What it Takes to be a Successful Entrepreneur

If you have dreams of becoming an entrepreneur or a solopreneur, now is the time. But do you have what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur? I’ve always believed that you could learn from the success of other entrepreneurs.

To start with, you may not know how or where to begin. When we hear stories of successful entrepreneurs, we are amazed and their success seems to be a baffling mystery.

That’s not really so.  Check out the Internet and start looking for ideas and answers. There are literally hundreds of websites out there screaming out the success stories of successful men and women entrepreneurs.

• But what are the qualities of a good entrepreneur?
• How do they turn these ideas into successful reality?
• How to become a successful entrepreneur?
• Are entrepreneurial skills a magic wand?

Let’s find out.

Steps for Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur

1. Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur – Planning it right

If you are looking for how to become a young entrepreneur, you may want to jump right in with all those hot ideas buzzing in your head, but take it slow.

• Take time to develop a really good business idea, one that will work.
• You can easily get several ideas online, but take some time pondering over each.
• Plan steadily to raise capital. It takes time.
• What do entrepreneurs do? They invest time in their company. There is nothing called an overnight success.
• Mistakes are your greatest teachers. Learn from them.
• Don’t wait for an opportunity; create one. The information revolution offers plenty of opportunities.
• Identify your target market and how your product or service could benefit them. What problems can it solve and how will it help them become more efficient?

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2. Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur – Get Expertise

• Put in some time and effort to become an industry leader before you go about printing that business card.
• One of the basic steps in knowing what is entrepreneurship is to develop authority on the subject. Sweat it out. Check out small details, which could make or break your company.
• Hard work is a must. Understand the industry. Be ready to adapt and change with the latest advancements in your field.
• Find a guru. Get guidance from an experienced professional. Get a mentor. What is an entrepreneur? Being a successful entrepreneur means taking a leaf from the book of others who have already achieved similar goals. It’s a great blessing to learn from success stories of entrepreneurs.
• Accessing business knowledge. Reid Hoffman, one of the founders of LinkedIn says that the best way to become a successful businessman is to hang around with those whom you admire.
• Get an expert team to become the best entrepreneur. It’s difficult to succeed alone in business. Build a strong team to increase your chances of success. When hiring a team, look for character and good values. Make sure that they are talented, optimistic and inspired.

Of course, good skill sets are a must, but you can always train them for this. You cannot, however, change someone’s values or character to fit your company values. Hire the best to get the best.

• Maintain your brand value, maintain a strong social media presence, and offer impeccable service to customers. These might seem minor aspects initially, but it will set your business apart from the competition and make you a successful entrepreneur.

Also See – How to be an Organized Stay at Home Mom

3. Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur – Honesty and Service

• Be open and honest and do something that you really care about. Steve Jobs said that you can only derive satisfaction if you do work that you really believe in.
• Pay attention to small details to become one of the most successful entrepreneurs.
• Work on any shortcomings.
• Love your work and be passionate about it like some of the well known entrepreneurs of our times.
• Crave to imbibe the latest advancements in your business and make it better.
• Know your customer. It’s one of the keys to success. Make it a point to know the ones you serve, and you will be able to offer them the right solutions they are looking for.

• An unhappy customer is your greatest teacher. He points out the gaps and holes in your product or service. According to one of the famous entrepreneurs of our times, Bill Gates, unhappy customers are your biggest sources of learning.
• Get customer input. Don’t assume what they want. Ask them and learn to listen carefully to their needs. Listening is one of the important traits of a successful entrepreneur.

According to Larry Page, it pays to deliver more than what your customer expects. The industry notices you and you get the bonus of loyal followers and advocates of your product or service.

4. Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur – Take Risks / Challenge Yourself

It’s the biggest motivation of them all.

• Face your fears and overcome them. Easier said than done, I know. But it’s possible. Facing fears and challenges are like exercising a muscle. The more you do it, the better you get at it.
• Don’t be skeptical of success. A defeatist mindset will keep you stuck in a rut.
• Don’t wait for permissions or validations. They may never come. If you have a gut feeling about something, take action and don’t wait for those stars to align. They never might.
• Set trends, don’t follow them.
• Blaze your own trail. It’s easy to copy another successful entrepreneur. Don’t be another clone. Look for something original to reach your customers. Model success patterns on others, and then add your own spin to it. That is what will make you stand out in the crowd.

5. Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur – Having a Vision

According to David Karp, the former Chief Executive Officer of Tumblr, an entrepreneur must have vision and a deep desire for creating. It takes vision, perseverance and plenty of hard work to become top entrepreneurs. Be ready to face failure and come back bouncing out of it. No one is invincible.

Over to You

We often imagine that successful entrepreneurs are daring pioneers with a larger than life personality. It could be true with respect to some of the great founders of big organizations, but not all of them.

Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple Inc. was a college dropout. He was even fired from the company that he founded, but finally returned to Apple to save it from bankruptcy. Stick to these tips and navigating the path of success will become a cakewalk.