Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could all just have our own successful businesses? Imagine owning an 8 figure business that runs on autopilot with very little input from you. As unrealistic as this sounds, it is completely doable as detailed in this article by Forbes.

It is possible to run a business that eventually runs without you all it requires is setting up systems and processes in place to make that happen. It starts with making that conscious decision to become an entrepreneur. 

Becoming an entrepreneur is not an easy decision to make, quite a number of people have learned the concept of entrepreneurship the painful way (after the loss of time, capital and resources). This is because they did not fully understand what it means to become an entrepreneur.

In this article, we will touch on the definition of entrepreneurship, the different types of entrepreneurship and the traits and characters an entrepreneur is expected to have. 

Who is an entrepreneur? 

Entrepreneur.com describes an entrepreneur as a starter. The entrepreneur is a creator, one who births news businesses and assumes the risks associated with bringing a business idea to life. The entrepreneur can be likened in some way to a mother. The business idea is the baby in the womb.

The process of shaping that idea, and bringing it into existence can be likened to the process of labour and finally growing that little business into a successful one that can run on its own, which can be seen as parenting. 

What this means in essence is that just having an idea is not enough to make you an entrepreneur.n the conversion of that idea into a revenue-generating entity is what makes you an entrepreneur. 

Top 3 Characteristics of an Entrepreneur

1. An entrepreneur is a risk-taker – They invest time and resources into converting an idea into a business without fully knowing what those investments would yield. They may run some numbers and make some projections to have an idea of what the return on investment could look like but it still retains some element of risk.
2. These risks could be internal such as recruiting a poorly skilled employee who looked very good on paper and performed exceptionally well during the interview but performed poorly after they have been onboarded. It could also be external in the form of government policies that prevent a business from importing the raw materials they need for production. Whatever the situation is, the risk is borne solely by the entrepreneur.
3. An entrepreneur identifies and solves problems – A successful business is one that solves a problem. An entrepreneur spots a problem that others may otherwise overlook. Back in the days of purely traditional banking, a lot of us figured it does not get any better than walking into a bank and cashing your cheque or submitting a withdrawal slip. These days the GenZ folks might not even know what a withdrawal booklet is because someone figured that there was a better way to send and receive money without leaving the comfort of your couch. Today, most people only walk into a banking hall if they experiencing challenges with their accounts.
4. An entrepreneur is flexible and creative – They understand that there is no one size fits all to solving problems. Human beings are quite diverse as our social and economic backgrounds feed into our diversity and that in turn informs our needs. An entrepreneur who is in constant tune with the needs of their target market is one who will always be ready to adapt. 

Intraprenneur vs entrepreneur

While the two concepts may sound the same, they slightly differ in some ways. Simply put, an intrapreneur is someone who leverages the principles of entrepreneurship to achieve business objectives. They exhibit all the characteristics of an entrepreneur within the confines of the organization they work for and without assuming the risks involved in starting a business. 

 6 easy steps to get you started

1. Identify a problem – Like was previously stated, successful entrepreneurs are the ones that solve problems. Do not focus on the solution, focus on the problem. Seek to understand why it is first a  challenge, then will you be able to figure out a way to make people’s lives easier through your approach to addressing the problem. This can be achieved through some research.
2. Take stock of your resources – Do you have the right financial and human resources required to convert your idea into a business? Say you want to start a business supporting working mothers with child care services, do you have the resources to hit the road running or would you require some education in that area. Do you want to outsource the marketing or would you want to take a simple one-hour Facebook marketing course so you can learn as you go? 
3. Have a plan – Every single business requires a plan. There is a saying “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. You need a business plan to help guide you in identifying your revenue model, the resources you require, who to sell to and how to sell. 
4. Build the product – Do not wait until your situation is perfect. There is no perfect time to start a business. What makes you an entrepreneur is your ability to overcome unforeseen challenges when they come. So start building your minimum viable product. People may not fully understand your idea until they see a version they can see or feel. 
5. Get talking – Your product may be good enough to sell itself but if you don’t at the very least introduce it to someone, no one will ever know about it. The more people you talk to about  your services, the faster your business grows 
6. Unlearn, learn and re-learn – As your business progresses, you may find yourself rethinking approaches. That is perfectly okay, you may have just realized that you are an innovator after all. So focus on those insights, what is the market telling you?
7. Should you diversify your service offerings or should you narrow it down to one single offer and then focus on growing your geographic coverage? Do you need to take more courses on financial management for small businesses to better understand how to develop a profit and loss statement or how you can leverage artificial intelligence to drive more sales?

In Summary, there is so much to cover on the topic of entrepreneurship, from setting up systems to equipping yourself with the right knowledge, there is so much to learn and we will do our best to cover them in subsequent posts.