Teaching entrepreneurship is a task not intended for the faint of heart. An entrepreneur is defined as someone who undertakes innovations in an effort to transform these innovations into economic goods, while also assuming the risk for the business venture. This definition does not sound very exciting, but if have the entrepreneurial spirit it can make your life a magical one.
The question is: Can we be taught how to become an entrepreneur?
Speaking as someone who thought I was an entrepreneur and found out I was really a small business owner with my real estate business, I say that the answer is a resounding ‘Yes!’
I came online and heard about entrepreneurs doing so well on the Internet. I believed that I would have an advantage because I had been running my real estate business as a broker and appraiser for more than twenty years. I soon discovered that I wasn’t an entrepreneur at all. I had always been dependent upon others for my business. CPAs, attorneys, mortgage bankers, and lenders sent me appraisal assignments. If one source dried up I went to another, but I was still depending on others to send me work.
When the real estate market was struggling, I struggled financially as well. When I worked as a broker, taking listings and showing property to prospective buyers, I was also dependent upon the economy, as well as a a whole host of service providers, to make sure my transactions closed so I could get paid.
An entrepreneur wakes up in the morning and starts making things happen. When I work online I am able to be creative in what I offer and how I choose to run my business. If I don’t take action, no one is going to call me up or send me a fax with instructions on my next assignment. It just doesn’t work that way. Productivity is the fuel that keeps my business engine purring. I love the creativity and flexibility that goes along with entrepreneurship, and I have embraced this way of life with open arms. Yes, you can learn to be an entrepreneur if you are willing to have an open mind and to take massive action to ensure your success.
Learning from others who have been doing this successfully long before you came along is crucial to the process. I have found these people to be more than willing to share their knowledge and expertise with me. They always have a different spin on what may be the new trend or what has been popular before, that is now making a comeback. They also seem to have infinite patience with those of us who have been online for just a short period of time in comparison.
I once heard motivational speaker Brian Tracy speak on this topic. He told us that all skills related to business are learned skills. I remember what he said anytime I question what I am doing in my online business, and then I find a resource to learn more about the area I am lacking in with my current level of knowledge.
Seek out the veteran entrepreneurs and ask them all of your questions. Join their membership sites and other programs to learn as much as you possibly can from them. Your future depends on learning the lessons, mistakes, and wisdom of those who have been working as online entrepreneurs since before the turn of the century.
I am glad I spotted this post of yours Connie, as it has given me the boost I needed to push on with building my online home business. I am especially heartened to discover that you say entrepreneurship is a skill that can be learned – it has given me the peace of mind to carry on being persistent with continuous action. I like the part where you say “Productivity is the fuel that keeps my business engine purring.” Thank you for this post and the encouraging effect it has had on me – and will have on others too…
Moira