An Entrepreneur Does NOT Follow The Crowd!

Entrepreneurs Do Not Follow the Crowd!

Most entrepreneurs have been employees for most of their working lives. There is nothing wrong with that. They are employees with entrepreneurial skills. 

As employees, they are on a schedule. They have guidelines and rules to follow. This creates the mindset of “doing things a certain way” and yes, it makes sense. It also creates the notion of time vs earnings. They may mistakenly calculate their value based on an employer’s pay rate.

For those employees who have different entrepreneurial skill sets, this gets tedious. I have been that employee. It isn’t easy. I see a better way of doing things or think about how I would do it differently. Adding a few tweaks of my own keeps me productive and interested.

My profession molded my entrepreneurial skill set. I have been in the computer field since I was 19 and yes, it is a mind-boggling change in rules! Because of my profession, I am accustomed to: 

• Changing directions
• Adapting to chaos
• Think outside the box 
• Working with a team of people putting their heads together to figure out where the software or process is malfunctioning.

That helped me to have confidence in my research capabilities, my check-off lists, and my decisions. Becoming an entrepreneur wasn’t a conscious decision. I did special projects on the side (as a hobby) for friends and referrals. I never lost interest in design, something I was very passionate about. But I still worked for an employer. It was tough giving up that paycheck.

In my opinion, there are two different types of entrepreneurs: 

Type #1:

• Decisive ~ they don’t worry about what someone else thinks, they will decide quickly and efficiently. They also own that decision and take responsibility for it
• Entrepreneurs admit a process needs tweaking or that the idea really wasn’t one that would work well.
• Research is a key component of what entrepreneurs do. They will seek advice from a successful entity and listen to problems and ideas that work. 
• Multi-taskers 
• Value their expertise 

Type #2 ~ ‘Want To Be’: 

• The Want To Be Entrepreneur has a worthwhile hobby or product that they want to turn into a business venture. However, they don’t have the confidence in themselves to make that decision.
• Will listen to their family and friends who sometimes negate the idea of working for themselves, telling them they need to get an actual job.
• Do not take their business seriously. They may start by creating a marketing plan, or just a plan of action, but they won’t finish it. 
• They may not see the value of seeking out a mentor. SCORE, a local non-profit in every major city in the U.S. is made up of retired or ongoing business entrepreneurs. The non-profit organization offers a wide variety of “free” and “low-cost” classes in every type of subject you may need to explore.
• Indecisiveness ~ this is a killer ~ they aren’t sure if their idea is right, or they change their mind consistently because someone didn’t like their idea. 

Have confidence in yourself. Do your research. Find a networking group that you can join, learn from, and grow. Listen to podcasts like “Entrepreneurs On Fire” and research LinkedIn for the wealth of information for growing entrepreneurs. ~ Whatever you do, “Do Not Follow The Crowd!”