Entrepreneurship: Do you have the spirit? Guest Post by Nicole Williams

Nicole Williams is the author of Girl on Top: You Guide to Turning Dating Rules into Career Success, and provides us with three things you need to be a successful entrepreneur.

To go it alone or not to go it alone? That is the question. Actually the real question is: Are entrepreneurs born or made?  This one has been making the rounds for years and there are no definitive answers.  I grew up with a father who’s an entrepreneur so I’m not entirely sure what I was born with and what trickled down from watching him bust his ass, but I’m going to guess there’s more born than made. If you’re not able to grasp (or able to grow into) what I’m talking about below, you’re asking for trouble.  

• The belief that rules are written for other people:  I was speaking at a television industry conference and before everyone was let into the room, I listened to a guy tell us how hard it is to sell a TV show, “the chances are one in a million”.  After sharing my story of selling 13 episodes of a show concept upon first pitch, the guy came up to me and asked how it happened.  I didn’t say it aloud, but in my mind I’m thinking…because I’m not you…or the 999,999 others out pitching their show.  

It may sound egotistical (and maybe it is) but to be an entrepreneur you need to believe that the odds, the statistics and the rules don’t apply to you. Nine out of ten start-up businesses fail in the first five years. You’d be screwed walking into this reality not believing you’ll be the one who will defy the odds. This rules-are-for-others concept is also essential from the perspective of looking for new ways of doing things. The name of the game is innovation and some of the best businesses have been built around taking a tried-and-true idea or rule and turning it on its ass. Are rules for you or not?   

• A sense of fearlessness:   Leaving the comfort of the warm, comfortable cocoon of ‘the man’ is not for the faint of heart. As I actually think about it here, it’s not that as an entrepreneur you don’t feel fear – you do – but you become not only immune to it, you learn to actually thrive off it. If your idea of being out on the limb is ordering pork rather than chicken, you’re in for a rude awakening. To put your name, money, reputation on the line is a big, fat, exhilarating deal. You’re going to be scared, and the question you need to ask yourself repeatedly is: Can you handle it? I’ve met a lot of failed business owners and one thing that most have in common is that they become paralyzed in the face of the fear.  

• A refusal to lose:   I’m not just saying this for the sake of bravado and it’s not that I don’t question myself or want to give up, but at the end of the day I know I will not let myself lose. There’s a certain kind of stubbornness that comes with entrepreneurship. On the outside it might look like you’re crazy to be holding on for dear life when other sane, rational people would have walked away. As an entrepreneur you have to be willing to fail (trust me, you will make mistakes—embarrassing ones) but you can’t let yourself lose – huge difference. One of my very favorite business books is called Many Miles to Go by Brian Tracy. His message is one of perseverance and dedication and I use it as a constant reminder that the greater your vision, the longer it will take to build.  

For more about Nicole, visit: http://www.nicolewilliams.com/.

Comments

[Alex@PhotoHand]

Very much to the point:)