You Know You Are An Entrepreneur - When

Author:Dr. Cheryl Cottle, Ed.D

You know that you are an entrepreneur — a born entrepreneur. I believe that entrepreneurs are born and they know that it is their destiny. You can feel it in your soul. Deep in your heart, you know that entrepreneurship is the vocation that you have to follow. You are born with the kindle in your heart that fuels your drive to become an entrepreneur. It’s you. It’s at your core — it's your very essence. It’s at the centre of your being. It’s like a seed of spirituality that forces you to think, what is this? I am destined to lead my own life and provide towards the development of other people’s life, my community, and contribute to the development of my society. Once you have come to this awareness that you are a born leader, or was born to lead, nothing can stop you from pursuing your entrepreneurial dream. Just becoming an employee and selling your skills, knowledge and expertise to the highest bidder, is not your destiny. Once that fire of entrepreneurship becomes ignited, the flames will blaze as you embark on your journey. You are a creative — a person who is filled with passion, and drive that keeps you focus and leads you to your destiny — entrepreneurship.

Research shows that people born with the spirit of entrepreneurship know that they are an entrepreneur. There are certain attributes and attitudes that they have; and these are not just fostered by external stimuli, but they are innately related to the individuals. Here are 5 of them:

You are able to create new ideas:
New ideas becomes commonplace. You are not a follower or a copier. You don’t steal other people’s ideas. You create your own. You are innovative and you strive on that, and that’s what makes you stand out. As a creator of new ideas, while people, may try to steal your ideas; really cannot, because they do not have the blueprint of it, because it is drawn in your heart, the only person with the key, is you. It is protected. They might be able to mimic what they think they see, but cannot duplicate it. If that happens, never give up with your idea and new creation.

Admiration for people who are creative: You admire people who are creative, innovative, ingenuous, visionary, critical and analytical — people who are not happy being employees, followers and consumers — people who choose to be leaders, entrepreneurial and filled with passion to create and develop their own enterprise, making and leaving an imprint of the community and society that they live. You just cannot help admire a successful business owner, regardless of the size of the business. 

Have a love for learning: You know when you are entrepreneurial when you constantly want to learn new things. You are constantly experimenting with new ideas and the information that fascinates you, are how to create new things. When you see something in operation, and you are not concerned with the outer aspect of it, but is interested in how it operates, you are entrepreneurial. You want to know the inner workings of it, you know that your interest in its overall design. This is as a result of your innovative and creative mind — the mindset of an entrepreneur. You know when you take apart a watch, clocks, radio or a television, and you play with trains and just love playing with Legos as a child, creating your own designs; you are entrepreneurial. You know when you watch a movie, and is not only concern with the content and the acting, but is interested in the inner workings of the movie — the plot, setting, the mood, tone, the style, narrative and dramatic techniques, and the use of sounds and images — what goes into making the movie overall, you are an entrepreneur.

Persistent with your vision: You know that you are entrepreneurial when you don’t give up, when you show consistency in your thoughts and ideas. You know it is not just a passing interest. It’s deep seated, only waiting for the right time to surface and become a reality. You certainly do not give up easily. You are steadfast in your decisions. You are also very focused and disciplined, and is not afraid to put in the work to make things happen. You are driven, and once you start to act on your vision, you work tirelessly on perfecting your business concept.

Goal Setting: You know when you are entrepreneurial when you set goals for yourself, and is able to break those goals into smaller ones to achieve, each day. You just don't start a new day without knowing what you want to do. You are very proactive in the way you approach your new day. You also set realistic goals — goals that you can achieve, working through them until you finally achieve your overall goal.

Rational and Pragmatic: You are a rational thinker — you are logical in your thinking. You are often very pragmatic in your thinking — this allows you to think critically and analytically about an idea, therefore allowing you to identify what works and what will not, and enabling you to modify it to perfection.

Focused: You are often very focus and only concentrate and devote your time to activities that are engaging and make sense to you. Activities that wet your appetite for creation. You totally avoid things that will waste your time — you are very pragmatic where your time is concern.

Learning and Exploring New Technologies: You are very interested in the technology available that could help you take your business forward. Keeping up with the computer-based technologies including social media is one of your ardent hobby.