I am what I am – An Entrepreneur
As we draw ever closer to the end of another week, the 41st in the calendar year, can I kindly ask you to reflect on your year thus far?
In terms of your business ventures, would you say you were on track, exceeding expectations or falling behind, struggling to get a grip of things? Have you made costly mistakes that you regret? What have you learnt about yourself and your business? Is everything rolling like clockwork – a stroll in the park? Are you too risk-averse? Is fear holding you back? Are you inspired and ready to grab the bull by the horns? What do you call yourself today?
Entrepreneurialism is laced with challenges, a lot of which are foreign to budding entrepreneurs: getting started, dealing with setbacks and keeping your mind and body energised, financing, battling the fear of the unknown.
Personally, I think I’m still miles away from where I want to be as an entrepreneur. Like a lot of people, the start of the year brings with it a new wave of expectation, optimism and milestones to attain. How have I faired thus far? Well, if I were to mark myself out of 10, I’d give myself a conservative 6.8.
The biggest change for me this year has been a shift in mindset towards action. Every action creates a reaction, basic laws of physics. In order to get a reaction, one must act, irrespective of the potential outcomes. It was all too often the case that I would do more thinking and researching than acting. I’d spend too much time painting an image of the potential scenarios and wondering how I’d feel and react to this at the expense of acting. How was I expecting to get anywhere?
One of the biggest mistakes one can make as a budding entrepreneur is letting your fears govern your actions. Naturally, the unknown does present an element of fear but learn to harness the emotion rather than hamper you. Fear can be used to consolidate your plan by creating key performance indicators. Remember however, the plan is an ACTION plan. If you don’t plan to act, there’s no use having one.
We all lie of different parts of the standard growth ‘S’ curve, whether it’s the early stage (hard yards) or the rapid incline (overnight success) or the point where you’re thinking of the next big thing. Wherever you are, remember the power of reflection and critical self-analysis. It really does help to put everything into perspective.
The beauty of a business networking platform is that ability to meet peers that can help educate you about yourself and your business – realign your goals and strategies. Relationships are there to be formed and leveraged on in a positive manner. I often take for granted the relationships I have amongst my peers. When in doubt, they are a great source for inspiration and renewed drive.
I implore you to keep on persevering. There will always be early adopter critics or investors wanting rigid and proven tactics but stay true to your vision. Remember to act if you want a reaction.
What part of your game do you think you need to work on? Would love to hear your thoughts and what you have done to improve it.
Tags: BiWhizz, Entrepreneur
