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The Force Within An Entrepreneur Tatiana
Sivak There are many characteristics and traits that a person should possess in order to be successful in one’s professional and personal life. Specifically, speaking in regards to one’s career, an individual needs certain skills to do the job well. Operational skills, those required to perform one’s job functions, are a must for any professional who wishes to complete the tasks relevant to one’s occupation. A good worker should be punctual, responsible, dependable, detail-oriented, and a quick-learner. However, that goes for any person in any industry within any company. This could be the case for any corporate America’s employee. Yet, an entrepreneurs are creatures of a different species. Although they need to possess the same skills as any other professional, there is a special attribute that an entrepreneur must have in order to succeed: drive. “Drive”, as defined by the Oxford Dictionary, is “an inborn desire or urge”, “an organized effort to achieve a particular purpose”, “determination and ambition”.1 It is this invisible force that every entrepreneur must have in order to reach his/her goals and allow the business to flourish. This desire must be implanted in the very core of the entrepreneur. For a newly established business to succeed, its founder must have the drive that would allow him/her to move past the barriers and challenges that face many new business owners. The leading individual must keep the goal of the newly founded business in mind at all times and never get off course. Moreover, there must be a clear purpose present as to what the entrepreneur wants to get out of this investment and a plan of how to get to the finish line. Finally, drive is composed of two factors: determination and ambition. Determination is consistently present wherever there is an innovative and entrepreneurial idea taking effect, since without the firmness of purpose a new business would fold when faced with problems or challenges. Ambition is key in succeeding in any area, especially in the field of entrepreneurship, since without an inside force urging one to go on, an entrepreneur would simply settle for a regular job that does not require anything extra. Simply, having the necessary skills to perform job functions would be enough. There is a very big difference between regular professionals in the business world and entrepreneurs. It may be observed when looking at which characteristics each party has. For example, even a top executive does not act nor react to the changes within the business as an entrepreneur does. Most executives are profit-oriented individuals, therefore, they care about the business so long as it gives them more and more money. At some point, however, if the company does not satisfy their demands, they either stop caring, or move on to a new location and begin working for a new entity. What is interesting is that an entrepreneur behaves differently in similar situations. For instance, although every business person wants to make profits, a founder of a company versus an agent look at the money they earn distinctly. An entrepreneur would be satisfied with the results as long as the business met its goals for a certain time period; these may be financial or nonfinancial. If the goals were not achieved, an entrepreneur does not give up on his company, but rather work harder and try to find better ways in succeeding in meeting its goals by the end of the next period. What helps them go on and keep their mission strong is the drive that burns within the heart of every entrepreneur. Another illustration of how essential being driven is to every starter of a new business is the very beginning of the process. When a person looks for profitable investments, he/she may end up going along with an idea that is not necessarily exciting to them. The main point is to maximize profits and that may be accomplished by entering an industry that offers just that at the time. However, should things take a bad turn, a business person who is only interested in profit, would easily give up the investment if it failed to be as successful as was expected and the outcome may be the filing for bankruptcy. However, if an entrepreneur starts a business, he/she usually cares about the entity much more and, should the business face any problems, the entrepreneur would fight with his/her every strength in order to bring the business back to its feet. The best way to ensure a fighting entrepreneur, one that does not give up on the business very easily, is to allow him/her to let the force within, the drive, get a hold of him/her and fight with all the power available. Driven entrepreneurs are stronger than any top corporate executive who lacks ambition. Sometimes even the most driven individuals do not end up succeeding within an industry. The business folds due to hardships and financial troubles, or other external factors lead to the failure. However, one thing is certain: those entrepreneurs who are truly determined to succeed and plan accordingly, are very likely to achieve their goals and make their businesses flourish. There will always be some bad fish in the sea, and one must keep in mind that not all of the entrepreneurs are born to be founders of businesses. However, it must be noted that for any person to succeed in the area of entrepreneurship, a field that is risky and exciting at the same time, there are a lot of skills and features that every leader must possess. It is not just enough to have the basic skills that allow one to open a new business. The founder, a true entrepreneur, must have the spiritual attributes to meet the challenges of entrepreneurship head on and not let them steer the founder from leading its entity to reaching success. Over the past few years, I had the opportunity to speak with several successful entrepreneurs who not only managed to lead its businesses to great achievements, but do so beautifully. One of the most inspiring stories of a young entrepreneur overcoming barriers of starting a new business and becoming very accomplished in the field is that of Linda McAleer. I had the pleasure of interviewing her last year, when she told me about her life story, the way she thought of becoming an entrepreneur, what she planned, and how she arrived at the finish line, accomplishing her goals and mission and becoming a very successful businesswoman in her field. What amazed me most was her obviously present drive that led her through the tough times of starting up a new company into the shining light of success and achievement later down the road. She is the prime example of what a driven entrepreneur is, considering the obstacles she has overcome in order to be where she is now. It is not easy to put together plans for a new business, market your ideas to potential new clients, and raise a family at the same time. Yet, Linda McAleer did that just that and was able to manage both her professional and personal life very well. It was not easy, but she led The Melior Group to great success, and continues to do so today. As it can be deduced from the situation, it is apparent that simply wanting to succeed would not have been enough to bring Linda McAleer and The Melior Group to the achievements is has come to now. This woman was a driven entrepreneur whose ambition and determination to succeed, no matter the challenges that faced her, allowed her to be where she is at now. There are many other cases of which I have heard where an entrepreneur was faced with many obstacles and yet somehow managed to succeed in letting its business grow and flourish over time. No matter the situations, what I have noticed that those entrepreneurs had this in common: the will to achieve all the goals they had set for themselves. These individuals were simply driven! There is this voice inside of true entrepreneurs, which is not as loud as our physical voice, but a true entrepreneur will not just listen to it, but will really hear what one’s inner voice is telling him/her to do. Anyone who wants to succeed as an entrepreneur must possess this force within, this invisible drive, possibly coming from an inner voice, and, most importantly, one must learn how to put the message this voice is giving to the entrepreneur and put it into action. It is not just enough to be good. A truly successful entrepreneur has to be great! What separates an entrepreneur from any other business person is the drive that true entrepreneurs posses. This drive will aid each new founder of a business in achieving the goals set by the leader and allow one to reach such heights that may only be touched by those who are blessed with the passion and love for what they do. Each entrepreneur who wishes to succeed must either have or develop over time the attribute of being an ambitious and driven individual. 1Soanes, C. The New Pocket Oxford Dictionary . 9th ed. Oxford University Press, 2001. Bibliography Linda McAleer (October 29, 2004). Personal communication. Soanes, C. The New Pocket Oxford Dictionary. 9th ed. Oxford University Press, 2001. |
