Do You Have What it Takes To Be an Entrepreneur?

I never thought much about what it takes to be an entrepreneur. When it was my time to start a business, I jumped in. I didn’t think about it. I didn’t consider the pros and cons. I just did it.

I’ve been an entrepreneur now for 23 years. Lately, everywhere I go, people ask if they have what it takes to be an entrepreneur?

Honestly, I’m really not sure how to answer. But, here are some tips I learned along the way:

• Expect the unexpected – You will never have the same day. One day, you will be putting out fires and the next day, you will help a client achieve a dream come true. (I guess that’s the good part of being an entrepreneur.)
• You aren’t what you set out to be – I was a publicist. I was actually a great publicist. I wouldn’t take no for an answer and had clients appear in top publications, television stations and radio shows around the country. But when I started my own business, I stopped. I couldn’t be a publicist any longer. I had to run a business. I had to work on spreadsheets and budgets. I had to figure out staffing and client retention methods. I had to motivate staff to get them to take great care of our clients. And, I had to market my firm.
• You always have to be happy – Even when things are going bad in your life, you need to be a coach, a cheerleader, a motivator. You can’t be unhappy or show any type of negativity.
• Understand the business is a roller coaster – There are years when you feel like you’re on top of the world. You’re making money and you feel amazing. Then there are years when the business isn’t making nearly enough money and you have to cut staff, cut salaries and even go so far as to fire yourself until you have enough money to pay your business bills.
• Don’t define yourself by your business success or failure – The economy has been bad since 2008. I don’t really think it’s recovered much and yet, as an entrepreneur, we define who we are by the way the business is doing. It’s so hard to stop this from happening and yet, if we don’t, we lose ourselves and who we are.
• Be prepared to dial your lawyer – All too often you get retained by a client but then for one reason or another, he/she decides not to pay you. Don’t forget to have an agreement and make sure to get your lawyer involved if the client doesn’t pay.
• Keep giving back – This has always been my motto. There have been a handful of amazing people in my life who have helped me along the way and I believe it’s important to pay that forward. So, as much as I can, I try to give back to the community.
• Surround yourself with amazing people – The more amazing people in your life, the better your work/life will be. I have the most incredible staff. Many have been with me for years and they totally add joy and happiness in my life and I couldn’t have been a business owner without them.
• Find an outlet – I found running about three years ago and that has helped me through some of the rough times. It helps keep me sane and releases my stress.

Being an entrepreneur has been tough. Although it’s been a “long and winding road,” when I look at where I am and what I have accomplished, I feel happy.

So if I am happy, then maybe it was all worth it. I have learned some tough lessons along the way and have forgone opportunities in my life. But the accomplishments I have achieved and the legacy that I may leave behind, makes it all worth it.

So do you think you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur?