Many people around the world say that they want to be an entrepreneur. They may succeed and build a successful company. Or, they might have a great idea for a business but never get around to starting or building a company.
In a recent interview, Business Success Consulting Group CEO Adi Klevit spoke with serial entrepreneur Dee Soffer about what it means to be an entrepreneur and how one can reach their entrepreneurial goals.
In this article, we share a portion of their discussion along with some of the action items they shared.
What is an Entrepreneur?
The first thing that Adi and Dee talked about is what elements make up an entrepreneur. Here are ten factors that make an entrepreneur. An entrepreneur:
1. Turns a vision into reality.
2. Sees the elements that need to come together to build a business.
3. Takes their ideas all the way to execution.
4. Build systems so that their company can grow.
5. Loves to both acquire and share knowledge.
6. Overcomes obstacles.
7. Is willing to be wrong and learn from an experience.
8. Will apply past experience to current situations.
9. Utilizes their network to support company growth.
10. Connects with the people who can and will do the work the entrepreneur cannot do.
The above characteristics develop over time as an entrepreneur learns and grows.
Five Steps You Can Take to Realize Your Entrepreneurial Goals
If you are an entrepreneur or are just starting your entrepreneurial journey, consider these five steps to building or growing your business.
1. Build systems to support your business.
We specialize in systems at Business Success Consulting Group. Putting processes in place does several things. Systems:
- Allow your company to grow and scale.
- Simplify training and onboarding.
- Reduce your mental load.
- Make delegation easier.
- Give staff more control over their jobs.
- Keep things consistent across the board.
- Make customers happier.
- Supports automation.
Many successful companies have systems in place to make employee lives easier, support automation, and make their business distinct. When you have a particular way of doing something, you can systematize your method to ensure that proprietary methodologies are protected.
2. Create a network of people you value.
Business owners do not stand alone in leadership positions. Even as the myth of the lone founder has taken hold in the popular imagination, in reality, founders are supported by those around them. Successful entrepreneurs find fantastic employees, work with co-owners or co-founders, talk to mentors, ask questions of experts, hire consultants and coaches, and more. Finding the support you need to build a successful business is the best way to grow rapidly, scale systematically, and build the life you want to live.
3. Put things in writing.
In their interview, Dee shared that she loves to free-write when she has an idea, has encountered a problem, or just needs to get something down. Even if you don’t enjoy writing, studies show that writing things down brings clarity, simplifying your thoughts and bringing the main idea into focus.
Here are a few things that you should consider putting into writing:
– New ideas and how they could be implemented into your business (as well as why they may not work).
– Suggestions that others have shared.
– How you can utilize new tools or information you’ve learned.
– Action items.
– Policies, processes, and procedures.
4. Design your life.
When building your business, you are also designing how you want to live your life. This is counterintuitive, as most 9-5 jobs require you to fit your life around working hours.
As an entrepreneur, having all of the “free time” in the world could mean that you work fifteen-hour days, or it could mean that you build in truly free time and work shorter days. It could mean that you dedicate twenty hours a week to your established business and another fifteen or thirty to the new company you are building. It could mean that you, like Dee, spend 30% of your time studying and learning, 30% of your time on personal things, and 30% of your time growing your business.
When you are an entrepreneur, how you spend your time and how clever you are with that time is up to you.
5. Determine your role and get out of the way of others who are performing their roles well.
Because many entrepreneurs are founders, they often feel like they must have a finger in every pie. This can backfire because a) when they are running everything, they never have time for anything, and b) when they need to step away for a vacation, due to illness, or to enjoy family time, their business collapses.
So, instead of making the mistake of constantly being involved with everything, determine your role and do your job. Then, let others do their jobs and get their work done. Trust your capable team to get the work done that’s been assigned to them.
Are you an entrepreneur who is ready to build systems into your company? Contact Business Success Consulting Group today to get started.
