Share this post:
Starting a business is nothing less than a titanic feat. There are many highs and lows, from financial to emotional, and to sail them all as smoothly, there needs to be sets of skills and mindset changes to succeed. But where can you start, and how can you ensure that you’re thriving to the best of your abilities without losing your mind?
Keep reading to find out the best recommendations and tips from top publications.
In an article penned by Nick Friedman for Forbes, he discusses the 5 Ps that can help millennials become entrepreneurs. He starts his piece by citing a Wall Street Journal analysis in which the Federal Reserve points out the declining number of young entrepreneurs, falling from 65% in 1980 to only 30% in 2015.
“One could hypothesize about why there is a lower percentage of business owners under 30 […]. But I would instead like to provide five keys to entrepreneurship that could help increase your opportunity for success regardless of age.”
Starting a business is not easy, and there are many economic factors at play. He says that even the people who have the right ideas to be an entrepreneur, there is more work to be done. If you’re asking “what is an entrepreneur,” well, it goes beyond just starting a business, though that is the main part of it. An entrepreneur takes on great financial risks while starting and running a business. An entrepreneur can succeed or fail, so there’s a great deal of risk.
Friedman talks about how his experience as CEO and founder of College Hunks Hauling Junk has taught him about finding the motivation, mindset, and skills to start a business. He calls his strategy the 5 P’s: persistence, patience, purpose, people, and profits.
He talks about how the recession, advances in technology, and general upheaval of the world’s order have left the millennial generation disoriented. As such, he urges them to practice persistence as an entrepreneurial skill, finding different points of view to find the right opportunities, and if it can’t be done, the patience to wait for the right moment.
For its part, Investopedia published a guide to entrepreneurship and the skills needed to succeed penned by Evan Tarver. This piece goes over the pros and cons of being an entrepreneur and makes it clear that starting your own business is not a walk in the park, but the rewards can be sweet enough to make a try.
Tarver lists five skills that are crucial for entrepreneurs and business owners:
2. Sales strategy
3. Focusing on goals
4. The desire and ability to learn
He writes that each of these skills is important individually, but to grow an enterprise, a conscious balance of these skills must exist. The path to success is not easy; many things must be done intentionally to strike the balance. For example, an entrepreneur needs to communicate with their workers, investors, peers, and customers, and this communication needs to be in person, one-on-one, written out, and as a group. This goes for all skills.
“In addition to honing one’s skills, personal qualities (or so-called “soft skills”) also matter a great deal. Being likable and friendly helps—nobody wants to partner with somebody who is difficult to work with.”
Working on different hard and soft skills can help you stay cool in a crisis to make the most of any opportunity that arises in chaos.
Chad Willardson, best-selling author and founder of Pacific Capital, wrote a piece for Entrepreneur chronicling some of his findings on how to build an entrepreneurial mindset. He talks about seven things he has learned by coaching entrepreneurs all over the world.
According to research, there is a higher probability that people will achieve their goals after writing them down.
“People ask me all the time about how to elevate their network, and the first thing I can suggest is that you decide to become genuinely valuable to people you admire.”
He suggests connecting with people beyond networking to grow your reputation, learn different skill sets, and expand your business’s perspective. By using this strategy, he mentions that entrepreneurs can gain mentors and advisors who can provide a different mindset brought on by firsthand experience.
Being an entrepreneur takes a great deal of effort. There are many factors at play that keep people from starting their own businesses, even if they do have a golden idea. Those who venture outside the norm and take on risks to find never-assured success are true mavericks. They have to rely on their soft and hard skills and a restless mindset to make their intention a reality.
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO FIND?