There are no certain paths in life but there are certainly signs pointing you in different directions. One of those directions may be the path to starting your own business.
Let’s start by looking at some of the signs that you could be a successful entrepreneur.
1. You Have a Vision
You can see a different future. A grander one. A future where you solve a problem that society has, build an empire that you can admire or just provide for your family. Whatever your motivation you can see something more than you have today.
Part of a vision is also seeing the steps needed to get there. A true visionary has a path to success, not just a dream in his head. It all starts with a dream but then you need to start figuring out how to get there. It would be great to know all the steps to your destination but life is uncertain. As long as you’re willing to go in the right direction it will become clearer as you go along.
2. You are Unique
While it may be true that every person is unique, it’s also true that most of us fall into the same habits and routines. We happily conform to the current trends whether it’s in thinking or fashion.
Entrepreneurs on the other hand always seem to be doing things differently. They are an odd bunch. They act and behave in a way that gets everyone asking why they’re so weird. You don’t have to act like a complete screwball but if you see things a little differently than it’s probably a sign.
3. You Prefer To Get Things Done Than Be Busy
Entrepreneurs don’t have time to get caught up in busywork. They can’t stand been stuck with a pile of paperwork. They need to get things done that have tangible results. They will happily spend the day working on a new concept or finding new clients but filing tax returns, not so much.
Being busy and getting things done are two very different concepts. You can spend a whole day being busy without delivering any truly valuable work. If you are running your own business and you are just busy without getting any valuable output you’ll be out of business really fast.
If you want to deliver success you have to ruthlessly prioritize what you working on.
4. You Don’t Give Up
Tenacity, perseverance, persistence, determination, some may even call it doggedness or stubbornness. Regardless of what they call you, you just don’t give up.
This doesn’t mean doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. It means that you are solutions-driven and will find a way to get there no matter what. You will be beaten down and defeated today after hitting another dead end but you will get up every time and look for a different path to success.
5. You Like To Win
Passion maybe be an overused word but there’s no better way to describe someone that loves to win. You see it in all the greatest athletes and all the greatest businessmen. When you look closely you often find that they may not have had the best team, the most natural talent or the best circumstances growing up but rather than these things being a burden, it drove them to prove their worth.
Entrepreneurs love to win and are often passionate about a lot of things though one lesson they need to learn is to be passionate about fewer but more important things.
We can’t wait to be the perfect person at the perfect time or we will never achieve anything. The most important thing is to be aware of our weaknesses so we can plan around them.
5 Signs That You Need Some Help
There are also some signs that you probably need a little help on your journey.
1. You Not Willing to Step Out of Your Comfort Zone
You may like your routine. Getting up and going to bed at the same time every day, having dinner with the same couple every week and going on the same holiday every year. You know this stuff works so why change it. There is nothing wrong with a good routine. It may even be useful but when you feel so uncomfortable doing something different that’s when you may have a problem.
Running a business means facing different problems every day and in the beginning, it also means doing different jobs every day. It may also mean getting a different salary every month. If not having meatloaf every Monday throws your whole week of off because you’ve been doing it for the last ten years than you have a problem. If you just like having a system than that’s not bad at all.
2. You Can’t Deal With Failure
Life is about setbacks and it’s also about triumphs. The only difference is whether you are willing to go through enough setbacks to reach your triumph.
Failure doesn’t mean losing everything. It means losing this battle. You need to make sure that you can walk away from every battle able to fight another one. Putting everything on the line for that one great chance is no recipe for success. It’s an awesome movie that left out some of the facts.
You don’t need to learn how to avoid failure but how to deal with it.
3. You Don’t Like to Learn New Things
There’s nothing wrong with being old-school or classic. As long as it’s a choice. If you looked at the latest social media advertising and realised that that’s not how your target market shops that’s perfectly fine. However, if your competition is stealing all your business because you refuse to accept a popular new online payment solution than you have a problem.
Learning new things is not just about blindly following the recent fad in a business book or using technology because it’s new. It’s about assessing what this means for your business and whether the benefit will outweigh the cost.
4. You Have Too Much Pride
Building something successful from scratch can often be a proud moment. Unfortunately along the way, there are lots of steps we have to take where we’re forced to swallow our pride. We may have to beg customers to buy our product, beg bankers for money and beg our landlord for a few more days because we didn’t time our expansion perfectly.
If you are too proud to learn, ask for help or accept failure than you going to have a hard time, not just in business but in life.
5. You Need Constant Direction
If having a clear path and getting specific directions is what you need then you going to struggle running your own business. There may be some general guidance but there won’t be one clear path to success. There will more likely be multiple correct answers.
You’ll have to get comfortable making decisions without all the information if you want to be a successful entrepreneur. In this new world we live in, there are very few jobs today still have a clear path to success.
Don’t worry if you haven’t scored 5 out of 5 or have some things that need improving. You don’t have to delay starting because of them. The point is not to see your weaknesses as excuses but rather to understand where your strengths lie and where you need to either improve yourself or work with someone that compliments you.