Entrepreneurialism Information

Surviving the Three Pitfalls of Business Ownership


The morning sun sheds its brilliance and warmth on your sleeping face. 10:00 a.m. 10:15 a.m. 10:30 a.m. Finally, after half an hour of lying in bed, you decide to get up and start your morning routines. Your work day officially starts fifteen minutes later as you stumble to your computer, still wearing what you woke up in, coffee in hand. And so goes the life of the entrepreneur. You get to decide when, how long, who with, where and what you work on. No boss. No politics.

While this idyllic life might be the reality for some entrepreneurs, it certainly isn't guaranteed. In reality, every entrepreneur has a unique experience depending on their decisions and plain, old luck. And while good luck may be hard to control, making good decisions isn't.

To maximize your decisions, you have to understand that entrepreneurship has its shadows-unforeseen challenges you may not learn about until you're deep in the trenches of operating your own business. The good news is that by becoming aware of these shadows as early as possible, you can structure your business for success. Let me then shine some light on the major challenges entrepreneurs face so that you can confront and effectively navigate them.

  • "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." As Thomas Edison found, if there's one thing certain about entrepreneurship, it's that things never go as planned. No matter how much market research or planning you do, or how certain an outcome seems, you can never eliminate uncertainty. This means that if you choose to start a business, thinking that it would be a good source of funds, you could very well make less money than your friend who works a minimum wage job.

    Think of your business as an experiment where the outcome is uncertain, but where you'll be sure to gain valuable experience no matter the results. Beware of betting the farm when you don't have to. In entrepreneurship, you create a hypothesis (that is, a product), and you test it by marketing it to a potential market. As you continue to experiment with different business strategies, you'll be able to create better products and a better business.

  • Once you're in, you can't get out. When the clock strikes 5:00 p.m., most entrepreneurs, unlike their peers with a 9-to-5 job, have trouble forgetting about what happened during the past eight hours. In other words, an entrepreneur's business becomes a core part of their life, not just a time segment in it. This is because entrepreneurs aren't paid by the amount of time they work, but by the results they create. And with the large amount of uncertainty that comes with the territory, you may not know when or even if you're going to get paid.

    Since it's going to become such a huge part of your life, be sure to choose a business idea your passionate about, one that gives you a lot of enjoyment, one that you might even do for free, given the opportunity. Think about partnering with good friends. Pick an industry and business structure that fits with your desired lifestyle. If you're doing something you don't enjoy or that's terribly stressful, you may end up thinking of it as a chore, especially when times get tough.

  • If half the journey involves taking the first step, the other half entails persistently following your chosen venture through its ups and downs. Your parents and friends want you to succeed-there's no doubt about that. However, to them, success often doesn't mean taking the risk of starting a business. What it really means is getting good grades, going to a great school, getting a job, and then working your way up the proverbial ladder of success. In addition to the internal challenges you might face as an entrepreneur, you'll also face pressure from your family, who may think of entrepreneurship as a distraction and discourage you from attempting it. Your friends may wonder why you're not hanging out with them as much and get angry at you.

    Without the support of your friends and family, it will be that much easier for you to throw in the towel if the going gets tough. To help you find the resolve to continue, be sure to set realistic expectations and be prepared and committed to continuing on your entrepreneurial journey, no matter what. Reprinted with permission from Entrepreneur.com. Copyright © 2005.

    Michael Simmons is the author of the best-selling book, The Student Success Manifesto: How to Create a Life of Passion, Purpose and Prosperity and an award-winning entrepreneur. He is also one of America's top youth motivational speakers for college campuses. Read his online journal at young entrepreneur journey or click on the following link to download his free success ebook.

      


    MORE RESOURCES:

    Rooted for Success, Part 2: Rock Valley wears Sioux County's work boots
    DesMoinesRegister.com
    How religion, entrepreneurialism and education mix in Sioux County. See an audio slideshow of photos from Sioux County — the cattle farms, factories, laboratories, colleges and pizza restaurants — and hear reporter Adam Belz introduce this series.

    and more »


    Capitalism, Invention, Innovation and Entrepreneurialism: Words That Do Have ...
    Forbes
    It's terribly important to remember that words do in fact have specific meanings. For if we forget it then we end up driving around in circles as this Washington Post piece does. It's titled “The end of lone-wolf capitalism” but that's not the fault of ...



    Mother Nature Network

    Hugh Jackman launches fair trade chocolate brand for Valentine's Day
    Digital Spy
    And then being able to create jobs and support entrepreneurialism. That's what inspired me, and I was waiting for the right opportunity." Jackman even believes that buying his treats could have a health perk. He added: "I eat a little bit of dark ...
    Hugh Jackman To Sell Organic & Kosher ChocolatesStarpulse.com (blog)
    Hugh Jackman's expanding business to include chocolatesTruthDive

    all 38 news articles »


    UW Oshkosh Today

    Courage, innovation, entrepreneurialism fuel UWO growth in challenging conditions
    UW Oshkosh Today
    By News Bureau 18 January 2012 No Comment Print this story In the 2010-2011 academic year, the UW System, along with University of Wisconsin Oshkosh's faculty, staff and students were challenged continuously by dramatic decreases in state funding in a ...

    and more »


    Pitching for Management event in city
    This is Plymouth
    We see signs of entrepreneurialism everywhere and want to support people in their bids to create the global businesses of tomorrow. "One of the best ways we can do that is by helping them build great teams. Pitching for Management is proven to be an ...



    Lady Gaga's Social Network, The Tween Dating Scene, Social Entrepreneurialism
    Business 2 Community
    By Melanie Shreffler, Published February 8, 2012 As if we need more social networks to follow, Lady Gaga (has just unveiled LittleMonsters.com her very own social site that's all about her and her fans. If you haven't received your invite yet, ...



    The Guardian

    Constructive criticism: the week in architecture
    The Guardian
    Having turned his hand to everything from photography, to social activism to vegan tea shop entrepreneurialism, this week, the former rave titan launched his own Los Angeles architecture blog. "One of the things that fascinates and baffles me about LA ...

    and more »


    Ouachita Baptist University News

    Ouachita teams finish second, fourth in OBU/HSU Business Plan Competition
    Ouachita Baptist University News
    McKinney said the business plan competition also “fosters a spirit of entrepreneurialism on campus” and “provides great opportunities for students and professors to collaborate on a project outside of the classroom.” Businessmen and women from around ...

    and more »


    This Week in Small Business: The Bacon Milkshake
    New York Times (blog)
    “All of the bright, go-getting, 20-somethings … are part of New Orleans's post-Katrina explosion of entrepreneurialism and development, which has made the city a hub for socially minded millennials.” Only 13 of the top 100 metros have bounced back ...



    Healthier Relationship Trends Predicted This Valentine's Day
    MarketWatch (press release)
    A collaboration with DGWB's BalancedHealthy practice, serving clients in the health and wellness space, the list is an extension of the Institute's work in values-based marketing and social entrepreneurialism and long-term partnership with the ...

    and more »

    Google News

  • Article List | Index | Site Map
    All logos, trademarks and articles on this site are property and copyright of their respective owner(s).
    The comments are property of their posters, all the rest is Copyright © 2006 CanadaSEEK.com - All Rights Reserved.