Entrepreneur Mindset: 10 Signs Entrepreneurship Is Right For You
Today’s presentation is about the entrepreneur mindset. But first, let me give you an interesting fact: Around 2017, hip hop and R&B surpassed rock as the most popular music genre in the United States. According to Nielson’s 2017 year-end report, 19 songs exceeded 500 million streams; of those, 17 came from the hip-hop and R&B genre. Ironically, rock music and all of its derivatives, grew out of the rhythm and blues movement, which at inception around the 1940s, was an umbrella marketing term for any black music… which reminds me of the topic at hand: Entrepreneur Mindset. Have you ever wondered which characteristics make someone an ideal candidate for entrepreneurship? Well, today, I’m going to give you ten signals to look for that can help identify the next great entrepreneur. Welcome to Leonard innovation where entrepreneurship is taught differently. My name is Justin Leonard. Some of you might be thinking about becoming an entrepreneur. So, how do you determine if you are ready to be your own boss? Or which personal characteristics pair well with business ownership? I’m going to highlight ten signs that are associated with entrepreneurial success. Most of them are related to the entrepreneur mindset. If you already own a business, you will probably see that you match most, if not all, of the indicators. So, how do you know if you are built for entrepreneurship? Well, let’s look at signal number one: <<>> Your peers suggest it. So, if you’re at a job and people are asking why you are there, it’s probably because they see you as having a higher calling, which might be a sign that you would make a great entrepreneur. So, others see you as doing something at a higher level than where you are currently. Sometimes you will see people win an award, and they will say, “never let anyone tell you that you can’t do it.” Well, sometimes it’s because even your peers don’t see greatness within you. So, you have to be aware of what type of energy you put out. <<>> Entrepreneur mindset number two: You finish what you start. This is despite all of the distractions that we face today. Everybody has a great business idea but almost no one invests enough time, energy, or resources needed to complete a project. If you are capable of finishing what you start, congratulations, because you have what I would describe as being the minimum standard or qualification needed to become an entrepreneur. <<>> Number three is another powerful entrepreneur mindset: You have a great deal of confidence in your abilities. This is usually going to come from life experiences, meaning you’re used to winning things. There were challenges in your past and you came out on top. And this creates an ideal foundation for entrepreneurship because, among other things, the right amount of self-confidence can put you at ease when taking on risk. When people say that something can’t be done, they don’t necessarily see it that way. Because where others have failed, they have usually succeeded. <<>> And the fourth sign: You are self-motivated. When I started my business as a 19 year old, I had no formal knowledge of business concepts or entrepreneurship. But what I had was motivation to start a business. I did not wait to finish my college degree or for a person to tell me that I had what it took to do well as an entrepreneur. I never needed a vision board, diary, resolutions, or motivation quotes... I was already driven… already self-motivated, having come from an athletic background. For me it was simply a matter of applying the principles of competition to the world of business. <<>> Entrepreneur mindset number five: You are different than everyone else. As an entrepreneur, no one's really going to have the same goals, vision, or ideas you have. You see the world differently than they do. They’re watching sports, comedy, and reality TV, and you’ve discovered that building an empire is a much better way to spend your time. Only one is capable of achieving any level of significance. So, you have to embrace the fact that you are different than everyone else. Because of this, you may also have to get used to doing things on your own. If you’re okay with this reality, you might have what it takes to achieve entrepreneurial greatness. <<>> Number six: You are somewhat comfortable with or accepting of failure. Do you like pain? In business, everything that goes right or wrong falls on your shoulders. Now, failures and setbacks are normal in business. I haven’t had too many failures but I did have my share of setbacks. One of them happened just a few years ago when I spent almost $17,000 on a utility patent that didn’t clear. Translation: That is $17,000 down the drain. And while it was a pretty major setback, it didn’t stop me from moving forward with another patent: this time for design. So, if you’re not easily broken when things don’t go your way, you may have a future in entrepreneurship. <<>> And another sign you are built for entrepreneurship… You don’t procrastinate. The problem with procrastination in business is that it impedes your ability to make money. In scenarios outside of entrepreneurship, procrastination has no real consequence. So, the question is… are you capable of getting things done now, without unnecessarily waiting for something to happen? You don’t want to be the person that gets to it later. Successful entrepreneurs don’t procrastinate. <<>> Entrepreneur mindset number eight: You are comfortable with leading. This doesn’t necessarily mean you are a natural leader or even want to lead. But as a business grows, there will be a need to hire employees. The employees will look to you for guidance and maybe inspiration. When I first joined the military, I went to Air Force bootcamp. In bootcamp, you are placed in a unit that consists of approximately 30 service members. You are then assigned different roles. The highest role is dorm chief. This is like the CEO. Because they know very little about who you are at this stage, they usually pick the biggest or tallest recruit to be the leader based on physical stature or first impressions. Unfortunately, the first person they picked fell short of expectations and I was subsequently chosen for the role. Now, technically, I didn’t want the role of dorm chief. I never volunteered. But I was comfortable being in the role. So, if you are comfortable with leading, you may have a future in entrepreneurship. <<>> Entrepreneur mindset number nine. You see a better way of doing things. This can be operational. This can be technical. If you can fix all the problems at your job. If you can spot improvements that can be made at a restaurant. If you occasionally or constantly see better ways to do things, you are exhibiting one of the hallmarks of an entrepreneur. <<>> Number ten, which is the last entrepreneur mindset. You recognize that you were meant for something greater. And this can mean different things depending on who you are. You might be at a job and you’ve come to the realization that you were built for something greater; maybe something more challenging; maybe something more rewarding. Or maybe you’ve observed your associates and they seem to be stuck in one place and you don’t want to be like them. You’ve recognized that you were meant for something greater. Today, we discussed ten signs entrepreneurship is right for you. Most of them were related to the entrepreneur mindset. So, how many of these did you align with? Now, it should be noted that there are many more signs that can be used to determine if a person is built for entrepreneurship. But there should have been a correlation with most… if not all ten of these entrepreneur mindset characteristics… Lastly, if you enjoyed this presentation, the next one will be even better. And for more high value content, leonardinnovation.com is the place for free entrepreneur resources like the 90-day online launch guide, free online courses, and more. Learn how to start or grow your business. And you can now find leonard innovation streaming on podcast services like pandora, audible, apple, spotify, and google. And if you found this information helpful, please share it with a friend. Thanks again for tuning in.
