An individual who plays an important role in business and who runs a company (be it a small business, multinational or sole proprietorship) can be considered an entrepreneur. In this field, success can be measured both by considering the personal achievements of the entrepreneur and the overall growth of the companies to which he has contributed. These two factors are often intertwined on a very deep level: in fact, it is impossible to overcome professional goals without a great personal commitment.
Steps
Part 1 of 5: Gaining the Right Experience
Step 1. Get proper education
It is important to know the basics of the industry, but an MBA (Master of Business Administration) is not always necessary. However, keep in mind that in the absence of advanced training, many potential employers shrink. A degree in economics, even at a private or online center, shows that you have always had the determination to learn. This will affect employers, so it should be emphasized on the resume. We have to start somewhere!
- University. If you want to become an entrepreneur, it is normal to get a degree in economics, however you should find out about the sectors that interest you before enrolling in a specific faculty. For some professions it is preferable to have specialized training, so do all the necessary research.
- Vocational institutes. If the sector you are interested in requires a particular specialization, it would be better to opt for a professional institute.
- Conferences and seminars. Following the tips of those who have broken through in their field can be enlightening. Find out about the series of conferences organized at the universities in your area or do an online search to find out about the initiatives in your city. It is essential to keep up to date and listen to the opinion of the illustrious minds of a given sector, even if you think you already know everything.
Step 2. Don't spare yourself
Breaking into the business world means going out of your way. If you finish your homework (or the commitments of your side job) ahead of schedule and have some free time, there are many resources available online to enrich your knowledge. Never rest on your laurels: the mind must always look to the future.
- Today, many employers prioritize the concrete skills a candidate can offer. While they are important, the grade point average or master's degrees tend to take a back seat. Look for sample resumes for the job roles you care about - in your spare time, work hard to cultivate skills that will come in handy.
- But remember that bending over backwards shouldn't compromise other aspects of your life. If you work hard, rewarding yourself will motivate you to cultivate healthier habits in the future.
Step 3. Try to be guided by a mentor
Building a professional relationship with an expert you admire is one of the most direct and effective ways to network. It can be difficult to make contact with someone like that, but come forward using all the means at your disposal. If you meet this person, prepare some relevant questions to ask: "How did you start?", "What course of study did you follow?" and "What was your first initiative in this area?".
- If a colleague or friend of your parents works in an industry that interests you, try to get their email address or arrange a meeting.
- If you admire an entrepreneur working in your city, you can always try to go to his office and request an appointment. Explain that you are an aspiring entrepreneur and that you admire his achievements. Ask him if he can give you a few minutes of his time to chat.
- At university you may find this figure in a professor. Never underestimate the resources that the faculty can offer. Thinking that lessons are the only learning opportunity is wrong. Talk to some professors during office hours for suggestions.
- Some companies organize on-the-job training initiatives. They consist of hiring students or recent graduates to work side by side with experienced employees. Take advantage of these opportunities: don't consider them a waste of time, they are an opportunity for learning and improvement.
Step 4. Apply for internship
Don't have experience yet? Take advantage of internships to make yourself known. If an unpaid position allows you to gain knowledge that will help you break through in the future, don't turn it down. Making a temporary sacrifice is by no means a loss. For many college students, internships offer their first opportunities to network in the field by working side by side with professionals. To enter today's business world, unattractive entry-level jobs that offer very low wages are the price to pay. It is essential to overcome this obstacle: in fact, often the real initial level professions (the ones that will actually allow you to make a career) are inaccessible without a few years of experience behind them.
Instead, reject unpaid positions that obviously will not allow you to make a career in the company itself and will not open other doors for you
Part 2 of 5: Make Good Habits
Step 1. Prioritize your schedule
First, take care of those tasks that will give you real long-term benefit. You need to understand the difference between high-value commitments (i.e. those that will give you more benefits in the long run) and lower-value commitments (they may be easier, but also offer fewer benefits).
Step 2. Stop putting off
Ignoring the less pleasant aspects of the job won't make them magically disappear. If you think about pleasure before duty, let grueling commitments pile up and take care of the mangy chores all at once, a bad taste will remain in your mouth at the end of a project.
- Make lists: no one can deny the effectiveness of this tool. Having a work-to-do list and deleting items as they are done is imperative to combat procrastination. Each list should be long enough to keep the workload in perspective, but not long enough to make you feel overwhelmed.
- There are several strategies. For example, try dividing a seemingly unmanageable task into smaller tasks; then, try to squeeze the less pleasant aspects of an assignment into the tasks that really interest you.
- Follow a schedule. It's not always necessary to write to-do lists or have an agenda, but establishing a regular plan can help you manage business efficiently. Scheduling the commitments you hate most for a specific day (so you can get them out of the way and avoid stressing yourself at other times) can help you fight the habit of postponing, a habit that is anything but profitable.
Step 3. Complete the projects
Finish what you start. Finishing a project will allow you to learn a lot more than a dozen failed attempts. Try to work hard even if you feel tired and don't want to know anything more.
After working hard for a job, it can happen that you feel stranded. In fact, the project goal may turn out to be wrong. If this project takes a long time and will absorb a lot of energy in the future, it is best to reevaluate whether you are using your resources well (think back to high value goals and low value ones). Now, how do you know when to let go? It takes honest introspection and some self-awareness. If you find yourself thinking about it often and have a long line of unfinished projects behind you, it may be a sign that you need to get to work and get it done
Step 4. Take Your Responsibilities
A successful entrepreneur must be held accountable for their actions, whether they have been good or bad. Responsible behavior makes it clear to employees and employers that you are willing to face various situations openly and honestly. Nobody appreciates those who wash their hands of negative consequences and missteps. Among other things, this attitude can have disastrous effects on relationships established in the business world.
Part 3 of 5: Turning your Passion into a Job
Step 1. Pursue your interests
If you give your body and soul to a satisfying job, passion will spur you to give it your all even when the motivation wanes. Having passion doesn't mean it will always be easy and fun, it means believing in what you do to some degree. In the end, your efforts should always make you proud, or at least get you a little closer to the final goal.
Step 2. Try to find a balance between work and leisure
Living in a healthy and balanced way is essential to have long-term success and protect your well-being. But as you can imagine, at first the ambitions will require you to bend over backwards and work tirelessly. The passion for what you do will help you make even the endless days meaningful.
- Throwing yourself headlong into work without taking breaks will increase stress and decrease productivity. Set limits for your working day and make frequent stops to recharge your batteries.
- Don't confuse work with your identity. Carving out time and space away from professional commitments (despite being your passion) can often help you be more productive and lucid.
Step 3. Don't have delusions of perfectionism
The more you value work, the harder it can be to give up on perfection. However, it is known that delusions of perfectionism can do more harm than good. Working day and night to come up with a perfect presentation, chart or report will allow you to do a great job, the problem is that this will be detrimental to productivity.
Look for a work balance that satisfies you, your boss, and your client without impacting the rest of your life. Employers reward those employees who know how to make quality deliveries reliably, while they do not particularly appreciate employees who, despite doing a good job, almost never meet deadlines
Step 4. Try to convey a serious image by expressing yourself appropriately
At the beginning of a business venture, talking about your career as if you have already arrived can make you appear presumptuous. However, showing some confidence conveys an authoritative image to others, plus you tend to take yourself more seriously.
If you are starting a business, don't speak ambiguously. Describe the initiative in the right way. Convey a professional image using the right words: while working from home, a certain room can become your "office". You can certainly demonstrate some sense of humor, but don't underestimate or undermine your efforts
Part 4 of 5: Knowing the Right People
Step 1. Build bridges, don't burn them
Acting respectfully, courteously and humanely towards everyone you meet is a good place to start. You never know: you could form strong bonds on unexpected occasions, find yourself in front of a future business partner, a prospective investor or an employer.
End relationships only when absolutely necessary. If you quit a job, resist the temptation to gloat over this change, slack off, or tell your boss what you really think about him. Imagine that your business contacts form a network: when you pull or break a thread, this action can have repercussions in other places as well
Step 2. Introduce yourself as a person, not a product
If you advertise in a cold and calculated way, networking activities can seem interested and superficial. Remember that building a professional network is essential to being successful in most industries, but never forget that you are still forming contacts with other people. If you approach interactions with a human approach, it is likely that others will remember you more easily when they need to hire someone. Employers not only have thoughts like "Do I know anyone who could do this copywriting job?", But also "Do I know of a job position that could be right for Riccardo?".
All other professionals in the industry know that networking is essential, so don't feel embarrassed and don't think you're the only one advertising your skills. Self-promotion is an integral part of the game
Step 3. Cultivate good interpersonal skills
Not only will you need them to deal with employers and employees on a daily basis, they will also come in handy when negotiating deals and contracts. According to some studies, the most successful entrepreneurs have not only excellent cognitive skills, but also social ones.
- Strive to appreciate the work and contributions of others.
- Practice active listening. This means that you should recognize what others are saying to you and repeat it in your own words based on what you understand.
- Pay attention to others. Try to proactively observe other people's feelings, words, and body language.
- Connect people. A successful entrepreneur should inspire and encourage the creation of interpersonal relationships. Promote an environment that brings people together by treating others fairly and honestly, encouraging them to collaborate.
- To resolve conflicts, take on a leadership role. Try to act as a mediator, without getting personally involved.
Step 4. Get to know your clientele
In the business world, coworkers and potential employers aren't the only people you should build solid relationships with. Strive to build proper relationships with people who walk into your store, use your product, or appreciate your work. Emotions, not prices, often make up a pretty strong decision factor in many buying decisions.
Step 5. Hire wisely
Your employees form your support network and are needed to be successful. Hire smart and competent people, but also consider the role they will play in the team and whether they are able to collaborate.
- To form a good team, homogeneity should never be a priority. Different points of view offer many benefits to the entire company, both in innovation and in experience.
- If you find yourself in the situation of hiring family or friends, be careful. Cultivating your interpersonal knowledge is one of the main ways to find work, but nepotism can put you in a bad light. Make sure you hire qualified people for each position.
Part 5 of 5: Taking Care of the Company
Step 1. Survive
When an entrepreneur opens a company, starts doing a job or a trade, the main goal is simply to survive. If you are planning to start a business or start making your way in an industry, don't set yourself unrealistic goals because you are still a beginner.
- The aim of all businesses is to make a profit, even if they are run by selfless and disinterested entrepreneurs. Expected profitability can be modest (enough to allow the firm to survive and grow) or large (to attract other investors and satisfy shareholders), but no firm can move forward without a profit.
- For example, imagine you have a bar, but you are also hoping to open a clothing store and would like to give clothes to less fortunate children. If you don't focus on the success of the bar first, you will never be able to achieve the purpose of doing charity. Long-term goals are important, but they shouldn't distract you from achieving short-term and sustainable ones.
Step 2. Invest in your future
Have you ever heard the saying "To earn you have to spend"? Whenever you can, it is good to be frugal, but only enough to have money on hand for more important and useful expenses. These expenses can be the following: pay the salaries of particularly talented professionals you hope to hire, finance advertising in a trade magazine or buy a nice suit to better play the part in the presence of colleagues and clients. Try to invest to be successful in the future, don't just celebrate current successes.
Avoid spending and splurging on ties, jackets, company cars and huge offices with exorbitant prices that you don't really need. On the other hand, don't assume that beautiful things are automatically inaccessible. Image is an important aspect of being successful in business, but it's not when it comes to pure vanity. Having a huge office that you cannot fill or employees that you cannot pay on time (because you spend a lot on renting or renting company cars) will not allow you to convey a positive perception to the outside
Step 3. Take calculated risks
New businesses that have big ambitions must first survive, but all businesses have to take some risks. Leaving the safest route (in regards to your business role or industry expectations) is necessary to succeed in a highly competitive field. Plan your initiatives carefully and limit the risks as much as possible, but be prepared for occasional setbacks.
Step 4. Offer something unexpected
In the Western imagination, successful innovators are admired and respected, but in reality, pursuing original ideas can be frightening. Don't be afraid to take a leap in the dark: anyone can have a great idea, but putting it into action to pursue it to the end demonstrates a spirit of sacrifice and tenacity.
If an idea fails, this does not always mean that it is wrong: sometimes an initiative can be brilliant, only that it is not implemented effectively. Don't throw away everything you've tried and don't totally change it. For example, if you work in a company or have a business partner, the problem can be solved by better defining the responsibility of each member
Step 5. Accept failure
Failure sheds light on your methods and goals, allows you to see them for what they really are, however painful it may be. Correctly interpret your mistakes: there is nothing to be ashamed of, more than anything else they give you the opportunity to reflect on your work. Sometimes it is only by facing the insurmountable, the failure and the struggle to get back on track that the tenacity required by this work matures.
