You no longer want to work a nine to five, that is, a job. You want to become an entrepreneur. However, you don’t know where to start. The first and foremost step to becoming an entrepreneur is having the mindset of an entrepreneur.
In this blog post we reveal the 15 characteristics of an entrepreneurial mindset.
WHAT IS AN ENTREPRENEUR?
Before we get into what those steps are, let’s clarify what an entrepreneur is. According to Wikipedia “an entrepreneur is an individual who creates and/or invests in one or more businesses, bearing most of the risks and enjoying most of the rewards.”
With that said, you have to keep in mind that an entrepreneur is a risk taker. An entrepreneur is willing to chart new courses. To go where no one has gone. The willingness to do what others deem too risky. But bear in mind, as the definition also says that the entrepreneur “bears most of the risk and enjoys most of the rewards.”
The definition of entrepreneur continues and it says, “The entrepreneur is commonly seen as an innovator, a source of new ideas, goods, services, and business/or procedures.”
As an entrepreneur you are a driving force of an economy and society because you innovate. You come up with new ideas. Original ideas and ideas on how to improve goods and services.
THE 15 MINDSET CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ENTREPRENEUR
Without further ado, let’s get into the 15 characteristics of the mindset of an entrepreneur.
1) THINK LIKE AN ENTREPRENEUR
To become an entrepreneur the first and most fundamental step is to have the mindset of an entrepreneur. That is, you need to start thinking like an entrepreneur.
An entrepreneur is a solution provider. That means an entrepreneur solves problems. An entrepreneur looks at problems and comes up with solutions instead of complaining about the problem.
Therefore it’s imperative if you’re going to become an entrepreneur for you to look at challenges and come up with ways to solve the challenges.
2) ENTREPRENEURS TAKE RISKS
If you’re going to become an entrepreneur you need to be willing to take risks. Entrepreneurs are not in the business of playing it safe. An entrepreneur is willing to bet on him/herself and is willing to risk it all to obtain the outlined goal.
Entrepreneurs are never content with playing it safe. Entrepreneurs are risk takers.
3) HIGH SELF CONFIDENCE MINDSET
Entrepreneurs are people who have a high self confidence. The reason is because at times an entrepreneur’s idea is what seems outlandish to others and therefore they won’t believe in it. However, that does not stop an entrepreneur because he or she has extreme high confidence in themselves.
It’s important for an entrepreneur to have high self confidence because the challenges at times may seem insurmountable, but their self confidence keep them driven and keeps them going.
4) DISCIPLINE MINDSET
If you’re going to be an entrepreneur it’s going to require extreme discipline. Entrepreneurs are disciplined people who maintain the course until the task is complete.
It’s not that an entrepreneur won’t ever veer off course, because at times they may. However, the difference is that an entrepreneur recognizes this deviation from the path and gets back on it fast.
5) ENTREPRENEURS INSIST
The mindset of an entrepreneur needs to be one of insistence. Entrepreneur’s don’t give up. They persist and insist. To be a successful entrepreneur you need to be a person that insists.
In your path of entrepreneurship you will find that some people may not believe in you, that your product doesn’t work as well as you thought or that your service isn’t as great as you presented it.
However, as an entrepreneur you cannot give up. You must keep believing in yourself, refining your product and improving your service. You must persist.
5) ENTREPRENEURS HAVE VISION
The mindset of an entrepreneur needs to be one of insistence. Entrepreneur’s don’t give up. They persist and insist. To be a successful entrepreneur you need to be a person that insists.
In your path of entrepreneurship you will find that some people may not believe in you, that your product doesn’t work as well as you thought or that your service isn’t as great as you presented it.
However, as an entrepreneur you cannot give up. You must keep believing in yourself, refining your product and improving your service. You must persist.
7) SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURS ARE LEADERS
The most successful entrepreneurs are also great leaders. Great leaders are able to present their ideas to others and get them on board to follow along with them. Entrepreneurs must possess this type of leadership skills.
Otherwise, they’ll be doing everything themselves and will be unsuccessful in building a team of people around them that will subscribe to their vision and follow their leadership.
The Entrepreneur Mind: 100 Essential Beliefs, Characteristics, and Habits of Elite Entrepreneurs includes lessons on how to think big, who makes the best business partners, what captivates investors, when to abandon a business idea, where to avoid opening a business bank account, and why too much formal education can hinder your entrepreneurial growth.
8) ENTREPRENEURS ARE NOT AFRAID OF FAILURE
An entrepreneur is not afraid of failure. As a matter of fact, failure does not exist for an entrepreneur. That is because an entrepreneur does not see failure as failing. An entrepreneur sees failure as a lesson.
When an entrepreneur fails, that is, does not succeed, the entrepreneur learns from it and then restrategizes. There is no failing for an entrepreneur. Rather there are lessons on the way to succeeding.
It’s been said wisely many times, you have to fail your way into success.
9) ENTREPRENEURS TAKE FEEDBACK, BUT THEY DECIDE
The mindset of an entrepreneur is that of one who takes feedback. A successful entrepreneur seeks feedback. However, a distinguishing factor of an entrepreneur is that he/she takes feedback but the entrepreneur makes the final decision.
The feedback is for the entrepreneur to hear how the product/service can be improved, how management of the business and/or employees can be improved. However, when it’s time to decide it’s the entrepreneur who makes the decision. The feedback doesn’t necessarily shift the paradigm of thought and decision making for the entrepreneur.
10) ENTREPRENEURS ARE FEARLESS
You don’t develop the mindset of an entrepreneur by being timid. If you want to become a successful entrepreneur you have to be fearless. You can’t be afraid of what people will think. You can’t be afraid of failure and you can’t be afraid of success.
An entrepreneur is fearless in his/her approach. If you’re not fearless you will bow and concede to the demands and expectations of others.
11) SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURS MAKE SACRIFICES
If you’re going to develop the mindset of an entrepreneur and succeed, you have to be willing to make sacrifices. To be a successful entrepreneur you will have to give up certain things.
You know what those things are and you have to have the willingness to sacrifice them. Nothing great comes without sacrifice. That is, great things do not come easy.
11) GOOD HABITS
A key to becoming an entrepreneur who is successful is to develop good habits. You have to develop habits that will keep you focused and on track to accomplish the tasks that are at hand.
Early on you may struggle when developing such habits. However, remember the saying, “repetition is the mother of all learning.” Nothing becomes a habit unless you keep doing it. Keep at it and in time you will see that what you were struggling to do is now second nature.
13) TIME MANAGEMENT
Time management is an essential component to the mindset of a successful entrepreneur.
A successful entrepreneur is cognizant that he/she has 24 hours in a day and to make the most of it takes management of time. With that said, an entrepreneur doesn’t waste time on trivial things. An entrepreneur is constantly looking for ways to maximize time. That is, how to get the most done in a day.
Remember, you can be busy, but not productive. Time management is about productivity.
Improve your time management skills by keeping track of how you are spending your time. If you are allocating time into things that keep you busy but are not productive then you need to make adjustments.
14) ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS
Entrepreneurs are organized people. They must be. Otherwise you’ll be spending valuable time looking for things that should be in order and that’s a sure way to create frustration.
Be organized. That may be with your calendar, your desk, your office, etc. Being organized and staying organized is of great importance when it comes to developing the mindset of an entrepreneur.
15) DRIVEN MINDSET
The mindset of an entrepreneur is that of one who is driven. Entrepreneurs are driven people. They don’t lay around wishful thinking. They are people who are doers. Their drive to succeed keeps them going.
You’ll know an entrepreneur minded person by their drive. They don’t talk about it, they go about it. Entrepreneurs have a drive to get things done. A drive to resolve problems, not complain about them.
CONCLUSION
As always we like to close with a saying, quote or adage and today’s is from Mark Cuban (video below): THE HARDER YOU WORK AT SOMETHING THE BETTER YOU ARE. THE BETTER YOU ARE THE BETTER CHANCE YOU HAVE AT SUCCESS.
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Now, go forth and change the game!