Becoming an
entrepreneur is a fun yet scary proposition. Often, entrepreneurs go
against the advice of their friends and family members, in order to follow
their dreams and pursue their passion. However, making that leap is a rocky
road.
1. Develop a Personal
Mission Statement
A challenging yet
exciting thing about entrepreneurship is that you are inundated with ideas and
opportunities, but to be effective, you need to choose the ones that work best
with what you want out of your life. Create a personal mission statement that
will act as a decisive filter.
For example, my
personal mission statement is "to become a tycoon politically, socially,
and economically so that I may have a positive impact on my community."
When developing your own, you must ask yourself two questions: What core things
are most important to you? Why are those things important? Your answers will
help you figure out how to accomplish your goals. Remember that your personal
mission statement is not set in stone, so tweak it accordingly as your life's
priorities change.
2. Reduce Your
Expenses
One of the main
reasons many people don't start businesses is because they're afraid of losing
their home, car, ability to provide for their families, etc. But the ultimate
goal is to generate big wins while reducing your expenses.
A solution to this is
to cut your expenses down to the necessities. You don't need to make your life
miserable, but simply review your expenses and find affordable
alternatives—starting with the most expensive item. Do you really need to pay
$1000 per month in rent, or can you share an apartment with a friend to save
money? Actively cut those excessive expenses and recalibrate yourself to your
new lifestyle. The more responsibility and expenses that you have, the harder
it will be for you to take on the entrepreneurial mind set.
3. Create a Synthetic
Family of Networks
Don't worry about
whether you come from a rich and well-connected family or not. There are plenty
of successful entrepreneurs who came from very little. What is often
overlooked, however, are the key people who helped give them that additional
push or extra opportunity. They created their synthetic family of networks.
A synthetic family is
not the family you were born with, but one that you created who help provide
the resources you need to accomplish your goals.
4. Take an Inventory
of Your Current Assets
People often speak of
the 4 grades that really matter
a. Personal Capital – How
well do you know yourself?
b. Intellectual Capital – What do
you know?
c. Social Capital – Who do you know
and who knows you?
d. Financial Capital – Who knows
that you know what you know?
Before you make that
leap to entrepreneurship, take a hard look at where you stand across these four
dimensions:
Are You Ready for
Entrepreneurship?
Making the leap is
already frightening enough. Make the transition easier by following these
steps, which will relax your mind so that you can then fill it up again with a
level of creativity and execution that will help you change the world for the
better.
Lawrence Watkins (US
News)
