Be an Entrepreneur by Michelle L. Casto
The Department of Labor predicts that the #1 employer in 2010 will be
”self.” A recent Internet poll of 25-44 year olds revealed that 90%
of them hoped to own their own business.
A survey conducted by Ernst & Young found that 75% of influential Americans believe that entrepreneurship will be the defining trend of the 21st century. Some of the factors that have attributed to the rise of the modern day
entrepreneurial spirit are access to technology, a global economy, and
corporate stagnation.
Many workers have experienced feelings of discontent, which are likely
due to the upsizing, downsizing, and right-sizing of corporations. But
whatever the reason, modern workers want to have more control over the
work they do. And they want work that is meaningful and important to
them. Now is a great time to become your own boss. In fact, the
number of Americans who are running their own businesses will continue
to grow as we move further into the millennium.
As workers’ values are
changing and people want more time to do the things they love with
those they love, having employment that allows for a greater balance
in their lives is critical to today’s worker.
In fact, it is downright un-American not to believe in the principles
of entrepreneurship. We started out working on the family farm or in
the family-owned grocery store (or other small business), but as our
country became more industrialized, families were pulled apart. We
had to go where the work was.
We left our homes and hometowns and ventured into the big cities. Big companies, industries, and corporations popped up all over the country, and we became reliant on them to take care of us. Today, with the advent of the computer, we don’t even have to leave home to conduct business. It frees us up to concentrate on the “business of life” again.
The new world of work encourages the entrepreneurial mindset, in that
we need to learn to use our imagination to dream up new ideas,
challenge assumptions and belief systems to find a better way, and
break through worn-out thinking to create new and innovative products
and services.
This way of thinking is helpful whether you are working
for yourself or someone else. An entrepreneur can be defined as
anyone who undertakes a commercial risk for profit, and/or tackles new
challenges. They are the change agents of society because they see a
problem and want to find a way to solve it. They believe in being
self-reliant and taking action to better their communities.
Robert Schwartz’s definition: “An entrepreneur is essentially a visualizer
and actualizer. He can visualize something and when he visualizes it,
he sees exactly how to make it happen.”
Successful entrepreneurs realize that if it is to become a reality,
they are the ones to make it happen. An entrepreneur is someone who
is able to continually reinvent himself, and to rethink an entire
project (and possibly start all over) if he finds that something is
not right.
Thus, someone who has vision, flexibility, and a
risk-taking nature fares very well in self-employment ventures.
Of course, like anything else, there are pros and cons to becoming an
entrepreneur. One pro is that you are the boss. The con is that you
still have other co-workers, customers, and vendors to rely on to get
the job done.
People who are self-employed often only have illusions
of control. For instance, you may think you have everything under
control and then something happens that puts everything out of your
control. The difference is that being the boss means that it all
comes down to you. You are fully responsible for your success. For
many people this level of personal responsibility is part of the
challenge and enjoyment.
The truth is that any successful
entrepreneur rolls with the punches and moves with the winds of
change. Take this test to find out if you have what it takes to be an
entrepeneur.
Are You the Entrepreneurial Type?
Check if applicable to you.
_____Responsible
_____Hard Worker
_____Risk Taker
_____Creative
_____Flexible
_____Follows through with ideas
_____Personable
_____Optimistic
_____Perceptive
_____Self-confident
_____Determined
_____High degree of energy
_____Innovative
_____Independent
_____Ability to anticipate needs
_____Effective communicator
_____Responsive to criticism
_____Able to take the lead
_____Learn from mistakes
_____Self-directed
Would you say that you are always, sometimes, or never like these
statements:
1. I am goal and action-oriented.
2. I am a self-starter.
3. I am self-confident.
4. I am a persistent person.
5. I like taking risks.
6. I am flexible and adaptable when necessary.
7. I am a problem-solver.
8. I am an innovative thinker.
9. I can sell myself and/or my product to others.
10. I accept responsibility for my actions.
11. I enjoy networking.
12. I can function in an environment of uncertainty.
13. I like being in charge.
14. I am willing to devote whatever time and energy it takes to be successful.
15. I am able to see what needs to be done and then do it.
Get Smart!
If you checked off and answered always to ten or more questions, you
are probably the entrepreneurial type. If you answered sometimes or
never to ten or more, you may be better off working for an organization.
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Illuminations I, Illuminations II, Illuminations III
Collections of quotes available from the brightlightcoach.com website.
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======================================================
Michelle L. Casto, M.Ed.
Whole Life Coach, Speaker, and Author of the Get Smart!
LearningBook Series. Her coaching practice is called Brightlight
Coaching— she empowers people to come up with bright ideas for their
life and to freely shine their brightlight to the world.
Areas of expertise:
Attracting Your Life Mate, Discovering Your Life Purpose, Living a
Balanced Life, and Empowering Life Strategies.
Visit virtually: http://www.getsmartseries.com &
http://www.brightlightcoach.com
Contact (361) 816-0685 or coach@getsmartseries.com
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