You can see yourself as an entrepreneur, setting your own hours, being your own boss, enjoying the freedom of being self employed. And you can just imagine what life will be like once you’re a big success and pulling in all that cash.
But hang on. Before you run to the car showroom and test drive your dream car, let me ask you something: Are you cut out to be an entrepreneur? Do you really have what it takes to get rich?
To answer, let’s see how you rate on these five characteristics. Can you / do you:
* Stick with something even when you don’t yet see results? The day you officially start your business will be one of the most exciting days of your life. You’ll probably run on adrenaline for the next several days if not weeks.
But then you come down off your high. And now you’re working the same amount of hours, trying to get your business off the ground, but it’s just not as exciting any more. The worst thing, however, is that you’re not yet seeing results… so you don’t have any tangible rewards to motivate you and keep you moving forward.
Let me ask you this: Can you stick with something even if it doesn’t pay off immediately? If so, this whole entrepreneur thing might be for you.
* Let go of a losing idea? Trust me on this: When you spend days and weeks working on an idea, it will feel like your baby. And really it is, because it certainly is your brainchild.
But what happens if your idea doesn’t work out? What if one particular idea is just dragging down your whole business? Can you let go of it, even though you’re attached to it and still love it? If so, you might make a good entrepreneur.
* Have confidence in your abilities? People are going to doubt you. Some may even laugh at you. If you listen to them, the chances of you enjoying success are slim to none.
Are you confident in your abilities and your idea? If so, then you might make a good entrepreneur.
* Know the value of the products/services you provide? Here’s a big problem: Sometimes beginning entrepreneurs work like dogs for pennies. And a lot of times this happens because they don’t value the solutions they’re offering. The beginning business person thinks, “Gee, I wouldn’t pay that much for this product, so I better keep the price low.”
But you are not your market. You are not your customer. And if you’re providing a good product or service with a high value to your customers, then you should charge them accordingly. If you’re charging too much, they’ll let you know.
But until then, you need to value the solutions you provide. And if you do value your products or services, then you might be a good entrepreneur.
* Solve problems? Finally, and this is a big one, are you a problem solver?
Obviously, problem solving comes in handy when you’re an entrepreneur, because the buck stops with you in your business. There’s no boss to solve your problems – you’re the boss. So it’s up to you to uncover and solve problems in your business.
But here’s the bigger reason: You’re in the business of solving your customers’ problems! If you know how to spot and solve other people’s problems, then you might be a good entrepreneur.
