Today’s world is not one that encourages anyone to sit with arms folded. Even with the prevalence of white collar jobs, it is expedient to acquire entrepreneurial skills, which can be used as a means of generating extra income.
Entrepreneurship is the process of identifying developing, and bringing a vision to life. The vision maybe an innovative idea, an opportunity, or simply a better way to do something. He introduces new ideas, new products, new techniques, opens up new markets e.t.c Skill acquisition on the other hand is getting necessary training and experience needed to carry out a trade or business successfully. You can acquire skills and become the owner of your own business instead of living from hand to mouth or waiting endlessly for that dream job.
To become a successful entrepreneur, you must be:
Agile: You must have an agile mind. An entrepreneur thinks fast and reasons intelligently. This enables him to assess business opportunities after identifying a need and then moving quickly to satisfy it.
Business-conscious- Most successful entrepreneurs are business-conscious people. Their eyes and ears are mostly focused on hearing about or seeing a business opportunities and they easily notice one when it appears.
Courageous- You need to exhibit extreme courage to cope with all the risks of operating your own business, low patronage, harsh economic environment, risk of losing ones total investment and dwindling fortunes of business hardly discourage successful entrepreneur.
Dynamic- A successful entrepreneur must possess the energy and enthusiasm to turn his business ideas to reality. He works tirelessly to lift his business out of a state of declining profit or margin of distress to a margin of safety. He injects new ideas, creates new business environment, adds new product lines and turns around the fortunes of his business for the better.
Enterprising- An entrepreneur has the ability to venture into new business areas. He may start from the scratch or buy an existing business and bring creative innovation that are bound to succeed or he may bring new ways of doing things and make successful.
Focused on profit- His eyes are fixed on profit he can make and his goal in any venture into which he ventures is what he can gain from it. He is not a kind of person who is doing business for its sake or because its in vogue. As a result he evaluates his progress from time to time and takes appropriate steps.
Hardworking- As a prospective entrepreneur, you must have appetite for hard work. Your aim of owing your own business should not be so that you can open or close the business anytime you so wish. Most successful entrepreneurs work long hours and hardly give up. The ability to work hard usually contributes greatly to their success story.
Discerning- To be successful as an entrepreneur you must have a good sense of judgement. Doing business involves decision making i.e choosing between alternatives. Successful entrepreneurs think carefully and make sensible decisions
Knowledgeable of markets: Successful entrepreneurs usually have a good idea of who the customer or target market will be before implementing decisions related to the marketing mix variables (product, price, distribution, and promotion).
Full of leadership skills- Even if you don’t consider yourself a born leader, since you have to manage your business, you will need to develop certain leadership skills (attend seminars, read good books etc). This so because you have to establish direction, initiate actions, communicate, inspire and motivate your employees towards achieving organizational goals.
Ready to take risk: Entrepreneurs have preference for moderate risk. They hardly seek wild risk. He plans and takes calculated risks based on knowledge of the market, available resources, and a predetermined measure of the potential of success.
Passionate about success: You need to have in you the drive toward personal success. You must have abundant confidence in your ability to succeed.
Able to organize: Successful entrepreneurs have the skills to organize. They allocate resources, assign tasks, and establish procedures for accomplishing goals. By combining people and jobs effectively, entrepreneurs are able to transform their business ideas into reality.
If you measure yourself and see that you do not measure up, remember the divine assurance, ” Behold I will make all things new! Revelation 21:5. Seek to develop these traits as they don’t come overnight in a package; some are acquired in the process of your day-to-day running of your business. Keep at it and see it grow!
Shalom!
Wunmi Oyesanya
info@mzjewel.com
