One of my favorite entrepreneurs, Daymond John, once said, “Entrepreneurship is easy, you just have to apply yourself and you can’t be afraid.” Recently Vayner Media Founder and CEO, Gary Vaynerchuk, has said on multiple occasions that he is most afraid of “fake entrepreneurship.” He believes that so many people have glamorized entrepreneurship that many people who actually aren’t so have been trying to become entrepreneurs, and discounting how difficult it actually is to make it.
So which is it? Is it easy or is it wildly difficult? If you have ever wondered if you might be an entrepreneur, here are 10 signs that you might be a really great entrepreneur:
1. You are suffocating at your day job.
Leaders have to learn to follow. That is true. But if you find yourself daydreaming about how you would have made a certain decision or handled a certain employee, you may have the heart of an entrepreneur.
2. You wake up hungry.
No, not for food. You wake up hungry to solve problems you may have identified in your company, your community or in the world. Successful entrepreneurs seek to solve problems and create solutions.
3. You think in wins and losses.
Billionaire entrepreneur, Mark Cuban, once turned down a startup who pitched to him because they didn’t know how to compete in their market. Entrepreneurs must see the world in wins and losses. They must be ready to compete in their market and beyond.
4. You view failure as an opportunity to grow.
Failure is nothing more than a part of the process. Successful people, in general, conceptualize failure this way. As an entrepreneur you must do the same. Wins are a time to celebrate and losses are a time to analyze why you didn’t win.
5. You dream big.
If you are always the person described as having your head in the clouds, or if you think of solutions and methods that no one else around you sees, then you may be an entrepreneur. To start and run a successful business you must dream really big.
6. You see the trend coming.
The reason why entrepreneurs like Daymond John, Gary Vaynerchuk, Steve Jobs, etc. are successful is because they can see future trends coming before they happen. To run a business, think of yourself as the captain of a ship. Your job is to look for the iceberg and inform the crew down below to turn the ship in the right direction.
7. You act more than you talk.
The world is filled with talkers. Everyone wants to have dialogue and discourse. A true entrepreneur engages in dialogue and turns it into action.
8. You read a lot.
Successful people and successful entrepreneurs read a lot because they are always pursuing new knowledge! They want to know how the world works and why it operates the way it does.
9. You are an expert.
More than that, entrepreneurs are experts in their field. If you do not know everything there is to know about your field, you cannot claim to call yourself an entrepreneur.
10. You have built something.
So many people talk about what they are going to do. So many people start projects but don’t finish. Entrepreneurs run through the finish line. They build products, services and solutions. They have something to show for the work they have put in.
There may be 50 or 100 indicators of successful entrepreneurs. Count these 10 as the quick start guide to understanding yourself as a potential entrepreneur.
If you want to do some more research check out the Entrepreneur.com quiz!
