Entrepreneurial
Journey
My Last Lecture
In this last post to my blog I've been asked to give advice, direction and/or caution to anyone considering journeying
into the world of entrepreneurship. Although I've learned so much this
semester, I still feel inadequate to write such a paper. But hopefully the
things I include in this paper will be of help to someone who is considering becoming
an entrepreneur.
My first bit of advice to anyone
that is considering becoming an entrepreneur is that you must choose to do something you love! You must love what
you do and have an intense passion for the dreams you are putting into play. Find
out what gets you leaping out of bed in the morning and focus on that as the
starting point for your decision about becoming an entrepreneur.
“The
starting point of great success and achievement has always been the same. It is
for you to dream big dreams. There is nothing more important, and nothing that
works faster than for you to cast off your own limitations than for you to
begin dreaming and fantasizing about the wonderful things that you can become, have,
and do.” – Brian Tracy
Decide now that the business you
create will fall within the two purposes of business taught by Elder Gay.
1. To provide for our needs.
2. To help others.
As we build our businesses with a great desire and a
strong purpose, we need to also make sure our focus is on what is really important. If we have our focus
on our Heavenly Father and His will for us, we will succeed in not only
providing for ourselves, but in providing opportunities for others. One of the
first questions you can ask yourself as you start making decisions about your
business is: “How can this business benefit others?” As our focus continues to
be on the will of our Father, we will not only succeed in our needs, but we
will succeed in blessing the lives of others as He would have us do. Maximizing
profits should never be our primary focus.
“We cannot live
only for ourselves. A thousand fibres connect us with our fellow-men, and along
those fibres, as sympathetic friends, our actions run as causes, and they come
back to us as effects.” – Herman Melville.
As you start your business brace yourself for trials
and setbacks. They will come, so expect them. Prepare for them. In the book, “The
Dip” by Seth Godin, we are taught about the difficult times ahead. We are also
taught to decide before you start your business venture whether or not you have
the ability to work through the tough times. If you don’t have the ability to
survive then quit now, before you start.
Seven reason you
might not succeed through the “dip” or tough times:
1. You run out of time (and quit).
2. You run out of money (and quit).
3. You get scared (and quit).
4. You’re not serious about it (and quit).
5. You lose interest or enthusiasm (and quit).
6. You focus on the short term instead of the long (and
quit when the short term gets too hard.)
So when you choose a business to start, do so with
the full understanding that there is a dip, and that you believe you have the
ability to get through it.
With so many pros and cons for being an
entrepreneur, I definitely believe the pros far outweigh the cons – especially if
you seriously love what you do! Good luck in your venture!
No comments:
Post a Comment