Want to be an Entrepreneur? Do Away with these 5 Beliefs

Quick question: why do you want to be an entrepreneur? Think about it carefully before you state your reason/reasons.

For a very long time, we’ve heard ‘entrepreneurship-motivational’ speakers preach the gospel of doing your own thing and getting paid for it. They tell you to quit your job and go for your passion. Many times, they reel out success stories and tell you there’s no limit to how much you can earn; that now you alone are in charge of your time and destiny, and this is the only chance you have to build wealth.
As much as there are immense benefits to being an entrepreneur, these glory tales will leave you high and dry on the altar of entrepreneurship.

Taking a full plunge into entrepreneurship full-time isn’t a decision that’s made in an instant. Without giving it time, thoughts, and lots of planning, it can be likened to jumping out of a plane and free-falling without any provision of a parachute.

Your journey to becoming an entrepreneur starts with getting your head right and ridding it of those tales and more of these too:

You have to work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to be sucessful

This notion is the beginning of endless burnouts and sooner or later you would throw in the towel on entrepreneurship and run back to your 9-5.

Success is not you hammering away 24/7. For an entrepreneur, success starts with managing your time efficiently and getting the most out of your scheduled work time. You must be able to maximise your allotted time and work with a clear mind under a proper working routine.

All you need is a great idea

You’ve come up with this great idea that brought sparkles to your eyes, now what? It is a myth that a great idea is enough to start a business and it takes more than those ideas knocking around your head to build a successful company. Yes, most successful companies started with an idea, but the idea alone didn’t take them to the lengths to which the start-up needs to go to become successful. 

Ideas aren’t unique, circumstances change, your great ideas may not work and may eventually lead to failure, but a great idea added with other ingredients can turn your start-up into a viable business.

Do what the greats have done and you’ll get there too

This sounds nice, but only on paper. You cannot follow the path of Dangote except you have the same fortune and personality as Dangote’s. That’s not to say you can’t emulate some of his traits to help you become a successful entrepreneur, but except you are born into wealth like Dangote, you have to find out what you are capable of now and in the future and start with knowledge.

Anyone can be an entreprenuer

Anyone can be an entrepreneur, but to be honest, not everyone should be an entrepreneur. Just like anyone can’t be a footballer or a professional guitarist without been cut out for it, so is entrepreneurship not for everyone or anyone.

Starting a business is one of the scariest, toughest, most stressful things one can do in this world, and if you don’t feel mentally prepared to do it, the odds are very, very high that you will fail. To be a successful entrepreneur, there must be a willingness to do the work no matter the circumstances. Entrepreneurship has more to do with your willingness to succeed than with your experience in business or what you know.

All you need is funds

Your savings, a low-interest loan, or the kindness of some wealthy investors is not sufficient to launch a successful business. It is a mistake to believe that your worries are over as soon as you get access to some funding. This belief is the blooper of many entrepreneurs who’ve failed in what many entrepreneurship experts have called the Golden Age of Entrepreneurship.

Funds are important to scale a business undoubtedly but in real life, it takes more than money to run a business. If you listen to successful entrepreneurs talk about their journey, you will get to know the requisites of starting a business and realise that it takes more than these beliefs to be like them.

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Featured image: istockphoto