What is Entrepreneurship?
If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, don’t spam your friends and family with messages on the Facebook app! In this post, we’ll talk about the traits that define a successful entrepreneur. Along the way, we’ll also cover what it takes to create an MVP for your business idea so that you can get feedback and make any necessary changes—before you find yourself out of money and time.
What is entrepreneurship?
A question every startup founder wonders at some point in their journey. For many people, this word just means starting your own business from scratch – but there are more nuances than that. Being an entrepreneur is a way of life that you build as you develop a business to make your dreams come true.
A successful entrepreneur
One of the most common challenges for a startup founder is the definition of success. For example, if starting your own company was easy, everyone would be an entrepreneur and the world would be run by geeks working from home. You’re not especially good at starting a company? Well at least you’ve made it to the end of this post – good job! You are also unique because you value your own startup so much that you are willing to read this article in its entirety.
So what makes a successful entrepreneur? There are many ways to define “success”, but I like how Tim Robbins defined it in the Shawshank Redemption : success is a bad day that ends.
Entrepreneurship isn’t something you start, but something you become.
The startup mindset and mentality can be developed by anyone with the right attitude—even if you want to dedicate your entire career to working for someone else! (Note: this post may make more sense if you read it while watching this video. You have been warned. )
Over the years, I’ve heard many people talk about “the entrepreneur mindset”, but never really knew what it was or how to develop it. I think the best way to define the entrepreneur mindset is by example. So here are a few examples of people who helped me develop my own entrepreneurial spirit and attitude over time:
Jack Welch : Jack was one of the most successful CEOs of all time. Not only did he rise to the top in his company, he also wrote a best-selling book about his experiences. He may have started out as a greenhorn HR manager for GE who worked for life at GE and then became top dog at General Electric. But Jack had the entrepreneurial mindset from day one.
Jack was one of the most successful CEOs of all time. Not only did he rise to the top in his company, he also wrote a best-selling book about his experiences. He may have started out as a greenhorn HR manager for GE who worked for life at GE and then became top dog at General Electric. But Jack had the entrepreneurial mindset from day one. Jeff Bezos : Even though I’m jealous of the guy and his company, I have to admit that Jeff Bezos has one of the most impressive entrepreneurial journeys in history. Even if you aren’t familiar with his story, you probably use Amazon often – not to mention Kindle. When he started Amazon as an online bookstore, it was only a matter of time before Jeff started selling books in a lot more ways than one.
: Even though I’m jealous of the guy and his company, I have to admit that Jeff Bezos has one of the most impressive entrepreneurial journeys in history. Even if you aren’t familiar with his story, you probably use Amazon often – not to mention Kindle. When he started Amazon as an online bookstore, it was only a matter of time before Jeff started selling books in a lot more ways than one. Richard Branson: I love to dream big and think about the future—and Richard Branson is the best at this. As a young man, he started two businesses: Virgin Records and Virgin Atlantic Airways. Today, his company Virgin Group is involved in hundreds of companies across dozens of industries and has earned more than $6 billion since its inception.
I love to dream big and think about the future—and Richard Branson is the best at this. As a young man, he started two businesses: Virgin Records and Virgin Atlantic Airways. Today, his company Virgin Group is involved in hundreds of companies across dozens of industries and has earned more than $6 billion since its inception. Kimbal Musk: Yeah, that’s Elon Musk’s brother. You love him because he bought the world-famous Kitchen Restaurant in Boulder and made it a baller hangout spot for people like Steve Wozniak and Barack Obama. But Kimbal is more than just an adviser to Elon Musk, he’s his own man – with his own entrepreneurial spirit. He started a restaurant empire that now includes restaurants at college campuses across the country. He also has a line of reusable water bottles and has started another company called Zip2 that sold to Compaq for $307 million.
So what have we learned? The entrepreneurs on this list are not perfect—but they are close! They all have one thing in common: the entrepreneurial mindset.
What does it take to be an entrepreneur?
Before we go into the “what”, let’s talk about what “being an entrepreneur” entails. It sounds like something you need to do on a daily basis – and honestly, it is. As a startup founder, you can never stop being an entrepreneur. Here are some of the things you will be doing as an entrepreneur:
Building the right team – As a startup founder, you are responsible for building your team—and it’s a big job. You need to find people who have what it takes to succeed and convince them that your vision is worth their time and effort. Even if they don’t entirely believe in your product or service, they must believe in your entrepreneurial spirit.
– As a startup founder, you are responsible for building your team—and it’s a big job. You need to find people who have what it takes to succeed and convince them that your vision is worth their time and effort. Even if they don’t entirely believe in your product or service, they must believe in your entrepreneurial spirit. Selling your value proposition – The best way to sell the value of your product is through the customer experience. Having a great customer experience will make you stand out from the rest. You won’t be able to get great customers if no one finds out about you in the first place!
– The best way to sell the value of your product is through the customer experience. Having a great customer experience will make you stand out from the rest.
Conclusion:
Now that we have covered the different roles you will be playing as a startup founder, let’s take a look at the “what” and “how” of being an entrepreneur.
What does it take to be an entrepreneur?
Well, I can sum it all up for you in one word: grit. Yes, grit. Having grit is what sets entrepreneurs apart from everyone else. It is about never giving up, regardless of how hard things get or how tough your obstacles get – no matter what anyone else says or thinks.