Post date: Oct 26, 2010 6:32:53 PM
Developing the entrepreneurial mindset is important to the
growth of any business and you as the business owner must
apply these entrepreneurial principles if you are to
experience the true potential of your business.
Small to medium enterprises, including home-basedbusinesses, fail for a lot of reasons. Reasons include, butare not limited to, poor management, ineffective marketing,wrong market potential, and miscalculated capitalization.But for whatever reason these businesses fail, one majorfactor to look into is the ability of the business owner tothink and plan strategically to allow the business toovercome any challenges that may come its way.When you start a business, you have to be prepared for allsorts of pressure coming your way. You have the utmostpressure to get it right the first time - make the rightdecisions, implement the right marketing strategy, hire theright employees, and have the right funding.This may be achievable in an ideal business school setting,
but things vary greatly in the real word of business.
It is necessary that you develop a business instinct so that
you'll know at once if a particular idea will work or not
before you spend time, effort, and financial resources.
Some steps for developing an entrepreneurial mindset are
listed below to help you get ready to embark on that dream
business of yours:
1. Get an Ego-Check: Because they own the business, business
owners often think that they can do whatever they want with
it without needing the opinions of the other parties who
make up the business model.
No matter how intelligent you are, there will always be
something you won't know, and this is where communication
and open-mindedness will come to play. In the real world of
business, it's really not as simple as black or white.
2. Be Curious: When you are curious, you begin to explore
other options and get to the root of the matter. Sometimes,
if you focus too much on what you know, you will be blinded
by your distinct belief in that certain idea.
By being curious, however, you are able to uncover
possibilities and options which can make your business
better. It's always recommended to become a sponge for
information in order for you to build an entrepreneurial
mindset.
3. Don't Focus on the Solution Alone: Instead of finding
fast fixes to your problems, why not clarify the issues you
have at hand first? You need to go through all aspects of
the company and the problems you are facing so that you know
where you stand.
And remember, unless your solution provides a business value
or prevents another problem from occurring, then it will be a
worthless one.
4. Gather Proofs: For you to really get to the bottom of
things, you need to have hard evidence of what's causing the
problem. Be sure and be very specific with the questions you
ask in order to get the correct answers.
Through these specific answers, you will be able to really
see the real picture of things.
5. Calculate Risks: Risks are always a part of any business
endeavor. But you must be able to weigh every investment and
its corresponding return. You have to see how your decision
will impact the business before you even implement it.
It is also necessary that you have a benchmark of success
for your business so that you can check back at certain
times to see if it is indeed progressing.
6. Consider Your Employees' Welfare: Aside from thinking
about how your decision will affect the business, you also
have to consider how it will affect each and every one of
your employees.
A good business owner knows that his business is not
entirely made up of one person but a team that works
together for one goal.
7. Be Forewarned: If you see early signs of possible
obstacles, then do your best to resolve it before it can
even snowball into something larger. Even if you fail to
resolve it when you see it the first time, at least you
won't be doing severe damage control later on.
8. Get to the Bottom of Things: Instead of solving the
effects, see to it that you go right to the source of the
problem. In order to understand completely, you must get all
the facts and underlying truths. Never stop asking questions.
By taking these tips into mind, you will definitely be able
to develop a business/entrepreneur mindset. Without it, your
business won't flourish as long as you want it to.
About the Author:
Kathy Dobson is a free spirited business owner and
entrepreneur dedicated to helping others achieve financial
and personal freedom. Learn to leverage your time while
exploding your business. Grab this free report:
http://www.empoweredoutsourcing.com/EmpoweredOutsourcing.html