The most successful and wealthy people in the world found success and wealth through entrepreneurship. It is no surprise that millions of Americans dream of owning their own business, starting the next popular website, or creating the next hot product. Entrepreneurship offers many advantages. It offers a flexible schedule, making your own decisions, an unlimited potential for income, and an enormous platform for creativity. However, it also offers very long hours, extreme frustration, the potential for failure, and the risk of losing a lot of money. Still, many people become rich off scamming others into get-rich-quick schemes about starting a business with no product or putting together a real estate portfolio with no money down. The reason these people are so successful at making others believe their methods will work is because we are all so hungry to find success on our own. The paradigm has shifted in American culture in terms of success. Decades ago success was defined by landing a sweet job with a well-established company. Now, the cutting of retirement pension plans and less job security has switch others to starting their own small businesses and constantly pursuing creative ways to make extra income in hopes that it turns into a full-time income.
Do you stay up late at night trying to think of the next great idea for a company? Do you constantly jot down ideas for a great product to design? Have you thought about looking at yourself in the mirror? The constant pursuit of entrepreneurship may be staring at itself in the mirror. I’m talking about YOU. You are the business. You are the next popular product to sweep the nation. When analyzing unbelievably successful entrepreneurs such as Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and Oprah Winfrey, one must consider how they became so wealthy and successful. Bill Gates decided at an early age to become an expert with personal computers. He wanted to know everything there was about programming the machine that would revolutionize the 20th and 21st centuries. Warren Buffet became an expert in the stock market. He studied the market, investing theory, made some mistakes, and made some wildly successful moves as an investor. Oprah Winfrey mastered the art of capturing the middle-aged woman’s mind. No one on the planet has more influence over the 25 – 65 age demographic than her. When she recommends a book to read, it instantly becomes a national best seller. I believe that the person made these people successful as an entrepreneur, not the operating system, stock company, or television show.
Successful Entrepreneurs Do Five Things Very Well:
- Take calculated risks
- Act on the right opportunities
- Operate with integrity
- Become an expert at something
- Manage their life like a business
My point is that changing the way we think about entrepreneurship may be what sets us up for a successful entrepreneurial career. Instead of agonizing over what service or product to provide, focus on how to market yourself as a product or service. Pick one thing that you love. Pick one thing that you can show off your creativity and speak passionately about. Then, go become an expert in that one thing. Read, read, read, and read some more. Take classes at the local community college. Get involved in your community. If you become an expert in personal finance, you can start your own financial consulting business. If you become an expert in outdoor activities, you can start a business giving guided excursions for groups. If you become an expert in cooking, you can start your own high-class restaurant in a small store right outside of the downtown area. Are you getting my vision, yet? The business is you. You just have to train and market the business that lies within you.
Consulting, coaching, and service industries have exploded over the past 20 years. This is in large part because the working world has shifted from what you can DO to what you KNOW. Knowledge is king. If you become an expert at something you love, you’ll find multiple streams of income to capitalize off that including writing a book, conducting seminars, writing a blog, consulting/counseling, and many other ways to monetize your knowledge. We are a nation hungry for information. We get information overload from all of the posers trying to act like they know what they are talking about, when really we are seeking the few that actually DO know what they are talking about. Is that person going to be you? If it is, you’ll become abundantly successful and wealthy, and you won’t have to pay $1,995 for the DVD and workbook.
Do you think this could be a good idea for a book? I’d like to know your feedback. I’m passionate about this idea, and I’d like to start writing more in-depth about it.
- Erik, is a guest writer for Jon on Business and Entrepreneurship
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Very well said and explained..Our success and failure lies within our hands and the effort we put forward towards getting there.
…this guy can write…
Man if you’re passionate about it, go for it! I think passion is the key, and you even have the writing skills to boot!
I agree, it’s best to venture an entrepreneurship that you have interest & passion about
I come from a country where everyone is happy to settle for a 9to5 job. i ain’t wannabe part of that.
Thanks for the tip Erik. The article is an affirmation of my goal & quest
Very good post, gave me some good ideas. Hope to read more from you soon.
Nice post!
Although I’m still in the rat race, I still consider myself an entrepreneur. Great message Jon!
Just an FYI…a threaded comment plugin would be great and encourage more comments…I see a couple I want to respond to but it’s a pain to call them out and then respond…odds are they’ll never see my response if I’m way at the bottom.
But I think you have a custome site right…not wordpress?
Great post. You really let a lot of people know what it really takes to be an entrepreneur.
asdf on threaded comment plugin
Very well written article, and I agree with all the points.
I love the list of 5 things that successful entrepreneurs do well, so true!
“You are the business.”
I think that puts it very succinctly – we can no longer reply on an employer or “the system” to provide our security. It’s tough, but it’s true.
The upside is that people are waking up to possibilities they had never considered before.
Bob Proctor talks about this in a recent interview:
http://www.createspersonalgrowth.com/aa/1see
Worth reading.
Regards
Joey
Yeah, I think the key is that we need to adapt to the changing business model where people are being outsourced and technology and taking away jobs. Instead of being the producer, we need to shift our focus to being the expert that oversees a project or develops a new system. We need to be the consultants and counselors.
Why do you think IT has blown up in recent years? We don’t need people running the machines, we need people to maintain and improve them.
Nice Write up, by the new man Erik
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Great article. I stumbled across it while looking for entrepreneurial lessons. Here’s one you might be interested in:
http://smartstartup.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/07/how-to-go-from-.html