What It Takes To Be An Entrepreneur

The E Factor

Written by Jay Shapiro for Gaebler Ventures

Some people say ideas are ten a penny, and often someone who describes themselves as an 'ideas man' hasn't got the ability to follow through. What's needed is the E (entrepreneur) Factor. Have you got it?

Have You Got What it Takes to Be an Entrepreneur?

Many of us have ideas for a business, but the space between the idea and the reality can often seem wide and daunting. The trick to any business is to establish whether there is a market for it, and once you have discovered that there is one, then you start to get the ball rolling. Of course, if you want this to work, then you need to ask yourself a few questions first.

Do I have good business acumen?

The fact that you are thinking about a business means you have a taste for it. You may want to escape a mundane day job, or you may just have a desire to go it alone. These factors do not necessarily decide whether you have business acumen, but this side of things can arguably be learnt as your experience grows. The bottom line is that you never know until you try.

Can I handle pressure?

If you are highly strung, or feel stress acutely, then your own business may not be for you. Being the boss can bring pressures you may not have thought about before. Consider:

• Non paying clients
• Slow paying clients
• No work
• Paying bills
• Deadlines
• Chasing payments
• Time management
• Marketing
• Family
• Finance

Sounds a bit frightening? We've barely scratched the surface. Pressure can be positive, but it can also be draining, and unfortunately, it may affect other areas of your life outside the business. Ill health, divorce, and other such traumatic situations have arisen because of the pressure and demands of business.

Commitment -

Businesses demand a lot of time and effort to be successful. This means you have to devote plenty of both to have a chance of making it in the real world. Do you time and effort to give in abundance?

Your domestic situation –

Following commitment, you have to ask if your domestic situation is up to handling the strains of business. It is possible that your business may not make any money for sometime. It will take a lot of your time, and you will be away from your significant other and or family for a lot of the day, and probably every day. Will your domestic situation survive all of this?

Tough decisions -

Sooner or later, as a business owner, you are going to have to make choices you would rather not. This is not necessarily always business related; it could be letting down your partner to win a contract, or not being at an event because you are fulfilling an order. Can you make these decisions?

Being your own boss is difficult, yet ultimately rewarding. It is possible to become wealthy, or comfortably off, and sometimes your fate is not in your hands. There are unimaginable pressures, from both your personal and professional life, and you will test facets of yourself you never knew you had.

Think carefully before you leap.

Jay Shapiro is a freelance writer based in the UK. Jay has a particular interest in the emotive aspects of the entrepreneur's character. "Alongside the nuts and bolts of business, the character of the person is often the ingredient responsible for success."

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