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How you can become an entrepreneur |
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How you can become an entrepreneur Becoming an entrepreneur is more than just getting an idea. You need to practise being creative, resourceful and a good communicator. You might decide that are more inclined towards management than entrepreneurship, or maybe you can do both. Ask yourself the following questions. How can I be more creative? Creativity is an important quality for a successful entrepreneur. It helps you respond to the changes and challenges that you will inevitably face as you set up and run your enterprise. There are two types of creative thinking that entrepreneurs use: - evaluating, analysing and selecting the best of a range of ideas (convergent thinking)
- having new, diverse and complex ideas (divergent thinking).
Everyone can be creative. If you feel unsure of your creative abilities, here are some ideas to help you enhance them. - Adopt an entrepreneur. Find out about successful entrepreneurs on the Internet. Use a search engine and the search keywords ‘famous entrepreneurs’.
- Take on a new challenge. Set yourself goals; for example, to work on the solution to a new problem each week.
- Develop thinking techniques. Find out about techniques that will help you to think clearly and solve problems in different ways. Some examples include:
- concept mapping
- associational thinking
- creative visualisation
- relaxation and meditation.
- Look for new ideas. To think of new ideas, you need to take in fresh ideas and images. Different activities will help you do this: watching a movie that’s not your usual style, listening to new music, reading different types of books and magazines, visiting galleries, people-watching in a park or café, trying new food. Keep your five senses open to new experiences. Listen, watch, smell, taste and see new things.
- Keep a journal. Write in it each morning when you get up, for about ten minutes. Write down your ideas, problems and thoughts. Add any observations you have during the day.
How can I become more resourceful? Being resourceful means having skills and knowledge that you can apply to finding solutions to issues that arise in your business. Learning how to obtain and analyse information will increase your resourcefulness. Some ways to do this are: - Work in a team to utilise different skills, knowledge and abilities.
- Join online entrepreneur forums and discussion groups.
- Look for educational resources.
- Join professional associations.
- Subscribe to professional journals.
How can I be a good communicator? Creative, resourceful entrepreneurs need to be able to communicate their ideas clearly and effectively. If you have difficulties communicating with other people, this doesn't mean your ideas are no good, or that you can’t start your own business. But it may mean you need to find strategies to help you feel comfortable and effective when you interact with others. Good communication is an important part of a successful business. If you want to hire an employee, good communication skills will help you pick the right person and make sure they know what the job involves. Good communication can help you: - get your ideas across, and be receptive to other people’s ideas
- solve problems
- build and improve your relationships with other people
- encourage the people around you to be creative, too.
Good communication isn’t all about talking. Good listening skills come into it, too. Listening is a valuable entrepreneurial skill. It can be learned and improved with practice. If you want to improve your listening or speaking skills, asking for help from your home teacher or school counsellor (if you’re still at school) or (if you’re an adult) attending a communication course can be the first step. These people and others can help you find communication strategies you might not have thought about. |
