We Americans love our “get rich quick” stories.

We eat up news reports of entrepreneurs who have struck it big “overnight” – wondering how we ourselves would handle the sudden influx of wealth acquired through a startup buyout or IPO.  And we’re incredibly susceptible to products that promise quick riches (no matter how illogical their roadmaps to achieving wealth might seem).

We love these stories because we’re all inherently lazy – we all want to do the least amount of work possible, while earning as much money as possible.

But unfortunately, this type of laziness – when left unchecked – can seriously derail your entrepreneurial dreams.  The bottom line, hard truth of the matter is that running a business (whether successful or not) is damn hard.  It’s hard work – day-in and day-out.

If you can’t handle that heat, get out of the industry.  But if you’re willing to work hard to turn your entrepreneurial dreams into success, here’s what you need to know… Continue reading

Last week, I shared with you six great skills that you can learn from six of the greatest entrepreneurs throughout history.  But if you think that six skills alone are going to take you from wannabe business owner to entrepreneurial success, you’ve got another thing coming!

Today, I want to wrap up this series with another six important lessons that you need to learn if you want to make it with your own company.  Start working on these skills within your own life and I guarantee you’ll see faster progress – no matter what your business goals might be! Continue reading

I’m not sure if there are any other occupations out there that require as many skills and abilities as it takes to be an entrepreneur.  If you’re a pilot, you need to be familiar with the operation of your aircraft – but you don’t have to source its parts, build it and then sell it to an airline in order to be successful.  If you’re an engineer, you might draft plans – but then you pass your designs off to others to see them brought to reality.

That’s not to say that these fields aren’t important or challenging – just that they’re not as all-encompassing as entrepreneurship.  When you’re a solo business owner, every aspect of your company’s operation falls on your shoulders.  You’re a visionary, yes, but you’re also a project manager, team leader, administrative assistant, sales person and more, depending on what the day calls for.

Given how complex the work of an entrepreneur can be, I want to take the next two weeks to break down some of the skills that you must have to be successful in this type of business.  And since I’m a sucker for case studies, I’ve paired each skill with an example from a great entrepreneur throughout history.

Hope you find them helpful when it comes to cultivating your own skill as a business owner!
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If you want to run a startup, you have to be an effective leader – no ifs, ands or buts about it.

As a entrepreneur you’ll be called upon to lead in a variety of different situations.  If you have employees, it’ll be up to you to motivate your workers to give 110% to their tasks and to finish priorities in a timely manner.  But even if you’re flying solo, you need the charisma of leadership to convince mentors, partners and investors to believe in your vision and provide the support that’s needed to meet your startup goals.
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