networking and training programs. This article tells you all you need to know about the Young Entrepreneur Organization, and the opportunities it makes available to young entrepreneurs from across the world. Young Entrepreneur Organization: Facts. 1) The Young Entrepreneur Organization has 5,000 members in 35 countries across the world. 2) The organization was founded in 1987. Since then, it has helped many aspiring entrepreneurs with training facilities and getting in touch with the right people. 3) The average age of the members of Young Entrepreneur Organization is 34 years. 4) In order to be eligible for the membership of Young Entrepreneur Organization, you need to be under the age of 40; and be the founder or partner in a business that has annual sales of more than $1 million. World Entrepreneurs Organization: A part of the Young Entrepreneur Organization, the World Entrepreneur Organization and takes the message of Young Entrepreneur Organization to many additional places around the world. This organization is especially active in the area of education and training for entrepreneurs. Young Entrepreneur Organization: Objectives. 1) To foster entrepreneurship. 2) To support Young Entrepreneur Organization members by providing them the chance to network and grow. 3) To provide resources to its members so that they can benefit the economy through innovative business ideas. 4) According to Young Entrepreneur Organization, you get to share your story with those who have had similar experiences, and thus gain insight into the best principles of entrepreneurship. Young Entrepreneur Organization: Facilities. At the Young Entrepreneur Organization, you get to meet and share views with like-minded people and fellow entrepreneurs. In order to facilitate a free exchange of ideas and growth for its member, the Young Entrepreneur Organization provides the following facilities to members. 1) Forum: Join the forum of the Young Entrepreneur Organization and start networking with entrepreneurs from across the world. Each forum group has 12 members who come together regularly to share their experiences and discuss issues related to entrepreneurship. 2) Mentor: In conjunction with the World Presidents’ Organization, the Young Entrepreneur Organization guides and counsels young entrepreneurs through a mentor program by the best business leaders. 3) Social Innovation: The Social Innovators Program involves Young Entrepreneur Organization member who wish to do something for about social issues. It helps members become socially aware citizens and gives them the opportunity to do something for their community. 4) Marketplace: The marketplace allows members to post business offers and receive replies from other members. These are just some of the facilities you will get if you become part of the Young Entrepreneur Organization. Others, like meeting prospective clients through trade shows, and special tools to network and meet with the right people are also part of the YEO facilities.
Re: Finding AND Keeping Good People - Employee retention or as you mention “Keeping the Good People” is one of the biggest challenges for any growing business. It takes a huge effort from the entrepreneur’s end. I can come up with the following when it comes to KEEPing the good people- 1. Motivation of the employees 2. Recognition of the needs of the employees 3. Activities to make the employees feel valuable towards the organization 4. Make benefits more accessible 5. Offer profit sharing incentives 6. Create clear career paths at the company 7. Consider telecommuting, job sharing and other flexible working arrangements 8. Incentives are essential and they don't have to be huge 9. Have other managers praise an employee's work 10. Be sensitive to the balance between work and private life
How to create BUZZ? - As a small startup we need to be able to create Buzz around our product, but we haven't had tons of success. Despite being written up in the Toronto Sun, Metro News, Entrepreneur Start Ups Magazine and listed as a resource in Entrepreneur Magazine people in Toronto still don't know about us. Any ideas on what I can do to get people talking? Preferable ones that don't have a large price tag attached? Any ideas would be appreciated. Our URL is included in my signature.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Ten Things You Can Do To Be a Better Leader

Adapting to Technology and the Internet

12 Principles to Spark Innovation

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.