While entrepreneurship is not for everybody, there are probably very few people in the world who haven’t, at some point in their lives, wished that they had worked for themselves. There is a romantic notion that working for yourself means freedom and wealth and when it is five-thirty on a Friday afternoon and your boss is making you work till the job is done the idea of being free of a boss is without a doubt very appealing. But it isn’t as easy as it sounds, and it is definitely not something that everyone is cut out for. So, if you are harbouring those romantic notions of working for yourself, then ask yourself if you have what it takes to make it. Here are some basic building blocks that will help to make you a success if you chose to run your own business.
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Business basics
In much the same way that some people are naturally good at drawing or at sports or at mathematics, so some people are naturally gifted when it comes to business. You will know if this skill is part of your make-up and if it is you will almost certainly find that you are drawn naturally towards entrepreneurial endeavours. But in the same way that a good footballer doesn’t make it to the top without coaching, so too will a natural entrepreneur need teaching. There are many courses available for study from a diploma in business online through to an MBA. The key here is to make sure that you are as equipped as possible to succeed.
A plan
Plenty of businesses start by accident that is true. But if you want your accident to thrive and grow then you need a plan. Ideally, you want to start with a plan and not with an accident, but it doesn’t always work out that way. The key is to be conscious of what you what and where you are at. And then to find a way to map the present reality to the future goal. That is a business plan and a mission statement and without these you will be lost. You can only fly by the seat of your pants for so long.
Perseverance
If running your own business was easy, then everyone would do it. The truth is that it is not easy and that it takes a whole lot of courage, perseverance and pure hard work to get it to happen. But the sacrifice is nearly always worth it. But be aware of what you are sacrificing in order to make it happen – be conscious of what you are giving up and what you are getting. It might be that you don’t have a choice, and it is a case of finding a way to make it work or be destitute. But if it is more a case of a vanity project that your ego can’t bear to see fail, then ask, is success worth the sacrifice of family time or quality of life just to not fail. Sometimes failure is okay.
