“I QUIT!” Do you wish for that day when you can stick your face at your boss’s and just say those words out loud instead of repeating them everyday in your mind whenever your boss takes credit for the work it took you hours to do and ideas that were plainly yours?
It can take forever to get promoted; salaries are low, while office politics can be toxic. Not to mention your boss’s bad breathe. And no matter how many times they tell you to have fun and be enthusiastic, work just feels like work and not play. That’s why they call it work, isn’t it? Maybe you can liberate yourself. Maybe it’s time you went out on your own. BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR. Here are a few things to keep in mind.
DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES?
FINANCES – It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the inflow of the money should be greater than your outflow. Before anything else calculate the expenses you will incur in terms of resources you will need, salaries you’ll need to pay, rentals, and payments—EVERYTHING down to the details. Then figure out how you will market and advertise your product to reach your target audience and make them shower you with money.
LEADERSHIP – Having your own business will bring with it a different set of stresses altogether. You’ll be the boss, steer the ship and you will be in charge of, well, EVERYTHING. You can delegate and people will be under your command of course. You will be in charge of the jobs of most likely several other people who will rely on your leadership. Can you handle the responsibility? Can you take the stress?
COMPETITIVENESS – Do you like to win games and contests? Do you have the ability to learn from failure, not willing to give up because of setbacks and obstacles but tend to get challenged and begin again when necessary? Do you have the desire to achieve? Do you want to wipe out the competition like a tsunami on the shores of Japan?
ROLE MODEL – Entrepreneurs who succeed have seen and know how others have done it, they seek mentors to teach them how to manage the business. Not everything can be learned from books. Entrepreneurs seek the inspiration, motivation and example of others they look highly upon.
TRAINING – Ever since you were born, you were exposed to hard work and encouraged to achieve. Your dad taught you discipline and responsibility, you watched him grow from being a sales man to having a business of his own too.
OVERCOMING CHALLENGES – This is your element. This is fun to you. The potential success of your business enterprise drives you, makes you drool like a dog, wag your tail and makes you just plain enthusiastic and energetic about what you do.
CREATIVITY – Lastly, can you think out of the box? Entrepreneurs are a breed outside the rest. They are self-starters and can think like lone wolves and not sheep or herds of cow. Can you understand problems to the core? Can you look at the problems from either an expanded or focused perspective and find the solutions each time deductively, inductively or however it takes?
You’re not an entrepreneur yet unless you are successful. An entrepreneur is defined as someone who “creates wealth by owning and managing a business profitably out of limited resources.” Remember, it’s you who are the boss this time, and you can’t just quit.