Think Like An Entrepreneur

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Most of the time a person's problem when starting along their own entrepreneurship journey or wanting to become self-employed is themselves. 

I can definitely say, that is exactly what my problem was too.  Until I realized that if I wanted to truly become an entrepreneur I had to think like an entrepreneur.  

I constantly found myself reverting back to that 9 to 5 type of mentality. If I found myself not accomplishing some sort of task every hour, I felt like I wasn't doing anything or I wasn't working. 

As an entrepreneur, you have to make decisions.

You must take time out and relax your mind so that ideas will naturally come to you. Take time to think of solutions to problems.  

Just because you're not on your computer, typing away, doesn't mean you're not working.

It's okay not to answer your phone sometimes - that's what voicemail is for. 

And the same goes for emails, you don't have to check and respond to your emails right then and there.  At my 9 to 5 "job" I would leave my email open all day long and answer each one as they came in, as you can imagine, that caused many interruptions in my day.  I then started to just check my email a few times daily instead of constantly having to be interrupted. This allowed me to be more productive throughout my day.  

Rest assure that you will have days where you will feel like you didn't accomplish anything.  But you'll also have days where you'll feel like you've conquered the world.  You'll have days where you'll be amazed at how much you've achieved. 

You'll also have days where you may not have been able to accomplish many things on your to do list, but will have been able to make a decision on something that had to be addressed. 

Or, you will come across a day or two where you will have learned a valuable lesson about yourself. 

Know that some days you will earn more than others, financially speaking. 

Don't break down your tasks into dollars and cents, though.  Don't worry about how much you are or are not earning every day.  

Think about the best benefit you have in your business - you answer to yourself. 

Everything you do will benefit you sooner or later. 

Instead of your income being dependent on someone else's budget, you can go as far with it as you can dream. 

Doing what you love to do and not having to answer to anyone else will make you so much happier and content in life.  

If you start THINKING like an entrepreneur, you will become one. 

Practical Tips for Starting Out As An Entrepreneur

It is an awesome time to become an entrepreneur.  

As an entrepreneur, you have so much more access today to information that enables you to make decisions intelligently. You can target new markets quickly.

But to be successful on your entrepreneurial journey requires that you look at the details of the big picture you have.  It requires that you follow a plan from beginning to end.  Here are some practical tips that I believe will help guide you along the way:

Don't Quit Your 9 to 5 (Yet)

When starting along this journey, start it on a part-time basis, while you're still working a "job" and have steady income coming in. It's different for everyone, but it usually takes about a year to get a business going strong enough to where you can quit your 9 to 5. 

Start with what ever you can manage for now, financially and time wise, until your business starts to scale up and grow. There are plenty of websites out there you can go to if you need something done, that you don't have the time to do yourself, such as Fiverr. 

Narrow Down Your Niche

Nowadays, people like and look for stores and service businesses that specialize in their field. Meaning stores that specialize in a particular product or a service business that only specializes in a particular service that they are looking for. 

If you already know what your niche is, narrow it down. 

If you're still looking for a niche, you may want to read an earlier post I wrote about how to find your niche.

Narrow your niche down so much that you become the expert in it. And yes, you can be the expert in anything that you choose to want to be an expert in. 

Online Presence

Even if you don't want an online business, you must consider the fact that the internet can still play a valuable role in your business. Having an online presence is an extreme benefit towards the success of your business. It can broaden your customer base by millions, if not billions. Having an online presence can also be a great marketing tool for promoting yourself or your business, it allows people to learn about your business, even if it's just in your area. It helps people know what you offer, what you or your business is doing, it allows for people to know that your business even exists. 

You can start with social media pages, posting information about your speciality, and/or build a website or an ecommerce site for your business.  

Do Not Quit

Like I said earlier, To be a successful entrepreneur you need to think like an entrepreneur. 

And a successful entrepreneur never quits!

I don't like to use the word "fail", because a failure, or what others would say a failure is, are lessons learned. Therefore, "failure" simply doesn't exist.  

You must instill a drive to keep moving, no matter what. Refusing to give up is what separates the unsuccessful from the successful entrepreneur. Just read about any successful entrepreneur and you'll discover that most, if not all, have failed before succeeding. Stay optimistic at all times and know that there is absolutely nothing wrong with failure, just learn how to learn from those things that would be named by others as "failures".