by The words ‘entrepreneur’ and ‘business owner’ are often used interchangeably but the truth is that there is a world of difference between the two.
An entrepreneur is someone who essentially identifies an arena where a change can be brought and uses it as an opportunity to grow. The profits earned in the process are a way of measuring success.
If you also want to become an entrepreneur, there are 9 P’s that you must know about.
Table of Contents
The 9 P’s of an Entrepreneur
1. Passion
It all begins with a dream and if you are not passionate about this dream of yours, you simply cannot succeed.
Being passionate about your new enterprise indicates that the chances of succeeding are higher.
Passion “fuels your desire” to achieve new heights as an entrepreneur because it is obvious that you will do more of what you love to do.
The love for your craft will make you master the skills required for your new venture. It is the internal drive that makes you want to put your best foot forward.
The OUTCOME is growth in sales, an increase in income, and outdoing entrepreneurs who lack passion.
Customers, financers, and staff can feel the passion of the entrepreneur and it can be relayed to them as a higher degree of motivation and perseverance.
2. Purpose
The basis for every business is purpose. The millennial entrepreneurs are driven by purpose and stick to their core values. It is about thinking differently and making an impact instead of just running behind earning profit.
As an entrepreneur, you should look at how your brand or services can change the world and add value to the lives of people.
When your business has a purpose, you can see a lot of things falling into place. People would love to join your venture and happy employees mean better productivity.
This would in turn increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.
In short, you can get a stronger foothold of things when you have a higher purpose.
3. Planning
There is no doubt about the fact that to get started you need a business plan. It is obvious that your investors would want to know what you are planning to do so that they have an idea of how their funds will be used.
Essentially, the business plan is a document that has a gist of the planning process used by you.
Planning involves setting up a goal and deciding on the course of action to be taken to achieve it. The goals can be both short-term and long-term. How your firm shapes up depends on these goals.
However, setting up goals is not enough!
You also need to take up a course of action in order to achieve them. For that, you have to decide on how the resources of the company can be put to their best use.
Additionally, planning will help in getting prepared for unexpected occurrences that are part and parcel of every business venture journey.
You have to be ready to deal with all the challenges that crop up. Having a business plan will also be helpful in giving you the much-needed competitive edge.
4. Patience
There are ups and downs in business just like how they are in life. You cannot expect the growth graph to keep on going up all the time.
You will have to face downfalls and in such situations, patience is the key.
There is no point in hurrying up. You can’t expect overnight success and even if that happens, it won’t last for long. Good things take time.
For you to get a stronger foothold, you have to be practical. In case you feel things going out of hand, work towards reassessing things and taking the right actions but with patience.
Don’t let your employees and customers feel that you have given up in any manner. Keep trying without getting impatient.
5. Practical approach
As a budding entrepreneur, you should go in for a more practical approach. That is a path that would definitely help you succeed. As you are just starting out, it would be too risky to give up your current day job.
You can devote your weekends to your business. This way you can safeguard your source of income. It may be difficult to juggle between your project and your job but if managed well, you can do it.
As and when you realize that you are able to earn good profits from your new venture, you can give the resignation letter to your employer!
6. Persistence
There are many first time entrepreneurs who call it quits within months of getting started. Everyone has their own reasons but most often it is the fact that they are expecting the tide to turn towards them in a matter of a few days.
If that does not happen, they get disappointed and drop out of the race.
The truth is that your venture can’t have the storyline of a fantasy movie. With that been said, how do you succeed?
The secret of success is no secret at all, it is persistence. You need to keep trying but not the same way every time.
If things don’t work in the first few attempts, you should make a few tweaks here and there and then see how the outcome is. Doing so will help you figure out which formula works and how you can grow your business.
If you say that you tried everything in the book and it didn’t work out for you, it would seem as though you gave up too soon.
There are many ways of getting something accomplished and the more persistent you are, the better it is for your business.
7. People
People matter and this is definitely not an understatement! No matter how technologically advanced you get, you must have people skills to be a good entrepreneur.
It is the people on which the success of a company depends on.
Therefore, it is important that you hire those who have a wavelength that matches that of yours otherwise it would be difficult to transform your vision into reality.
For example, the customer care team is representing your firm and when a customer has a good experience, it is obvious that he or she would form a good opinion of your company.
So, it means that the right people can help your company grow. You, as the founder, have to find people who support your vision and build your team.
Helping in building their skills set and keeping their outlook and positivity intact is essential.
8. Perception
Entrepreneurs are those who don’t take ‘No’ for an answer. They are on a constant lookout for opportunities to grow. The truth is that if you are a true entrepreneur, you are likely to find business opportunities in places where others don’t expect to.
Keep viewing things from your angle and you never know when and what may click. Keep your perception in place to see your business succeed.
9. Profits
Profits are the lifeblood of a business. If you are not able to earn a profit, you are likely to shut shop soon due to lack of funds.
Therefore, the focus has to be on increasing your profit and generating sufficient funds to run the enterprise. You need to face the obstacles that come your way and turn them into an opportunity.
So, these were the 9 essential P’s of Entrepreneurship you must be aware of as an aspiring entrepreneur.
Time and again it is said that setting up your business is a challenge but there is a different kind of joy in being the master of your own free will.
