A big part of the Self Employed Movement is the slow process of becoming an entrepreneur. I’ve done it before and I’m trying to do it again. But this time I’m keeping my day job.
You might be on the fence as to if you want to take this plunge as well, so here are a couple of skills and traits that can help you become a successful entrepreneur.
- Vision: You can see how things are at the present but you also have a good idea of how you’d like things to be in the future. You also have a plan and goals to get you there. There will be plenty of days that you’ll want to quit but you keep the bigger picture in mind. You celebrate the wins but you don’t get complacent.
- Persistence: You’re willing to do the work day-in and day-out. It isn’t always glamorous, but, you don’t give up easily. You keep on going and see things through. You stick with it and try, try again if things don’t exactly work out the first time around.
- Patience: You allow things to take their course. You don’t get discouraged or flustered when things don’t work out like you think they should. Things might take twice as long as originally thought or might cost twice as much, but you continue to roll with the punches. It’s a battlefield out there. It’s usually the ones who can last the longest that win.
- Resilience: There will be setbacks but you don’t quit; you learn from them. You’ll surely get cussed out and sometimes people will even try to scam you but you grow a thick skin and keep things rolling as smoothly as possible. You’ll hear “no” a lot but you keep on going until you finally hear a “yes.”
- You keep your word: It’s difficult to gain someone’s trust but it’s very easy to lose it. If you tell someone that you’ll do something, whether it’s an employee, customer, or a supplier, you follow through with your commitment no matter what. You do whatever you can to make that other person happy even if you have to swallow your pride or take a loss. It’ll eventually come back to you two-fold.
- Good communication: A lot of sticky situations can be avoided if you communicate well with others. If you can do this, you can put out a lot of fires before they even start. Keep people in the loop and you give yourself a fighting chance to deliver.
- Good organization: Good organization coincides with a professional image most of the time. It doesn’t matter what you think of you; all that matters is what your customers think of you. Perception is everything. Being well organized will help you with this.
- Good negotiation skills: Business usually isn’t black and white. There’s probably a gray area that you can exploit in your favor or that others can use against you if you aren’t privy enough. Nothing is really ever set in stone. If you can negotiate well, you can optimize your numbers.
- You know your numbers: At any given moment, you know how healthy your business is. You know what’s going out and what’s coming in. You know your margins. You know what sells and what doesn’t. You know how much wiggle room you have at all times. Without this knowledge, your business might not be able to survive much longer.
All of these things are good and great but they don’t mean shit until you actually take action and do something to turn your idea into a living, breathing business!
That’s the most important trait of all: You take action .
What you do might not be perfect. Chances are good that they won’t be, especially if you’re trying something out for the first time.
But that doesn’t matter.
That’s where opportunity lies. That’s where growth happens. That’s how experience happens.
That’s how you get better.
You can read and read and read about business forever but that can only do so much. Actually doing business is where the magic happens.
Without action, you’re just standing still. Or worse yet, you’re probably going backwards.
Quit planning. Quit thinking. Quit dreaming. Quit wondering.
Do something and find out!
