Ask Yourself: Are You Destined To Be An Entrepreneur?

Originally published on Tom Leydiker's website.

Entrepreneurs may not appear to be much different than the average person. And in a lot of ways, they aren’t. But in order to be successful in a world of individuals who are all pushing to make their entrepreneurial pursuits a reality, there are certain entrepreneurs who stand out above the rest, who will actually turn their ideas into a functioning business. And of these entrepreneurs, there are qualities they possess at their very core that are quite different from the average person. It is these character and personality traits ingrained within them that provide them with a strong base in order to propel their ideas into successful endeavors.

Are you destined to be an entrepreneur?

Not everyone is destined to become an entrepreneur. It takes more than just great ideas and capital to fund those ideas to be a successful business owner. If one of your life goals is to one day own your own company, ask yourself: do you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? If you ask yourself the following questions and can confidently agree that you possess these traits, you are already well on your way.

Are you a problem solver?

Every day, there will be new challenges that you will have to mitigate in order to keep your business functioning smoothly. If you can survive the pressure of resolving a high number of unpredictable issues, and are continuously looking for underlying problems to address before they become unmanageable, than you are equipped to handle the challenges of entrepreneurship.

Can you recognize areas where you need to improve?

Just because you are a confident person doesn’t mean that there aren’t areas that you can improve upon. If you are too prideful to admit that you have weaknesses, then you will not succeed as a business owner. There will be many times you will be forced to reassess and restrategize in order to keep up with the demands of your business. If you are unable to be honest with yourself and flexible enough to make those changes, you could run a company into the ground.

Could you delegate tasks to other employees?

You are bringing your ideas to fruition. You have a vision of how you want your company to be, as well as how you want it to run. It’s okay to put effort into ensuring that it mirrors your expectations, but you need to be able to delegate the smaller tasks to your other employees and let go of that control. You are the mind behind the company, and you also shoulder the majority of the responsibilities, which means that you need to be available to deal with the larger aspects of the business.

Is everything you do done with purpose?

Never do something for the sake of saying you did it. Think about why you are doing something and if it makes sense for your business. Trust your gut and if these decisions are made with purpose, it will be the driving force behind whether your small business succeeds or fails.

3 First-Year Lessons To Learn From Successful Entrepreneurs

Originally published on Tom Leydiker's website.

Have you ever thought about what your life would look like as an entrepreneur? Gone are the days of having to work for someone else, especially someone who you may have conflicting ideas with. Being an entrepreneur allows you the creative freedom to bring your own ideas to life, rather than working hard to bring to life the ideas of someone else. It also gives you more control of how you balance your personal life with your business life.

But entrepreneurship is not something that everyone can excel at. While there are obvious benefits of becoming your own boss, there are substantial challenges that will present themselves over time, especially throughout your first year in business. While, in the moment, these hurdles may seem significant and impassable, they will also be the lessons that will prove the most beneficial to your future success.

Straight from the experiences of fellow entrepreneurs, these are the top 3 first-year lessons that you will learn as you begin your business venture:

1. Be flexible with your expectations.

Many entrepreneurs spend years thinking of how to start their own business. With a pressing passion to get their business off the ground, they often set high expectations for themselves and all they will accomplish in their first year. This drive is what sets entrepreneurs apart, yet it’s important not to do too much at the onset. You want to build your business for success while also not burning yourself out in the process. Set goals for yourself but don’t hold too tightly onto these plans. Unpredictable changes are going to occur and you need to make sure you are flexible enough to run with the punches.

2. Learn how to say “no” when necessary.

Financial stability is at the forefront of every entrepreneur’s mind. There will be a lot of financial sacrifices that will need to be made in order to not only support yourself, but your business as well. While it may be tempting to say “yes” to every opportunity for the sake of revenue, this could be very dangerous to your future success. You can’t take on every single project or else you will work yourself too thin, which could have a detrimental impact on your mindset towards your business.

3. Create a schedule that works in your favor.

One of your strengths at your current position may be time management, but prioritizing your time when you are working for yourself can prove to be extremely difficult for those not accustomed to it. One of the reasons you chose to become your own boss was so that you can be more in control of your schedule. Don’t let work control your life. There needs to be boundaries set in place to ensure that you give yourself a break so you can focus on your personal well-being as well.