While you might be thinking that you have the perfect product, business, or pitch don’t quit your day job just yet. Going your own way and truly being self-employed takes a lot more than a good idea, it requires execution.
There are a lot of people who have ideas, but there are very few people who have the chops to transform their ideas into a reality. Sure, it’s fun talking about what could be or how you would do “x” if “y”, but talk is one thing that separates a wantrepreneur from and entrepreneur; the latter is only concerned with action. Now, if you don’t quite fit into a traditional workplace and find yourself trying to upgrade everything around you, you could be onto something. If you’re making things happen, teaching yourself along the way, and refuse to give up despite setbacks you just might be an entrepreneur. Keep reading to find out for sure.
You might be an entrepreneur if…
You have a side project, or lots of them. Because your not satisfied with your day job you have your hands in a lot of different projects at once. You’re interested in everything, but what’s more telling is the fact that you think you can make all of these things into something big. You might not actually know how, but you’re willing to try.
You’re unemployable. It’s not that you can’t get the job done, it’s that you’re really bad at taking orders from other people. And you’re not being difficult or lazy, it’s just that you can think of ten ways to do the job better, faster, and more efficiently. Instead of nodding in agreement, you do things your own way; the better way. Your being subordinate, so you’re fired. In reality you’re being innovative and should probably be building a business for yourself.
You despise the status quo, mediocrity, and the idea of being average. It’s possible that your inability to be a good employee stems from the fact that you hate how the “real” world works. Pushing paper and punching a time clock are not in your DNA. You can’t bide your time, don’t want to climb the corporate ladder, and don’t care about your title or salary. You want to make stuff and help people. You can’t do that by accepting things as they are.
You don’t rely on credentials or a degree. You’re not exactly qualified to any of the things you want to do, but that doesn’t scare you. You’re going to make things happen by figuring them out. Instead of using lack credentials as an excuse or reason to give up, you’re willing to earn your stripes and your keep. If that means learning how to code because you can’t afford a developer, you’ll do it. Likewise, if that means upgrading your friends and network, you’ll seek out the people who can help get you where you want to be.
You want to know how others succeeded. You’re obsessed with business biographies, startup websites, and hearing from people who are more experienced than you. Yes, you want to learn about how they succeeded. But, more importantly you want to know about the mistakes they made, the setbacks they faced, and how they would have done things differently. You know that every success story is build upon a foundation of failures, and you’re willing embracing that truth to learn from it.
You value your legacy over currency. You’re willing to work for free doing something that you love and believe in. There’s no denying the fact that money is a necessity, but you know it’s not going to bring you happiness. Having an impact, doing epic work, and transforming the world you live in are your end game, not things – a big house, fancy car, or designer suit. Deep within you is the need to make your mark and create value for others. You won’t settle for anything less.
You were/are a rebel or poor student. Bad grades don’t always mean that you’re not capable of doing big things; they’re just a sign that you don’t operate well in a controlled, systematic environment. If you couldn’t sit still and asked too many questions, that could actually mean you’re more inclined to be an entrepreneur. Because you can’t learn like everyone else you were forced to create your own learning styles, your own solutions to problems, and make them work for you. Now, you’re used to making something out of nothing and persevering through setbacks.
You need to make things better. When something doesn’t work, it makes you mad. But, you don’t get frustrated and walk away. Instead you set out to find a solution to make it work better. It’s called scratching your own itch and you’ve been doing it since the days of being a “poor” student. You tinker, and innovate, and challenge the way things are in order to make them better or easier.
You are borderline bipolar. Entrepreneurship is a crazy thing, literally. Tell me if this sounds familiar; a “persistent and pervasive elevated (euphoric) or irritable mood…extremely energetic, talkative, confident, and assertive…have a flight of ideas and feel creative…generates productivity and creativity.” Yep, sounds like lots of entrepreneurs I know. The thing is, this description refers to a mood state known as Hypomania. It’s on the bipolar spectrum and can lead to risk taking and full on mania (also associated with entrepreneurship).
Quitting is not an option. This one can be a positive and a negative. Since you’re willing to work for free and have the confidence that you can figure out a solution no matter what, you’re not willing to quit; ever. You’ll work around the clock; forgetting to eat or sleep. You’re persistence, you have grit. But, sometimes no amount of those valuable character traits will contribute to your success. You will fail. But, that’s where the entrepreneur cycle begins again. You shake yourself off and get back to building something you can be proud of, believe in, and make money from; because that’s important too.
So, how did you do? Are you an entrepreneur or a wanna-be?
About Carson Derrow
