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IS ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR YOU?

These days, I get to meet a lot of youngsters. Smart, ambitious, usually well-educated youngsters with tremendous potential.


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Iniyan G

3 years ago | 4 min read

These days, I get to meet a lot of youngsters. Smart, ambitious, usually well-educated youngsters with tremendous potential. And a lot of them talk about their dream of being an entrepreneur, someday.

Are they serious about what they are talking? I think so.

Will all of them become an entrepreneur. Heck, no!

Sadly, a majority of them will end up as Wantrepreneurs!

Yes, if you have not yet come across the term, “wantrepreneur” is a recognized English word. A wantrepreneur is a person who aspires to be an entrepreneur, especially one who never realizes this ambition.

If you don’t want to end up as a wantrepreneur, read on…

Let’s start with a question: what do you think it takes to be an Entrepreneur?

Money?

Idea?

Technology?

Skills?

Contacts?

Education?

Personality?

Experience?

City?

Others: _________________

If you chose any of the above, you are already building up your case to be a Wantrepreneur!

Entrepreneurship 101 says, “You can have results or excuses. Not both!”.

You will find successful entrepreneurs who started with nothing but still made it big.

As you are gearing up to be an entrepreneur, let’s make sure you are not treading the path of a Wantrepreneur.

1. A wantrepreneur wants to start something so that he/she can be rich. An entrepreneur starts something with the intent of being the best.

2. A wantrepreneur is an opportunist looking for an easy way of making money. An entrepreneur looks to solve an existing problem or create a new possibility.

3. A wantrepreneur fights to keep the status quo. An entrepreneur is always open to making changes to achieve the result.

4. A wantrepreneur wants to succeed to prove to others. An entrepreneur wants to prove to himself/herself.

5. A wantrepreneur has a definite destination and will be content reaching there. An entrepreneur knows that everything can be made better and thinks of success as a journey.

SO, WHAT DOES IT REALLY TAKE TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR?

If I were to bring down everything to one single phrase, it will be Open-mindedness. As an entrepreneur, it is important to focus on the mindset behind open-mindedness rather than the dictionary meaning of the word.

Your mind needs to be like a parachute. If it is not open at the right time, it is useless!

Open-mindedness does not mean that you need to accept everything. It is about accepting the fundamental truth that others’ perspectives are possibilities too. You can continue with your current set of beliefs as long you understand that the others’ beliefs are equally legitimate.

Let’s dive in for the details.

When you are open-minded, you start approaching situations in a way that will lead you to success.

1. Possibility Thinking: When you are open-minded, you start with the thought that a possibility exists.

For ages, scientists and inventors have fancied the idea of the flying machine, however with almost zero results. Such a ‘history’ could’ve easily discouraged anyone, but not the Wright brothers. From being simple bicycle mechanics, they started with a belief that the possibility of a flying machine existed. And the rest is history.

2. Right Questions: When you are open-minded, you start asking some questions like, “Is there any other way?” or initiative action with the premise “What if…?”.

When Narayana Murthy set up Infosys, along with 6 other engineers, in the early 1980s, the trend among the educated elite was to look at career opportunities in the USA and other developed countries. While the “experts” suggested that they should consider starting their company in a country like the USA, the founding team started on a quest to finding answers to some important questions.

3. Adaptability: When you are open-minded, you accept the changes in the environment or eco-system as part of the journey.

If you study the journey of Disney, you will be amazed at its adaptability. From the days of drawing every single frame of an animated movie to the current day’s high tech animated movies, they have adapted to the changes that the entire industry has been through. Not just that, they have stayed on top of the changes and continue to be among a leader in their industry.

4. Never-Give-Up: When something fails or looks like a dead-end, instead of giving up, you say, “Maybe, I should try one more time”.

One of the aspects that always stands out about an entrepreneur is persistence. An entrepreneur knows that the secret lies in getting up one more time, than the number of times he falls down. The proverbial 10,000 trials that Thomas Edison took to come up with the current version of the light bulb is a good example of this.

5. Unshakeable Faith: You ultimately believe that the final solution is achievable, although the current situation does not look like it.

Legend has that Colonel Sanders franchised his secret recipe “Kentucky Fried Chicken” when he was in his early 60s after it was rejected by 1009 times! He was severely affected by arthritis, but his spirit was flying high. His unshakeable faith in what he had to offer was the seed for a brand that boasts around 20,000 KFC units in about 120 countries and territories around the world.

As an entrepreneur, you will have to learn to look within yourself, ask some serious questions and have the courage to face reality!

In our next article, we will talk about some questions you need to answer before you get started on your entrepreneurial journey.

Are you ready to face some tough questions?

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