To avoid having your business name added to the list of failed startups, you need to do whatever legal it takes to succeed (Source: Fundera)
And it all starts from your mind.
Ever heard the phrase – “As a man thinketh so is he?”
The power to succeed or fail lies in the thoughts you harbour, which applies to everything, including business.
To become a successful entrepreneur, you need to develop the right mindset.
So that you know, successful entrepreneurs are made, not born.
If you always or occasionally think that you are meant to be bigger than you already are, it’s usually a sign that you are an entrepreneur.
To develop the entrepreneurship mindset, you need to align your thoughts properly.
Here are five ways to do that:
1.Get uncomfortable with inefficiency
The truth is, entrepreneurs don’t like it when people do things shabbily.
Or when they have to rely on other people to take action when they already know how to go about the job.
True entrepreneurs don’t have tolerance for inefficiency.
You may not be an entrepreneur yet, but if you are an employee and see many things that could have been done differently in your organization, it’s a good sign that you are on the right track to becoming an entrepreneur.
Don’t let the laxity that your colleagues display at work kill your desire to get things done efficiently.
Staying true to yourself will help you horn this critical trait of successful entrepreneurs.
2.Don’t beat yourself up about failure
One thing many successful entrepreneurs have in common is that they are not afraid to fail.
They do not shut down or close shop when they fail at achieving a specific goal.
As much as they believe in the success of a particular project, they also have it at the back of their head that there is a possibility that it might fail.
Entrepreneurs that have failed before have a 20 percent increase in success rate if they try again (Source: SSRN Papers)
One person you could ask about failure is the immediate past president of the United States of America, Donald Trump.
Many of us knew him as a billionaire even before he became the president. But what many may not know is that he went through substantial personal debt, bankruptcy, and ideas that failed.
Had he considered giving up, maybe we won’t know him today?
And before you argue that he already had a pathway created for him by his wealthy family, remember that he could have lavished and probably erased the name Trump if he hadn’t sustained the wealth.
With that being said, just know that failure is inevitable and that giving up is not an option either.
There is always something to learn from every mistake. So learn from yours and move on.
3.Be determined
The entrepreneurship spirit calls for determination in whatever you are convinced about (Source: Forbes)
It’s more than being persistent, having the fortitude and strength to push against odds. It’s about preparing for the battle.
Being determined means that you are ready to stand behind your decisions and work on it until it yields results.
Paul Graham, a renowned venture capitalist, once pointed out that the highest quality an entrepreneur can possess is not their intelligence but determination.
Determination is not something you learn in school. Instead, it’s that inner conviction that you should pursue a different path and the willingness to give it your all.
4.Be willing to take risks
The willingness to take risks is one primary trait that differentiates an entrepreneur from the pack.
You cannot avoid risks because every entrepreneur experiences them (Source: Entrepreneur)
No one said that the road to success or greatness would be smooth. However, taking the risk might just be the step you need to move closer to your goal.
Bill Gates is known all over the world, not because of his educational qualifications
Instead, he could see tomorrow and risk investing in computer software (Microsoft), believing that it will become an indispensable device.
Today, Microsoft is worth billions of dollars in value.
What if Bill Gates never took that bold step? Your guess is as good as mine.
To think like an entrepreneur, you need to start taking risks even in the little things around you.
There is no guarantee that you will get it right, but one thing is sure, you will be on your way to building your perseverance and willingness to take risks.
5.Be decisive
The entrepreneurship spirit comes with responsibility; if you have to make a decision, do it quickly.
Overanalyzing every decision, you need to make can cost you not just time but the opportunity to hit the jackpot.
There are times you need to lay back and have a deep thought before reaching a decision.
Sometimes, you might even need to consult professionals or those with more experience before going ahead.
But, it would help if you didn’t grow into the habit of seeking opinions for every single decision you have to make.
Take the bull by the horn, act quickly, but accordingly.
Start with the little things that may be taking unnecessary time.
It could be your fashion. Be like Mark Zuckerberg, who wears the same T-shirt every day to save time that would have been spent deciding on which outfit to go for.
Final thoughts!
Being called an entrepreneur is like taking a title.
If you are just comfortable answering an entrepreneur, then you don’t have to do anything different.
But if you intend to answer an entrepreneur and be one indeed, then you need to put in the work.
All it takes is to start putting into practice the things we listed in this article.
Before you know it, you will see yourself thinking and acting like a true entrepreneur.
