You probably have heard a lot about entrepreneurship. And very recently some persons are screaming out “Entrepreneurship is not for everybody.” What I understand by that is that, not everybody should be in business. Which is correct. But, everybody CAN be in business. Actually, everybody is in business. Only that, while Some are making profit, some are not. And the difference is simple, those who make profit have gathered the knowledge and experience needed. Both, springing from a mindset.”The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” Steve Jobs
Let’s look at some foremost definition of entrepreneurship.“You are an entrepreneur when you Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow know what you truly want to become.” Steve Jobs
“The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity.” Peter Drucker
“Think of an entrepreneur as someone who hungers to see transformation, and goes out to do something about it in an innovative and sustainable way.” Strive Masiyiwa
“From my very first day as an entrepreneur, I’ve felt the only mission worth pursuing in business is to make people’s lives better.” – Richard Branson
I will define entrepreneurship as the business of development and profit. Note: ‘Business’ here may not necessarily be buying and selling. Remember when Jesus talked about going about His Father’s business? The way you run your day to day life is your business. Your daily workings, encompassing everything you do as a living being. If you do all things well, you surely make profit, either in cash or in kinds.
Now let’s break it down;
Looking at the above view point, it could be deduce that entrepreneurship involves continues innovation. Any business can fail, no matter how big it is if they don’t embrace this. The difference between successful and unsuccessful people, whether or not they own a business of their own is personal improvement/development. Every right minded person is constantly doing that. Nobody wants to remain the same forever. Everybody wants progress, even those who are already ‘rich’. Innovation is what fuels progress. The reason you are reading this is because you love knowledge. That little curiosity that makes you want to learn something new. It’s in everyone some just ignorantly ignore theirs. This is about building a mindset of consistent learning and innovation.
Are you a doctor, lawyer, accountant, teacher, or pastor. What new skill do you see that you can effect on your job? Unleash your entrepreneurial flare! You’ve got it!
Don’t be surprise that in few years from now big companies will only hire you only when you can prove your entrepreneurial skills. And that’s already happening. Being an entrepreneur is not about owning a business, it’s a mindset!
The second angle we will look at is imitation and competition. This I will say is the salt of entrepreneurship, it is what turns everything together and give it taste. Almost every new product you see in the market is an imitation of an old one. And the old ones are constantly competing with each other. Let’s look at us, personally I use to be a very competitive. Competing with almost everyone, with or without their knowledge. But sense has fall on me now. I cannot go and kill myself by myself. I still compete, but only with my previous self. And if you are doing something nice I like, I will imitate and together we will be doing nice things everywhere. That’s me because I have learnt and still learning.
Now take a quick look at the people around you. People are always immitting and competing with one another. Whether in the clothes they wear, cars they buy, vocations and the rest. Like I said, some are making profit, some are not. You definately are imitating and competing with someone or something, that’s entrepreneurial. From now, it should be more deliberate. Use it to your own success.
Lastly, making more money, the ultimate goal in entrepreneurship. Except an entrepreneur don’t want to remain in business, that’s when he takes this lightly. Money is one science people hardly study, oh no, money is one ART people don’t understand. Yet, it is what guides many of your decisions. Do you really want me to explain that everybody is seeking to make more money? Just as it is in entrepreneurship. So, you don’t have to own a business to want to make more money. And that automatically makes you an entrepreneur!
Everyone is an entrepreneur by default, whether or not you own a business. Specifically;
If you constantly seek to develop and improve on yourself, if you imitate good things and tries to outdo the yesterday version of you, you are already an entrepreneur. The moment you realize this, you will find a way to make more money which you already want to do. And that would be it. Full blown entrepreneurship!
PAUSE: “I believe one secret to success is to have a vision and to make up one’s mind to commit to following through with persistence.” MO Abudu. But you must also have a practical and executionable plan. I believe this practical aspect is the reason why many persons don’t see themselves as entrepreneurs, A great plan must be SMART, meaning you must have a strategy that is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. And then the tenacity to persevere.
Just as Strive Massiyiwa would say; Entrepreneurship is not necessarily about working hard. Maybe it use to be. But now, you have to find a SMART way to make work easy. “I choose a lazy person to do a hard job, because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.” Bill Gate. Perspective and methods is just as important as getting the job done. And once you get your Product, People and Process right, the rest as they say would be history.
So now, Are You An Entrepreneur? Are you willing to take the ‘risk’ of making your life worth while? And if you are already in the business of “making the rest of your life the best of your life”, I say to you Congratulations! To your very success.
Mercy Omoregie is a New Media Consultant and Content Strategist. She consults on content creation for personal and business growth, helping businesses develop strategic web content to promote their brands online.
Mercy Omoregie is an Editor and Script Writer. A humanitarian, with passion for personal and business development in Africa. Along with her team, she organizes digital skills training for teenagers in secondary schools. Plus, other online exclusive master classes that inspire and empower young people to fully maximize their potential. Leveraging the digital space.
Mercy is the Convener of the Content Strategy Forum (CSF), Africa's number one forum that trains young graduates, career professionals and entrepreneurs on content development and strategies.
Mercy Omoregie is the founder of BeInspired Show, an online platform where she writes to inspire young people, hosting interview sessions with great Africa entrepreneurs, government personnel, thought leaders and Influencer with a focus on inspiring and promoting startup and successful entrepreneurs in Africa, via storytelling.
Mercy is an Author of three books including; Power Content: A content creation insight for every brand and businesses. Connect with her by clicking the icons below.
Motivational piece! Well done!
Thanks Tolulope