Sunday 26 December 2010

Entrepreneur - The Vital Ingredient for Longevity

By Christine O'Dwyer 


In challenging economic times you have a choice whether to cower with fear and regret or whether to start a business and profit. Did you know that more millionaires were made during The Great Depression of the 1930s than in any other era in US history? It is in the challenging times that entrepreneurs flourish.
There are so many reasons why people start their own business these include:
-Be the boss, make decisions, take time off when they want
-Greater possibility of significant financial rewards
-Prestige of leadership
-Involved 100% in the businesses
-Make a contribution and help the local economy
Once the business plan is made and the finance in underway they move forward with extreme motivation and positivity. However a shocking 80% of businesses fail within the first 3 years. Why is this? Whilst I do not have all the reasons why these businesses fail, I do have one way to increase the success rate. This is a secret shared by one of my mentors Simon Sinek.
The Missing Ingredient
As an entrepreneur you need to define the ultimate reason you are in business and be sure to distinguish this from your how you do business and the results you get. If you ask many entrepreneurs why they are in business many will say for the money, no that's a result not their 'why'. Others may say it's because they love what they do, no, that's how not their 'why'. You need to be very clear on your why. And yes it will most likely fall somewhere within the reasons listed above and will be very personal to you.
So what's so important about identifying your why. By identifying your why you will maintain your motivation and purpose. Everything decision you make in business will be guided by your why. If you are moving further away from your why you will steer yourself back on course with the necessary action. If moving towards your why you will drive ahead in a focused way.
When starting up in business or when running a business there are so many distractions. By knowing your why you can quickly eliminate the irrelevant ones and consider only the relevant distractions. This helps you stay focused on your business and move your business forward.
When starting my home business I thought of so many good reasons why to go into business. I also listed all the features of the business and fooled myself into thinking this was why I was going to be an entrepreneur. Such features included that it runs automatically 24 hours per day 7 days per week; continuous learning; relatively low initial investment. These were not my 'whys' these were my 'hows'. It took time for me to ultimately identify why I am an entrepreneur with this businesshttp://www.havingthebestday.com. My why is, so I can be at the school gate everyday to collect my children. After years of being torn between children and career I drew a line in the sand and said enough is enough. I took action with http://www.havingthebestday.com. What's your why?

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