Do I Have What It Takes To Be an Entrepreneur?

Do you want to be an entrepreneur?  Have you wondered, “Do I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur?

Are you thinking about starting your own business?  Are you tired of the everyday grind of working for someone else? 

Will reading this article help me decide if I have what it takes?  Yes, I think so.

In this post I will discuss:

• What is an entrepreneur?
• Why you should be an entrepreneur.
• Who can be an entrepreneur?
• The concept of being an entrepreneur.
• What characteristics you need to succeed as one.
• Is there a downside to being an entrepreneur?
• Yes, I think you can become an entrepreneur.  If I can, then you can.
• A recommendation to start your own online business.

What is an Entrepreneur?

Merriam-Webster defines an entrepreneur as, “one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise”.  What this definition doesn’t include is the hard work and time it takes to succeed at being an entrepreneur.  It’s not all sweetness and light.  It isn’t easy.  You must work at it.

As in any money making venture, work is involved.  The advantage of being an entrepreneur is you are your own boss.  The flip side of that is you only have yourself to blame if you fail.  

Why Should I be an Entrepreneur?

There are several reasons to be your own boss.  The ones that seem to be the most powerful are:

• You control your destiny
• You have location flexibility
• You have flexible hours
• You have unlimited earning potential

Who Can Be an Entrepreneur?

I believe to be an entrepreneur, you have to first and foremost have a fire in your belly that will drive you each day.  You will determine in your mind that the dream you have is going to consume you and motivate you each day.  

If you have a burning desire to create your own business, then you have the seed of entrepreneurship within you.  You will have to use that desire to drive you each day.  

What are the Characteristics of an Entrepreneur?

• Vision; Passion for the business; where you believe in what you are doing, and are driven and determined to succeed.  This is probably the most important.  
• Creativity
• Motivation
• Informed
• Adaptable
• Focused
• Confident
• Decisive
• Willing to take risks

This list is by no means the final word in entrepreneurship.  But through my research this is what I have found to be the most common characteristics.  If you think there should be others, let me know.  I’ll be glad to add them. 

What’s the Downside?

As your own boss you have to deal with your weaknesses.  You must know yourself well enough to figure out how you will overcome those weaknesses.  Personally, I have fears of failure and find it hard to accomplish parts of my business.  I have learned to use these weaknesses to motivate me to overcome them. 

As Eleanor Roosevelt said, “You must do the things you think you cannot do.”

Why? Because there are some negatives you will meet:

• Frustration
• Roadblocks
• Rules and Regulations
• Expenses
• Fears.  Fears like failing, wondering where the paycheck will come from, asking yourself if all the work is worth it?

How I Became an Entrepreneur

I came at this through the back door so to speak.  I needed extra income.  But I have chronic pain.  Not too many options out there to make money when you are in pain.

So I explored work at home options and came upon Wealthy Affiliate.  I had no experience in affiliate marketing, website building or business.  (If you have even one of these skills you are ahead of me, but if not, no worries.)  

As I explored the platform of Wealthy Affiliate it became clear to me that I could work from home, set my own hours and hopefully make money.  

The great thing about Wealthy Affiliate is that it teaches you everything you need to know to build a successful website.  I have mountains of information to learn and apply, but I am truly enjoying the journey.  And you develop virtual friendships with all the other members.  We help each other.

I love to tell people I am building a website.  My grown kids are shocked at how much I’ve learned.  And it keeps me engaged in technology and learning.  As a senior citizen, that is really important for our mental and physical health.

Want to see what my sites look like?  Here they are with the link.  Just click on the name:

thenaturalpainremedy.com

helpfulresourcesforseniors.com

Check them out.  Leave a comment.  I’ll get back to you.  

The following is one of my first YouTube videos. Wealthy Affiliate even teaches you how to make them!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwgbhGYJgbk

Can I Learn to Be an Entrepreneur?

I think you can!  If I can learn, then you can too.  If you have questions about being your own boss, leave a comment.  I will respond.  

The great thing about Wealthy Affiliate is that with your membership you get all the tools you need to start your online business.  Maybe you have a store already, but need a website; well this is the platform for it.  Or maybe you want to sell a product.  Use WA to build your website to do so.  

The internet is the way of the future for marketing and information.  Being an entrepreneur on the web is the way to go.  Having the skills you learn here can even equip you to help others with their business; i.e. you could build their website for them, and earn money doing so.  

Many of the members at WA have an interest or hobby or a special skill that they can feature in their business.  Do you?  If so, you are also ahead of the game and can use WA to promote that.  Click on the image below to get started.

Conclusion

I would love to hear from you about what you thought of this article.  All comments are welcome.  I will get back to you, I promise.