By Okechukwu Okugo
There is no one who cannot be an entrepreneur, whether we were born to become one or not.
Anyone can become a self-made business man or woman, even though some may seem to have been endowed with a natural skill or flair that predispose them to easily becoming one.
Any skill can be learned or developed. It does not matter whether one possesses it as a talent or as a natural skill.
Anything can be turned into a business. Whatever one can do that solves a problem or provides an answer to a certain question, can be used to earn money.
For example, if one is unable to meet up with all their household chores like washing dishes, cooking, cleaning etc., it will provide an opportunity for someone else to start up a housekeeping job.
An entrepreneur is one who bears the chief financial risks while organizing or operating a business or businesses. Once one engages in something and earns money from it, the person is an entrepreneur.
An entrepreneur is an originator. He originates whatever he or she earns money from. Whether the business is big or small. Be it a little kiosk at a corner of the street or a high-tech company located on the last floor of a 58 story building.
There are different ways to originate a business. It can be originated from an idea, from an initiative, or looking and taking advantage of an existing opportunity etc.
Simple observation can help one identify opportunity by looking around in your neighborhood to check what is lacking or what is in higher demand.
Sometimes it may require paying a keen attention, to ponder on what one can come up with that may not have already been in existence, that can be used to provide a certain solution.
Whatever it takes, being able to observe or detect opportunities can provide a greater incentive to becoming an entrepreneur. Because making use of opportunities has always provided avenues of earning money.
One thing that cannot be disputed is that an entrepreneur will have either a product or services that people would need. They have to devise means and ways to be competitive in the market, something that will make them have an edge among customers or clients over other competitors.
This will be their strongest point that will attract people to them. Their strongest point of attraction is what makes the business flourish, because, if they are not patronized, they would not earn; and the business would neither be able to take care of the entrepreneur as well as itself. Business needs expenses to run. Without making money it will not be able to sustain itself nor its founder.
There are many advantages of owning a business. At least, for one, whoever is able to create a business can never be unemployed; and secondly, would be able to plan his or her time better in the future. And those two reasons are powerful enough to make anyone do all they can to attain the freedom that follows becoming an entrepreneur.
The major motive of becoming an entrepreneur is not to become a billionaire. Entrepreneurs are better propelled by a desire to make a difference, a desire to solve a problem and bring a peculiar value to people needing their services or products.
Money follows later, depending on how valuable what you do is, and how much it is sought after. It is the amount of value one offers, and the kind of problem one solves that determines the amount of money that flows in.
For example, Facebook makes a lot money because of what they offer that was able to attract 1.71 billion monthly active users round the globe, thereby making it easy for many companies and others to come advertising and doing business in their platform.
"Do not be afraid to venture into your own business. There is no one born to become a successful entrepreneur. All successful entrepreneurs put effort to succeed. They developed what is needed to succeed. It needs training, developing or following certain principles. You can succeed if you are truly willing to do all it takes to succeed. It takes nothing special. It only takes developing the right mindset and a real zeal to keep going." - Okechukwu Okugo
How to become a successful entrepreneur
1. Find a problem and offer the solution. Always remember anything can be turned into a money making venture. Look at the questions people always ask, look at the needs people always look forward to being met. Once you can identify a problem and offer the solution, you can earn with it and thereby be making your dream of becoming an entrepreneur come true.
2. Think of an idea that you can turn to either a product or service. Ideas are inexhaustible. If you don't have any clue of how to get a new idea, you can take up an old idea and start thinking of how you can make it better or more efficient.
Ideas may come when you think of a problem, the solution might provide you with an idea. Always look for ideas around. When you come up with them, ask yourself how you can make people benefit from the idea. Finding the way to do so can enable you to become an entrepreneur. Until you know how to turn an idea into a positive thing you can do, it may not be able to become a business.
3. Do not be disheartened if you cannot come up with any idea or if you cannot find any solution to existing problems. All successful entrepreneurs are not idea generators.
Are you really looking for a business to start and you don't know how to come up with one? You can try this:
look for flourishing businesses around you. There are lots or some businesses around you that are flourishing or doing well at the moment. Pick one of them and study what it takes to run it and open your own around.
If the business appears saturated or highly competitive, think of something different or an incentive you will add in your new business, others don't offer, that will make people come to you when you start.
You may also want to look into such businesses doing well around and lesser competitive; start your own. You will be patronized.
For example, if there is only one canteen in your area serving a particular food and has a lot of customers around, you can start a similar canteen around. If you sure research about it and start it well, you will be patronized.
4. Develop such qualities as passion, hard work, persistence etc. Don't be afraid to fail. Many started, failed many times before they got it right, and start enjoying.
Your persistence will surely pay off if you can stick longer, even when it seems the business is not working out well. Be ready to learn. Seek ample information about whatever you do. Self-discipline, patience is also important. Find mentors, successful people in your line and read up about them and what they did to succeed. Above all, you must love what you do because that is what will provide you with that passion for succeeding.
5. Be ready to save some portion of your profit. Learn how to plow profits back into the business. This is very important especially when you are starting from the scratch. Successful entrepreneurs don't live and do things by chance. They are good planners. Learn how to always plan whatever you do.
6. Don't be stagnant as an entrepreneur. Always look around and know when to change and how to change based on how customers are responding. Market changes. Know when it changes and what it currently demands, and offer exactly that. You will always be relevant if you can do this.
7. Be versatile and diversify. The worst thing an entrepreneur would do is depending only on one business income. It is like putting all one's eggs in one basket. No business thrives up and up and up, without going down at some point.
Life is rise and fall. Likewise business. If you have an alternate or backup services or business, at the time of fall for one of the businesses, the other carries the entrepreneur along.
For example, if you run a confectionery business, and is well known for cakes, you might try branching out into the production of different types of buns, bread, donuts etc.
One of your products would always do well in the market at different seasons or time.
If you have a grocery shop in a street, at the time of a boom, you can use the "excess profit" earned to open another grocery shop on another street. When business slows down in one shop, the other may be flourishing.
8. Don't stop setting goals and reaching for them. When you meet the set goal, reset another one and pursue it. One must be reasonable in setting goals and not set unreasonable goals at every particular point in time.
"It is easy to become an entrepreneur by simply developing the mind of an entrepreneur. You cannot become an entrepreneur until you start thinking like one." - Okechukwu Okugo
Do not be afraid to venture into your own business. There is no one born to become a successful entrepreneur. All successful entrepreneurs put effort to succeed. They developed what is needed to succeed. It needs training and developing or following certain principles. You can succeed if you are truly willing to do all it takes to succeed. It takes nothing special to succeed. It doesn't demand you must be a genius to succeed as an entrepreneur. It only takes developing the right mindset and a real zeal to succeed.
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