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Three Primary Reasons To Become An Entrepreneur

Guest post by: Michael Hume

Article Overview: For some time, I've written and spoken about the difference between two basic types of person out there these days: The Victim, and The Entrepreneur. The Victim needs to be taken care of... the Entrepreneur takes care of herself, and others. The Victim is competitive, and views life as a win-lose (sometimes even a lose-lose) proposition; the Entrepreneur is collaborative, and sees life as win-win. Victims blame others; Entrepreneurs are self-reliant, and get things done....

Three Primary Reasons To Become An Entrepreneur

You Need Good Reasons To Climb Out On The Skinny Branches! For some time, I've written and spoken about the difference between two basic types of person out there these days: The Victim, and The Entrepreneur. The Victim needs to be taken care of... the Entrepreneur takes care of herself, and others. The Victim is competitive, and views life as a win-lose (sometimes even a lose-lose) proposition; the Entrepreneur is collaborative, and sees life as win-win. Victims blame others; Entrepreneurs are self-reliant, and get things done.

These are attitudes, and both characters reside in each of us. One or the other spirit will dominate your worldview, and it'll depend on which you feed and which you deny. As attitudes, they don't necessarily dictate what you do for a living... but while some Entrepreneur-types choose to stay loyally involved in the service of a company they don't own, most have some sort of commercial enterprise going, if only as a side-business.

Frankly, in these tough economic times, I think every family should have at least one entrepreneurial venture up-and-running, just so the entire family's livelihood isn't completely dependent upon employers (or, worse, the government). And for an increasing portion of the working population, the full-time calling of being in business for oneself is more appealing each day.

Being a business owner is not for the faint of heart, though. You need some good reasons to climb out there on the skinny branches of the tree, where the margin for error is slim. Those reasons can vary from operator to operator... have you thought of yours? Here, in my view, are three primary to become an entrepreneur - to scratch that entrepreneurial itch.

Service to others. If you only want to get into business to replace what you get from some job, that's not a strong enough "why." If that's your only motivation, when things get tough, you won't be able to make the difficult decisions or do the hard things it takes to make a business successful. You have to have some reason not to let down other people... and your own family only counts partially. What will your business contribute to your community, and to the world?

The Big Idea. I've known too many would-be entrepreneurs who really didn't think big enough to make a business work. Their plan was simply to create a variation on a familiar theme, and one that was different from its competitors only in that it was owned by somebody else (them). You have to do better than that. Do something new; or do something your competitors do, but in a completely new way. Think about your Big Idea from the perspective of your customers... why would they reach for your solution, when they're already comfortable with alternatives?

Willingness to risk it all. If you are already down to your last few bucks, you need to do something else for a while to build up some working capital before you start a business. These days, you can get into business in cyberspace for a fraction of the resources your granddad needed for his radiator shop... but don't be fooled by claims that you can have a home-based business without a shred of investment. And be prepared to lose it all. It's a fact that about eight in ten small businesses fail in their first year. You may have to try more than once before you hit the business you can make successful... and you will never do that if you aren't willing to take risks and be persistent.

Entrepreneurship is the only real way to build lasting wealth, and America is still a land of opportunity for business owners. There are at least three primary reasons to become an entrepreneur, but it starts with having an Entrepreneurial attitude, and genuinely thinking through your own reasons for striking out on your own. Many people think they can run their own business; fewer than that number can actually do it successfully.

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Article Tags: entrepreneurship, health wealth and happiness, inspirational leadership, personal responsibility



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