Entrepreneurship Articles
The Project:
I have strongly followed the entrepreneurship beat and written extensively about productivity, emotional attachments, habits and goal settings. Over 30 articles guest posted/commissioned by clients and on my own blog.
Showcase Article 2: Client: Pratibha Sastry Show
6 essential qualities all entrepreneurs must embrace. Yes, failure is one of them.
“Life is too short to be working on someone else’s dream”
Being an entrepreneur isn’t easy at all. It involves a significant change in mindset and a strong will to not just think outside the box, but to break it entirely! Starting a business is laden with challenges and 9 out of 10 startups fail to get off the ground within the first year of its inception! Entrepreneurs don different hats every single day- of a leader, a colleague, a manager and even a friend.
Entrepreneurship is more than just a business, it’s a lifestyle. And to be successful at this lifestyle, here are 6 essential traits that every founder needs to embrace:
- Done is better than perfect.
Perfection is a continuous endeavour and cannot be attained in one day, heck sometimes even a lifetime isn’t enough! Waiting for the right time, right place, right product lineup and the perfect opportunity is a great goal to chase theoretically, but in reality- your startup is always evolving. Successful entrepreneurs launch their ideas and continuously improve in their company lifespan.
2) Passion is paramount.
Make passion your work, and you won’t have to work a day in your life! Your business is your baby and having passion is critical. An entrepreneur is one who works 24/7 to avoid the 9 to 5! If you don’t live, eat, sleep, breathe your idea , seeing it through its execution will be almost impossible.
3) Don’t be afraid of failure.
Failure is an important part of an entrepreneur’s journey. Great businesses are built on strong pillars of learning from failure, not revelling in it. The harsh truth is that, many startups fail, but only the success stories are celebrated. Failure is not the end of entrepreneurship, but merely a roadblock. If you fall down, dust yourself and get back up.
4) Practice Effectuation
Paul Hammaker Professor of Entrepreneurship, Saras Sarasvathy from the Darden School Of Business says, “ Effectuation is the act of working with things under your control. Entrepreneurs must understand that every idea is limited, we all have limitations. You can create a certain future with aspects that only you can control. Entrepreneurs must learn to not be overcome by their limitations, but instead use them to their advantage.”
5) Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
We are often taught by society, that asking for help is a sign of weakness. Startup founders are a stubborn lot, want to be the jack of all trades and master of all too! But the truth is that, in the quest for success, entrepreneurs wear blinders and fail to see the truth beyond their vision. A different viewpoint can make a multitude of difference to the business. Successful startup founders always play to their strengths and ask for help/outsource their issues.
6) Take think breaks.
Entrepreneurship is an all consuming job and is exhausting. The mind and body are on constant overdrive! To avoid a burnout, it is essential to give the brain a rest from the chaos. Take a “think break” and give your mind some downtime to relax, recharge and refocus.
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