Age should never
be a barrier that prevents you from achieving your dreams. When your dreams are
to become an entrepreneur, then they should be pursued.
But taking a look
inward, searching, speaking to others that have gone through the journey
themselves, and a lot of nail-biting can yield great results.
Here are some
tips to help you through that path to entrepreneurial success:
1 What do you really want?
Sometimes it is
just easy to do the practical thing – but what about what you really want? Have
you ever reflected on that, and not just lightly, but have you given it some
serious thought?
Yes, it is easier
to just go with the flow and end up in a job you dislike. Then again, if
you have even a 10% doubt about the job, then you might be in the wrong
position.
However, although lined with tough decisions, another path might be the one that leads you to
where you want to be.
The CEO of
Tumblr, David Karp, once remarked, “An entrepreneur is someone who has a
vision for something and a want to create.”
To do that, you
need to open your mind up to different possibilities.
Just remember that
your potential is massive, and confining yourself to something you dislike
will only hurt you. But if you want to be an entrepreneur, you must love what
you do, simply since it will be a hard road you will be taking, and your love
for what you like doing will drive you through.
2 Believe, take
risks, and tackle your fears
Henry Ford once
said, “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re right.”
And this is so
true, since when you believe you will find ways to make it happen. However, if
you think that you can’t, then you will just find different excuses.
However, the problem, or that thing that lurks in our minds that pulls us back, is fear.
Absolutely the unknown is scary; then again, anything that we cannot control is
scary. But, that is one characteristic of an entrepreneur: taking risks, and
with risks comes that unknown element.
Nevertheless, as
Jeff Bezos once said, “It helps to know that you wouldn’t regret failure, but
you would regret not trying.”
So, deep breath
in and start taking that leap forward…
3 Keep at it by managing and preserving energy efficiently
Starting a
business venture might feel like you are between a rock and a hard place, not
moving forward, not growing into a success, or just not working out like you
want to. But you need to keep at it. Most successful entrepreneurs started
small. Just think of all the tech giants and how many of them started out in a
garage.
Still, as you are
putting in so much time and effort, do make sure to manage your energy levels
throughout the process and not your time. Because you do not want to burn out
during the process. Rather understand what you can do, and manage your
energy levels according to those.
4 Think big but
take small steps
Set down your
goals, and here it can be a year goal or even longer. But as you are setting
down your overall goals, start creating a worksheet. This worksheet will reveal
the small steps you need to take to reach your end goal.
Plus, with your
goals in place, you can check what is working and what is not. Then you can
make changes. Just remember, even though your goal might seem ideal, the path
you will get there might not be as easy as you have planned out on the
spreadsheet.
5 Keep focused on your goal
You need to keep
your eyes on that magical price – and have a hunger to get there. This drive
can’t come if you are complacent or even if you are afraid of taking risks.
It is like the
co-founder of iContact Ryan Allis remarked, “Having the end in mind every day
ensures you’re working toward it. Set goals and remind yourself of them each
day.”
6 Deal with your mistakes and move on
It can be hard to
deal with failure, but most of us will deal with different types of failures in
our lives at some point. With entrepreneurs, it is virtually a done deal that
you will face some or other disappointment. But you need to learn from
the mistakes, as this process will lead to innovation and closer to success.
Ghostwriter - Published in thesouthafrican.com [text altered]
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