The Entrepreneurial Journey

Image from Unsplash by Daria Nepriakhina

In the beginning, many aspiring entrepreneurs look for the “easy way in.”

Meanwhile, those who have been around for a while have made it clear: there is no “easy way in.”

Your journey begins when you start your entrepreneurial endeavor. The entrepreneurial mindset — in general — begins with finding a problem in the community that needs to be solved, or finding an opportunity to offer to customers.

Throughout our training, we emphasize considering your passion rather than just finding a problem or a solution, because you will find and face speed bumps as you start your journey. The more connected you are to the cause, the more you will find ways to make it work, and the longer you will stay on course.

Steve Blank, recognized for developing the Customer Development method that launched the Lean Startup movement, stated that in a startup you are searching for a business model. You are searching for a way to make money. A business, on the other hand, is something that you already know will make money.

That being said, many entrepreneurs leave their business once they have a system in place, generally within five to seven years.

Many of them leave once they hire an HR manager or hit the 50-employee mark. We believe, based on our experience, that once there is a system in place the search for solutions or problems to be solved begins to wane.

The entrepreneur may no longer be the person employees go to for answers, because now there is a manager. The entrepreneur feels they are no longer needed, so they move on to another passion, opportunity, or problem to solve.

BEFORE YOU GO

We see our blogs as opportunities for dialogue. Please share your thoughts as comments.

1. What passion would you like to pursue?

2. Who can you connect with those within the industry so you can learn more?

3. How can you interrupt something happening today with your insights of what will happen tomorrow?

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Faris Alami is Founder and CEO of International Strategic Management, Inc.(ISM). He works internationally, presenting Exploring Entrepreneurship Workshops and other entrepreneurial ecosystem — related ventures.