Am I An Entrepreneur? Part 4 of a series

 by: Charles and Holly Egner

I would like to determine if I am well suited for an entrepreneurial career?

(Yes) (No)

Mull over these thoughts...

• What is entrepreneurial talent and do have it?

• Have I tested my entrepreneurial capabilities either with a personal assessment tool or by participating in a startup business?

• Have I ever been self-employed before?

• Have I ever worked for straight commission?

• Am I a hard worker?

• Do I have the discipline to finish projects that I start?

• Do I keep New Year's resolutions?

• Am I satisfied with delayed gratification?

• Am I a frugal person or a spendthrift?

• What kind of entrepreneur am I, according John B. Miner?

These are just a few of the important questions that you need to consider when considering a career as an entrepreneur. Be honest and straightforward with your answers. It is important to understand your strengths and weaknesses alike before venturing into self-employment and the world of entrepreneurship. You will learn to build on your strengths to achieve success and work on your weaknesses to improve them. You will also learn to compensate or your weaknesses by finding others (employees or outsourcing) to take up the slack, for you cannot be great at everything while running a business properly.

A former business partner of ours used to say, 'You can't turn a giraffe into a tiger. It just doesn't work.' Therefore, you have to grips with what you are good at, what you can become good at, and what you will never be good at when starting your own business. Remember, the sign of a great leader is when they can create a strong and talented team to help them achieve their goals.

Certainly, in the beginning, when you start your own business, you might have to wear many different hats because you cannot afford to hire enough people to help you. Therefore, you do the best you can and bring on additional people to help you, or outsource that which you don't do well. In this way, you make up for your weaknesses and achieve your goals more quickly.

However, do not underestimate your ability to be successful as an entrepreneur. We have coached hundreds of people who appeared to be the most unlikely candidates for entrepreneurship and yet with proper coaching and training they turned out to be very successful entrepreneurs. It is essential to take steps to understand thoroughly your entrepreneurial aptitude and potential before making any extreme decisions one way or the other. It is not always easy or comfortable to look in the mirror with openness and candor. However, it is often the most significant first step in your quest to be an entrepreneur.

Now, you have to ask yourself...

• How does entrepreneurship work?

• Where do I start?

• Is there a test, an assessment or some entrepreneurial appraisal that I can take that will make it clear?

• What do I do next?

These are all good questions to ask yourself if you truly desire to embrace an entrepreneurial career. It is extremely important to understand how entrepreneurship works. Considering how much information is available on entrepreneurship, it becomes increasingly significant to seek out the right information and advice.

There are personality assessments and entrepreneurial tests you can take to help determine your suitability to self-employment and entrepreneurship.

What you should do next is continue to look and research all possibilities for understanding what it is you want to accomplish in your personal and professional life.

Find information and a program that resonates with you and gives you the answers that you want and need to be successful.

Although it may seem overwhelming when you don't have all the answers, it becomes clearer if you take each step in a logical sequence to first discover and then unleash the entrepreneur within you.

What is important is that you take that first step in taking control of your own life and making decisions that will have a positive influence on your future.