There are a million and one different reasons why a person decides they’d like to become an entrepreneur.
For some, it’s out of plain ole’ necessity…like not being able to find a job that pays enough, is interesting enough, or perhaps it no longer challenges them.
Maybe, you’re the type of person who makes the decision after a long life of working for someone else…moving up in a company and then realizing that YOU can do more with your own business.
Yet others start a business because they want time freedom and flexibility.
While there are many reasons for becoming an entrepreneur, it’s critical to choose the right business and run it properly if you want to be successful.
It’s fun to say you’re an entrepreneur, but it’s a whole other thing to really do it successfully.
What is an Entrepreneur?
Let’s first begin by defining exactly what an Entrepreneur is, whether they’re conducting business online and/or offline.
For example, a freelancer is not really an entrepreneur in the sense of creating a business that they can retire from and still earn money, or sell to someone else to keep running into perpetuity.
An entrepreneur builds a business that can outlast them, while a freelancer earns money providing services or benefits to someone else for pay. But if that person is out of the picture, the freelancer won’t get any money.
An entrepreneur also takes a financial risk that is greater than average to run their business, while a freelancer generally doesn’t have that many expenses.
Both are perfectly legitimate ways to earn a living, but the goal is slightly different.
One is to work and earn money, and the other is to build something that is about more than making money and will outlast you and earn money today.
You can choose to call either one of these, freelancer or business owner, an entrepreneur, but technically there is a mindset difference that is very subtle:
* Entrepreneurs build a business that outlasts themselves
* Freelancers build jobs that support themselves and their family
It’s minimal but it is different, and is an important distinction when we are talking about becoming an entrepreneur.
Throughout this post I will give you information about starting your own business and becoming an entrepreneur.
An entrepreneur that manages their own resources to run and hopefully over time will build a business that will live on after you’re gone.
Do You Have “The Right Stuff” To Be an Entrepreneur?
The other aspect of entrepreneurship that is important to note is whether or not you have the personality to do it.
Are you self-motivated?
Can you act without a boss?
If you notice you’re missing some of the personality traits that entrepreneurs possess, can you make up for it by buying those traits or skills?
What Characteristics Do You Need to Become an Entrepreneur?
There’s a tonne of advice you can read online about all the personality traits that an entrepreneur should have.
Many of them bring up the idea of being passionate about your work; however, there are more important things than passion when it comes to business success.
“WHY?” You ask
Well let me drop a bit of truth on you here! There will be days you’ll hate your business.
Something will fail or you’ll hit some sort of impasse…and simply put, you’ll need to have the correct Mindset to push through it, or you’ll end up as another failed business statistic!
In my opinion, you really don’t have to be that passionate about the work, just excited about the results.
Below is a list of skills and personality traits that you need to be successful…however, your success all hinges on your ability to do the work.
* Expertise – Even if you plan on outsourcing everything…I believe it’s imperative that you know what you’re doing. Without that, you’ll need to at least have and/or find someone you can call on who, number one, you can trust implicitly and number two, they know what they, as the expert, are doing.
As I mentioned above, it is possible to outsource everything in your business, so you don’t (for example) need to know how to build a website to own a successful business selling high end wordpress themes like the themes from Studiopress.
While I am familiar with php coding there is no way in the world I would consider myself a website coder!
That is not at the top of my skill set! I, instead, have been using these themes for years now and I simply cannot imagine how much money I have saved over the years by using them instead of hiring a coder to custom build a theme for each and every website I’ve built over the past 15+ years!
Your job as the expert is to hire, PROPERLY train and then manage and delegate tasks to your team. On top of all that you also have to you have to manage the entire project from step 1 to completion…
and really, if your business grows to a point where your job is to oversee everything…then, you could in fact, actually hire someone else to do that task as well and simply report back to you. Of course this then opens the door to branching out and starting another business and repeating the entire process!
* Perseverance – This goes back to you having a Positive Mindset and why it is super important to come to terms with the fact that once you start a business, you cannot give up when the first thing goes wrong.
You need to be able to stick it out until you experience success.
If you’ve done your due diligence and you’ve made your contingency plans, (you know, those plans you create for when the sh*t hits the fan)…because it’s WAY better to have a plan to follow in those times than trying to figure it out whilst in the middle of the issue…
anyway, you’ll need to have a viable plan to follow before throwing in the towel.
* Resilience – In truth, an entrepreneur needs to be able to fall and get back up immediately.
Things are going to happen that cause you to second-guess yourself.
That is normal.
All businesses have normal ebbs and flows. Your ability to weather these storms is what will make you an entrepreneur.
* Resourcefulness – A lot of people think you need a lot of resources to start a business, but in truth, you just need to be resourceful enough to recognize when you have access to something amazing.
For example, some of your resources may be money, people, or technology.
* Motivation – If you don’t have the natural ability to motivate yourself and others to achieve a vision or goal that you have in your own head, it’s going to be hard to be successful.
However, if you lack motivation but you have the skills and desire, you can buy it in the form of either a lifestyle or business coach to help you find it.
* Commitment – This is the ability to truly be in your business 100 percent.
You don’t want to dabble in this business and that business and play at business.
Do your due diligence and then stick to a business and make it work.
If you treat your business like a hobby, then that’s all it will ever be…a hobby!
* A Sense of Adventure – Owning and running a business is a journey that you’re going to take which is going to be a lot like being on a rollercoaster. There will be ups and there will be downs. Sometimes you will go very fast between the two; that’s the way it is. They say that an entrepreneur likes to take the risk, but the truth is, a person who works for someone else is taking a risk too; they just don’t realize it.
The other traits are also important, but when you notice that entrepreneurs encompass all types of personalities, from introverts to extroverts and everything in between, you quickly realize what makes them successful.
Research and taking strategic forward action that helps you reach the goals you make is what it takes. In short, doing makes you successful.
You can have all the intentions in the world plus lots of plans, but if you don’t implement and do something, nothing will happen.
Once you make a choice to become an entrepreneur, the next thing you need to do is to decide which type of business you need to start to be successful.
How Do You Know That This Is The Right Business for You
Choosing the right business to start, based on what you know about yourself thus far, is the first thing you need to do to build your dream.
Let’s look at how you can choose the right business for you.
Step #1: You’ve Gotta Know How Much You Need / Want to Earn
This may seem like a weird place to start, but whether we like it or not…
Money is how we pay for our lives.
It’s what enables us to get the education we want, buy homes, enroll our kids in activities like sports and learning a musical instruments, vacations ( with or without family), the occasional movie or date night with the wife and so much more.
Right now, you’ll want to look at the “pie in the sky” and the “big, hairy audacious dream” lifestyle and pick a number that you’d like to earn. Justify it by creating a little one-page budget, so you know it works.
Consider everything, including how much tax you’ll need to pay and potential business expenses. When it comes to earnings, the only thing that really matters is what you take home. That’s the money you can spend.
Step #2: Know Your Skill Set
The skills you have right now are essential to identify. What are you good at? As you evaluate different types of businesses, it’s imperative that you know what you do well, what you do poorly, and what you don’t ever want to do again.
You can start by listing the things you have done before, what you have education for doing, credentials for, and anything you’ve done for fun as well that required skill.
Right now, just make a list without opinion or thought as to whether you like it or not. You may have the skills to pay the bills but hate it, but that’s not important right this moment.
Step #3: Identify the Right Type of Business for You
Considering your skill set, what industry do those fall in?
Knowing the niche and industry where your skills fit in best is helpful.
You may also decide to start with a particular type of business because you already know you want to do it. If you already think you know, what is it about that niche that calls to you?
One thing to consider is how much it costs to start that particular business. It’s also important to know what type of business you do not want to do. For example, if you absolutely never want to do anything with MLM, that’s great. Make it your goal to choose something else.
Based on your skills, write down a few different ideas that come to mind. Again, don’t use any type of judgment right now. After you’re done, you can go through and mark through the “no” ideas and highlight the “yes” ideas.
Step #4: Determine Who You Like Serving
One thing to look at in any given industry is the type of people you like working with. If you don’t like the people who are served by that type of business, you’ll end up hating your business.
If however, you generally like the people in your chosen target market, you’re going to love your business and feel good about it.
I suggest you download my free Buyer Persona Worksheet, print it out and fill it with as much detail as possible. By completing the Buyer Persona worksheet you’ll know your perfect customer or client.
Keep your Buyer Persona worksheet in a very handy spot because it’ll be extremely valuable when you begin advertising on FB and the BIG “G”!
Step #5: You’ve Gotta Have A Why!
It’s also important to always keep in mind why you are choosing a particular type of business.
Know your why – whether it’s because you had a problem that you found the solution for, or if it’s because you like working with the type of people that this business serves, or something else.
Your story is your story. Be sure to tell it to your audience.
Taking the time to explore alternatives and new opportunities before you get started is all part of the process and journey of becoming an entrepreneur. Many people spend a lot of time researching until they find just the right thing. Once you do find the right thing, you can easily get started in your business. Let’s look at the ways.
Know How You’ll Manage All Aspects of Your Business
Once you know the niche, the industry, and the people you’ll serve, you can start thinking about how you’ll run and manage your business.
A typical business has several aspects that needs to be managed. Yours may have all of these or only some, but you need to consider how you’ll deal with each one that applies to your business.
Production
- How will you produce your product or solution?
- What type of product are you making?
- Is it physical or digital?
- How and who will make it?
- How much will it cost?
- What are all the parts you need to work together to get it to work?
For example, if you want to promote and sell affiliate software, that’s a digital product. Will you outsource the project to someone who is going to code it for you? Can you code it? You need to plan out every single aspect of production and know who is responsible for it.
Research and Development
How will you research your audience to keep creating amazing products for them? How will you research your competition? What means will you use to compile the data you collect? How often will you look at it and what will you use it for?
Purchasing
It depends on your business, but all companies have to make purchases. You need to create a process for purchases, even if it’s just you.
- How do you decide the price and who to choose to buy from?
- How will you keep track of the vendors you use?
- Who will maintain the relationships?
Marketing
No business can succeed without marketing.
What type of marketing do you want to do, and how will you do it? In this case, you may need to start with your budget and then choose your marketing method based on how much you can invest.
Online marketing is an important marketing method to use today. You can probably get started online less expensively than television, but you should determine which is best based on your business and your audience’s needs.
Sales
- Do you need to hire people, work with joint venture partners, or bring on some affiliates?
- What software will you use?
- What features should it have?
- How will you handle sales?
- What type of software do you need to manage your customer relationships?
For example, when someone buys from you, that’s only one part of the sale. There are transactional emails and follow-ups that must be done to ensure customer happiness and satisfaction so that you can create repeat buyers.
Human Resources
How will you handle your freelancers, employees, and others who work with and for you?
- Are you aware of the legalities of each?
- Is there a professional you can outsource to on a contract basis that you know about?
- Do you want to hire someone full time to deal with this?
- If you have several employees and contractors, it’s in your best interest to have someone on staff or a contractor you can call on to ensure you’re doing things legally.
Accounting & Finance
- What is your chosen business structure?
- How will you do your bookkeeping?
- Will you use a specific program?
- Will you hire a CPA to help?
- Do you have the skills to do it yourself?
- What about paying your taxes?
- Paying quarterly taxes (USA) is imperative.
- You must pay on every single dollar you earn from day one of your business.
Getting this appropriately organized is imperative.
More than one business has taken a fall even though they were profitable due to unpaid taxes, and sometimes they even end up paying more than they should due to poor organization and co-mingling of business funds and personal funds.
You’ll need to figure out each of these characteristics of your business and figure out how you’ll deal with them.
It might be a good idea for you to develop a team, or perhaps you’re more comfortable with just mentor to help you, maybe you’re more comfortable taking a course, or any number of actions to get started. Go through each area with your business in mind to make an action list.
Run Your Business Right
Once you have figured out the business you want to start, know who your audience is and where they are, and get things in place to get started, you’ll need to ensure that you are legal and running your business right. To do that, you need the best tools you can afford, and a plan to follow going forward.
Keeping Everything On The Up And Up
That’s right folks…we’re talking about keeping it legal here. Who best knows the law…ummm… a lawyer! That’s right you’re going to need to get yourself a lawyer.
You’re also going to need to get some sort of business license.
The business licence you’ll need will more than likely depend on multiple factors like where you live and the type of business you’re setting up…furthermore, the costs associated with these licenses also depends on multiple factors.
In some cases, you’ll need more than one. How much the business license costs and the type also depends on factors like where you live too.
Check out the potential for needing the following:
* Business license
* Federal and state (or county) tax ID (For US)
* GST # (for Canada)
* Registered business
* Permits
* Licensing
* Business bank account
* Trademarks
* Copyrights
* Patents
* Business structure
* Inspections
* Labels
* Other
Don’t Be Afraid To Get Support
Like most things, it totally depends on your situation, but you need support as an entrepreneur – people that you can go to who will always tell you the truth and who also support your dreams.
You may want to involve a coach, family members, a mentor, or someone else like a professional banker, CPA, or something like that.
Before you hire a coach, be sure to get to know them first. Check out their groups, pages, and websites, and join or purchase one of their less expensive options first to make sure you’re a good fit.
Any professional you want to bring on your team for support should be vetted to ensure they share your dreams and your values.
Who Are The Experts You Need To Learn From?
Identify three to five movers and shakers in your niche to follow so you can start learning. They may be your competition too. You can learn so much from them as you build out your business idea.
They say that the best place to open a successful coffee shop is right across the street from a successful coffee shop. Don’t fear your competition.
Your competition doesn’t have to be someone who is “bad.” The competition is not the enemy. You can learn from them and even team up with them on issues you both care about. But mostly, you can learn from them. Learn what they do well and learn what they do poorly so you can do better.
Find & Get To Know Your Audience
Now that you know who you’ll serve and what you want to do for them, it’s time to find the audience and get to know them.
…Psst, let me tell you a little secret…one of the keys to success is building a strong and trusting relationship with your audience. People will always buy from people they know, like and trust.
A great automated tool I use to get to know a new audience is called Google Alerts. Just use Google to Google the phrase Google Alerts and it’ll walk you through the steps to set one of these up.
Essentially you’re setting up a service that searches the internet for relevant topics based on a keyword or keyword term that will then send you emails every day about that topic. GENIUS…and did I mention FREE!
Whenever I enter a new market and am trying to get familiar with a new audience one of the first things I do is take the time to set up a handful of these based around a different set of keywords all based on my audience. The emails I receive is gives me the information I need to get a feel for who my audience is.
Follow the people your audience follows.
Read the news they read.
Get to know the gurus they like to follow too, whether you like them or not. There is something about them that your audience likes, and you can help them.
Create Processes & Systems
Creating processes and systems for your business is essentially giving yourself directions to success. While Benjamin Franklin said…
If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.
I had this job once where I worked directly with the Director of Marketing for the company. This guy used to say it all the time to remind himself to create the plan for whatever project we were working on.
While he wasn’t the original person who said that verse, it had been the first time I had heard it and it just seemed to strike a chord with me… I’ve found myself also whispering this phrase under my breath many times throughout the years and it hasn’t let me down once.
If you take at least one golden nugget from this post let it be this!
One thing that is SUPER important if you want to be a successful entrepreneur is to set up processes and systems for your business.
The more you can automate, the better. A perfect example of this is your sales funnel. It’ll work for you 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It’ll never ask for time off and will never show up late.
All you have to do is properly configure it and then test and tweak it until you get it working just the way you want for you and your business.
Which is really no different then hiring a new employee and then properly training that person…right?
You should be coming up with processes for everything, even things you cannot automate.
For example, when you check the mail, you should have a process for that. When you set up processes and times to do tasks, you can turn them into habits and become much more efficient.
Have You Heard About The Butterfly Effect?
Learn what you can about the butterfly effect and incremental change. When you realize that every little step you do in an orderly manner will get you to the end, it becomes a no-brainer to set up your business that way.
For example, sending out an email to your subscribers automatically every single day is an excellent way to build relationships with them.
Even though it’s only one step, the fact that it’s automated will make all the difference because it will free you up to do other things that improve your business.
The thing to remember is that you do not need to reinvent the wheel. You can make a better wheel if needed, but you can use the wheels that exist right now to get started.
Running your business “right” simply means that you go about things in a legal and organized manner with a goal in mind, using processes and systems to get things done more efficiently.
Keep in mind that even if you do all these steps and try to account for everything, sometimes issues happen. Many can be avoided, though, so let’s go over some common obstacles to becoming a successful entrepreneur.
Common Obstacles On The Road To Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is a way for many people to successfully build something that will take care of them and their family for generations.
However, it’s also fraught with barriers to entry, obstacles, and challenges that can become roadblocks to success. Let’s go over this so that you know exactly what to look for.
Managing Your Cashflow For Leaner Times
When you start earning money, quite often it’s not going to be the same amount every month like a “normal job.” It’s going to sometimes be a lot and sometimes be nothing. Due to this, you need to learn how to manage your cash flow in a way that considers slow times and booming times.
If You’re Hiring Employees…
You’ll need to ensure you know the laws if you’re going to hire people. This is a lot of information to learn so you may want to make your first hire someone with the right knowledge to help set it all up.
Using Freelancers & Contractors
Sometimes you may want to outsource work to someone but not hire them as an employee. You can work with freelancers and contractors who often own their own business.
You’re obviously going to have to give up some control over the work, but if you’ve done your job properly and explained your expectations and detailed your project requirements, then there shouldn’t be any surprises with what you’re expecting in the deliverables.
Stop doing the work yourself and invest in yourself instead. By outsourcing some of the things you do or need to get done is like buying back your most valued commodity…TIME!
What Do You Do With Your 24 Hours?
Twenty-four hours folks…that’s all you get. That’s all anyone gets. Sometimes, it can seem as if the world expects entrepreneurs to have more.
You’re going to need to learn all about scheduling your time most efficiently so the work that you need to do gets done in a timely manner all while avoiding bottlenecks. Also, stop multitasking. Another key to success is one word FOCUS!
To Be Successful You Need To Learn How To Delegate And Let Things Go
One thing that can really block an entrepreneur is their inability to let things go and let someone else do the work.
You’ve got to learn to let things go. It’s not a suggestion here…it’s a fact! You simply cannot be everywhere all the time…even with the assistance of technology. That means when you let things go…
YOU LET THEM GO!
Don’t become a micro-manager. You have to have faith in the fact that your hiring & training processes are finely tuned and consistently churn out people
For years I fell in this trap and became a Jack of all trades master of none! As an entrepreneur who is building something bigger than yourself, letting other people do the work they’re an expert at doing without your micromanaging will be a major source of success in your life as an entrepreneur.
Don’t Fear Technology…Learn To Harness It’s Power!
Depending on the niche and industry you decide to enter, there is definitely going to be technology that you may want to learn.
There just may come a time in the very near future where you start looking around for a product or service you can purchase to solve a problem you’re having. Finding that product or service could do amazing things for your business…
HOWEVER…and here is where you true entrepreneurs know where I am going with this…
If you have searched through your industry for a solution to your problem and you’re unable to find a ready made solution to purchase…
then perhaps you need to create your own!
I use a variety of tools in my business to make me more efficient. These tools allow me to do more, and get more items crossed off one of my many “Checklists” I create for my projects. Without these tools my business wouldn’t function the way it does now.
Folks, it’s a pretty level playing field here …we’re all confined to the same 24 hour time-frame…It should be your daily mission to make the most out of your 24 hours!
These tools assist me in running my business in a way that better serves my customers. This makes for happier customers and happier customers are return customers.
Feel free to check out the list of tools I use over on my resource page. Some of these tools may help your business and some of them are imperative to the success of your business.
Just so you’re aware though, there may be a chance that I earn an affiliate commission if you click any of those links. Just know that I only affiliate with products and services I have personally vetted and use and truly believe will help your business.
You Should Always Be Marketing !
Throughout my time at university one of my favorite professeurs would always say…
When it comes to running a successful business, you should “always be marketing” in some way, shape or form.
This is according to the experts and according to successful people. There are many forms of marketing to learn about, including online marketing, offline marketing, and everything in between.
Content marketing is one of the most important types of marketing today.
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You Don’t Know The Things You Don’t Know…
Everyone has things they don’t know, but the problem is that we also have things we don’t realize that we don’t know.
There will be concepts that you’ve never even considered and that you don’t know about. That’s why you should always listen to your audience, your customers, and your competition.
Stay On Top Of Your Taxes!
One issue many entrepreneurs face eventually is the problem with paying taxes. Often small business owners just put this aspect of their business out of their minds, thinking it’ll all be okay
(April 15th in the USA and on or before April 30 here in Canada).
But, it won’t be okay. You need to defer to a professional to set this up right and avoid losing your entire business due to owing too many taxes. Or not claiming the right expenses. The long and the short of it…invest in a professional!
Self-Doubt – The Business Killer
This is probably one of the biggest obstacles you’re going to face as an entrepreneur.
So many people that you know and love are going to act as naysayers when you say you want to start a business.
It’s likely going to cause you to be afraid, but you must stand strong in your knowledge and the research you’ve done and keep moving forward. You should always be moving forward!
Finally, one of the biggest obstacles to YOUR journey to entrepreneurial success is you.
Do the steps it takes to find the right business to start for you. Then make a commitment to stick to it based on the data you generate. If you do your due diligence first, you will not be as likely to fall victim to these obstacles.
You’ve Gotta Know WHO You Are!
Have You Ever Thought About Performing a SWOT analysis on yourself?
What are your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats? The more you know about yourself, the better.
<<IMAGE>>CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD MY FREE SWOT ANALYSIS TEMPLATE( MAKE THIS)
It’s imperative that you operate with brutal honesty when it comes to getting started. If you’re not 100% honest with yourself…then who are you really lying to?
For example, if you know that you’re not good at sticking to things, that is a consideration that you should try to figure out how to work around, such as by hiring a business coach or business manager.
Use Your Skill Set
When you’re trying to figure out the type of business to start, it’s always better to go with something you already know how to do – unless you are the type of person who can stick through lots of schooling and education first.
If you are, that’s great. You can choose to start any type of business with that type of action.
Do Your Due Diligence & Research Your Market
Once you’ve narrowed down an idea, don’t start doing it right away. You need to research the idea first. If you don’t, you might waste a lot of money trying to go all in.
Instead, conduct smaller tests to find out if your market wants what you have.
Make It A Point To Seek Out Experts To Talk to.
Find someone you trust that is an expert in starting a business or the type of business you want to start.
The feedback you’ll garner speaking with an expert or a mentor will be invaluable.
After all, if you’ve chosen the right expert or mentor they would have “been there, done that” as the saying goes.
Haven’t found a mentor or expert to speak too? Try visiting an organization such as SCORE.org or other business organizations in your community. You may be surprised at what is available for you. Never be afraid to ask questions.
Keeping It Legal
Once you are sure about the type of business you want to start, don’t go in halfway.
- Set up your business structure.
- Choose your business name and register your business with the proper authorities.
- Take care of your tax information with the federal and local governments.
- Get all the permits you need and so forth.
- Remember to set up trademarks, copyrights, and patents.
- Don’t forget to set up your bank account.
Most of all, get started. Set up a timeline to go by so that you have a beginning and an end in mind.
For example, don’t say “I’m going to start a business” and then five years later not have done it.
Instead, be intentional about what you say you’ll do and then back it up by going through the steps and taking the action you need.
Remember, the most successful businesses are conducted by people who are invested in doing.
They are implementer’s to the max.
When you set up your business plan, set it up for taking action and doing things.
When you do take action, you’re going to be that much more likely to be successful.
What are you waiting for? Go out there and grab it! Success will never come find those sitting on the couch!
Bryan Kenny BBA