So You Want To Be An Entrepreneur!

So.... you are in a "not so interesting job" and wonder what it would be like to be an entrepreneur and be your own boss. Well.... you are definitely not alone.

Most young people, when they leave school or college, think about their first job and get excited about earning an income for the first time. And for most of them, they will remain an employee (for many in a job that they dislike) for the rest of their lives. Granted they will move up the ladder and see their earnings grow.

In most cases, however, those earnings will peak when they are in their late 40s or early 50s. And again, in most of these cases, they will reach retirement only to find that their lifestyle becomes restricted by the lower retirement income that they must then survive on.

BUT, today, more and more people are taking a different route. They are becoming entrepreneurs, starting their own businesses in the hope of a better financial future. In the US alone, some 500,000 new small businesses are started each year, and half of these are started by young entrepreneurs from a home office.

In this post I discuss the differences between being an EMPLOYEE and an ENTREPRENEUR and talk about the mindset change that is needed to succeed on your own. After all, we are in the “age of the entrepreneur.”

There are also some defining trends that are facilitating this move from employment to entrepreneurship.

The Defining Trends:

1. We are in an Information Age, where we are being assailed by more and more information online than ever before. And with easier access to the internet, more people globally can access this information.
2. It is now the Age of the Consumer. No longer do companies and retailers call the shots. The consumer, the customer, is now in charge and if not happy with the product, price or service of a company, can move their custom elsewhere.
3. We are in the middle of a Mobile Revolution, where more and more can be done via the mobile phone, or tablet. Have you noticed how most people sitting on trains, walking in the streets, sadly even while driving their cars, are head down looking at and "working" on their mobile phones. And now there is an app for everything, to make it even easier to "do stuff" while on the move.

1. The e-Commerce Revolution that is only at the beginning of a huge upsurge, worth trillions of dollars annually, means that we can now do more and buy more online. More and more consumers are moving to online shopping, for its ease, time saving and cost benefits. The internet has opened up the world to online businesses and this will only grow in leaps and bounds in future.
2. More and more income can now be earned as an Affiliate of an organisation, company or business. And businesses are using affiliates to help spread the word and spread their products throughout the world.
3. And as mentioned above, we are entering the Age of the Entrepreneur. More and more of the growth in wealth, production and consumption is being driven by the millions of new entrepreneurs setting up business each year, often from their home and throughout the world.

But to move successfully from your employee comfort zone to the more 'risky' world of the entrepreneur requires a radical change in mindset.

The Ten Traits of an EMPLOYEE

1. An employee will always have a BOSS. Some have good bosses, but most will have bad, or at best, mediocre bosses.
2. And as such, an employee will always be in the position of being told what results are expected from their efforts. What to do, and even, in many cases, how to do it.
3. An employee trades working hours for dollars. That is, they are paid for the hours that they work. Even if they are the chief executive.
4. A positive for an employee, is that they get paid their wage from day 1.
5. An employee works the 45 to 50 year plan, before they can retire and live off their savings, or a pension, often having to accept a large drop in lifestyle.
6. And yes, for an employee the retirement age is moving further and further out, to 67 and in some instances 70 years old, in many countries.
7. Oftentimes, the employee works alone, and as such is dependent on his or her own efforts for promotion and reward.
8. And despite all those years of hard work, working for a boss, the employee creates no ASSET in their own name. Instead they often create an asset for their employer.
9. For some, being an employee is like being in prison, from 9 to 5. And oh, how they wish there was another way.
10. Luckily, the employee is a slowly disappearing breed, as more of the traditional jobs are automated.

The three D’s of an Employee:

1. DO what they are asked to do.
2. DELIVER only what is necessary to keep their job.
3. DON'T rock the boat, so follow the beaten track.

So successful employees have the mindset of living by the company rules, fearing making a mistake, or failure and doing the task that is given to them, thereby taking responsibility for that task and no more.

In summary, very few employees are wealthy and most just get by.

The Ten Traits of an ENTREPRENEUR:

1. As an entrepreneur, you are your own boss.
2. YOU make the decisions and you succeed or fail based on those decisions and the actions you take as well as how much time and effort you put into your business.
3. Your earnings are not based on the hours you work, but rather on the success of your business strategy and system. A successful venture can often drive money into your bank account even while you are sleeping.
4. In most cases, an entrepreneur will earn little or nothing in the first few years, as they invest time and money into their new venture.
5. An entrepreneur works the 3 to 5 year plan, the time it takes to build their business to a mature stage, after which many will start to reap huge rewards for their efforts. Then they can shout BINGO!
6. The entrepreneur can retire when they decide. Many young entrepreneurs have been in a position to retire financially free in their early 30s.
7. An entrepreneur will build a team, work in teams and their income is often as a result of the success of their team.
8. A successful entrepreneur will build a value in the business, an ASSET that will continue to deliver value way into the future.
9. As an entrepreneur, after you have spent time and investment on the 3 to 5 year plan, you can enjoy a freedom unknown to the employee. You can even work from home.
10. The number of entrepreneurs globally is growing rapidly, as the benefits of entrepreneurship are more widely understood, and as the opportunities in the conventional employee space dry up.

So it can be seen that most entrepreneurs have a mindset of being responsible for all decisions, good and bad, learning from failure and understanding that learning is a continuous journey.

The 3 T’s of an Entrepreneur:

1. THIRSTY for success and do what it takes to build their business system.
2. TRUSTWORTHY to their cause and to their team members.
3. TEACHABLE and are willing to learn new ways and new proven systems that can drive their business.

In summary, most wealthy people are entrepreneurs, who have built a successful business around their passion.

So where do you stand at present and where would you like to be?
I'm guessing that as you are a Steemer, you want to be one of the 2%ers.

Written with StackEdit.