How to become an

Entrepreneur
Part 1
 HOW TO BECOME AN
ENTREPRENEUR

 Being an entrepreneur is a high-risk, high-

reward position. It's full of stressful situations,
sure, but it's also chock full of rewards
 sense of accomplishment. It's not as hard as
it seems -- as long as you have some
diligence, patience, and, of course, a good
idea, you'll be your own BOSS sooner than
you think!
HOW TO BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR
Examine your Personality

1. Decide whether your

personality is a good fit for
entrepreneurship.
 Becoming your own boss is a
goal for many people, but
some people are better suited
to this lifestyle than others.
 Knowing how you are likely to
react to events will help you
achieve your goals.
HOW TO BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR
Examine your Personality

2. Think about your priorities.

 Ask yourself some questions
about what you want out of life,
as well as out of your business.
 What does achieving your goals
in life look like?
 What is important to you?
 What are you willing to
sacrifice?
 Is it a certain amount of money?
 A certain amount of free time to
spend with friends and family?
HOW TO BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR
Examine your Personality

3. List your strengths.

Be honest with yourself as
you consider your strengths
and weaknesses.
When you talk to potential
investors or sell to clients,
you will need to have a very
clear idea of what your
strengths are so you can
communicate them to others.
HOW TO BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR
Examine your Personality

4. Determine to succeed.
 Energy and determination
will get you through many of
the hurdles you will face as a
beginner.
 Be idealistic enough to
believe in yourself, but
pragmatic enough to
examine the realities of your
situation.
HOW TO BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR
Setting your Foundation

1. Brainstorm a great idea.

 Most businesses start with one
compelling idea — whether it's a
service people need, a product
that would make life easier, or
something that combines both.
 The business world is full of
great ideas (and many not-so-
great ones). What will set yours
apart is whether you can find a
niche need to fill.
HOW TO BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR
Setting your Foundation
2. Research your market.
The key to starting a business
is to know whether there is a
demand for your product or
service.
what you can offer something
that is not being done as well
as it could be?
 Is it a need that doesn’t have
enough supply to support
demand?
HOW TO BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR
Setting your Foundation

3. Talk to potential
customers/clients.
You can have the greatest product
or service in the world, but if
nobody wants to pay you for it,
your business will crash and burn.
Talking to others will also help you
prepare to persuade investors.
Ask for Honest Feedback when
you talk to potential customers.
HOW TO BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR
Setting your Foundation

4. Determine what you can risk.

 Entrepreneurship is always a game of
risk and reward, but often the risk is
greater (especially in the beginning).
 Take stock of all your assets and figure
out how much money (and time and
energy) you actually have to invest.
 consider your savings, credit, and other
sources of capital
 consider how long you can afford to go
without making a profit.
HOW TO BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR
Setting your Foundation

5. Understand the idea of

“acceptable loss.”
 Acceptable loss” is the idea that you
should first determine the possible
downside of your business venture
 and then invest only what you can
actually afford to lose.
 should your business turn out
differently than you’d hoped. This
limits the scale of failure if your
venture doesn’t work out.
HOW TO BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR
Setting your Foundation

6. Commit to a goal, not a plan.

One of the most important things in
becoming an entrepreneur is
flexibility.
You can’t control everything about
your business, and adaptation is
vital to survival.
If you’re overly committed to a
plan, you may sabotage yourself.
 SET GOALS
For everything you do in life, you set goals. Goals help you stay
on track and follow through your plans. The best goals are
SMART. Smart goals provide more direction
Specific Goals should be specific and answer “What ?” ,“Why?” and
“How?”

Measurable Goals should establish ways to measure your progress

Attainable Goals should not be too far out of reach

Realistic Goals should represent things to which you are willing to

commit

Timely Goals should have a timeframe for achievement

Example:

Goal : I will learn more about starting my

own business

I will learn more about starting my own

catering business through obtaining
information from Small Business
Administration and talking with the
owners of three local catering business
by the end of the month (SMART Goal)
 Your friend has set the following goal:

I plan to eat
healthier
??Is this a SMART GOAL

What suggestions would you make for

improving it?

SMART GOAL ACTIVITY

HOW TO BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR
Setting your Foundation

6. Commit to a goal, not a plan.

One of the most important things in
becoming an entrepreneur is
flexibility.
You can’t control everything about
your business, and adaptation is
vital to survival.
If you’re overly committed to a
plan, you may sabotage yourself.
 QUIZ #3
¼ SHEET OF PAPER
 Enumeration

Give atleast five (5)

important entrepreneurial
traits.