Business Education

Top 5 Entrepreneurship Myths You Probably Believe but Shouldn’t

Entrepreneurship myths are everywhere. They populate the minds of anyone who dreams of striking out on their own. Heck, even successful entrepreneurs believe some of them. (At least at some point in their journey.) The reason entrepreneurial myths are so widely believed is because they involve risk. And, everyone is risk-averse (to one degree or another). Therefore, these misconceptions live on and keep good people from following their passions. But, you don’t have to believe them.

Two Common Entrepreneurship Myths

Let’s start with two common entrepreneurship myths; then, we’ll get on to the big three. First is the old nagging feeling that money is the single biggest obstacle. Nonsense. You can start a business in about 10 minutes using social media and a little imagination. Now, you’ve got to know how to use social media to effectively promote your business. But, the point is, you can find a ton of free and really cheap ways to get things going in a short amount of time.

As people are trying to navigate away from the “corporate jungle” towards the land of supposed “entrepreneurial utopia,” a lot of misconceptions arise. Perhaps this has to do with the media, advice they have received or what is heard through the grapevine but often these insights can derail a person from taking the plunge in the startup world. Or cause them to jump on the entrepreneurial bandwagon, when they have no business doing so. —Entrepreneur.com

Another common entrepreneurial myth is that making more money is the best motivation. This simply isn’t true. And, it’s actually somewhat dangerous. If you’re only motivated by money, your heart and mind are in the wrong place. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with earning a better living but it’s foundation can’t be greed.

3 Biggest Entrepreneurship Myths

The fact of the matter is money isn’t an obstacle and it’s a bad motivator. But, this isn’t the only challenge people let get in their way of realizing their dreams. Now, let’s get into the three biggest entrepreneurship myths people believe:

The more customers, the better. At the bottom of the top three is the notion that more customers means more success. Which in turn means, the better. Two words about that: Not. True. Quality will always trump quality. What’s more, it’s a risky situation — especially early on. You’ll spread yourself too thin and that will only hurt you in the long run. Focus on the ones who make it a pleasure and let go of those who waste your time or have unrealistic expectations.
You need an inherent entrepreneur trait. Some people actually subscribe to the notion there are “born entrepreneurs.” Of course, there are individuals who have a knack for it but that doesn’t mean everyone else is shut out. It just takes work, self-confidence, and most of all, persistence. Those who go forward and don’t give up have a much higher success rate than those who don’t.
It just takes one great idea to make it work. Now, we’re at the biggest of all entrepreneurial myths. And, that’s believing you only need one great idea. While this is a key element, it won’t work as a magic bullet. Lots of people have great ideas. The trick is to define it and market it effectively by testing the market and remaining persistent with discipline and consistency when things get difficult.

What other entrepreneur myths do you think people believe? What suggestions do you have to get past them? Please share your thoughts and experiences by commenting!

Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

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How to Avoid People Who Waste Your Time

May 24, 2017 No Comments

Successful business entrepreneurs obsess over their companies and know instinctively the phrase, “time is money,” is true. It’s why business owners hire others to do tasks they could otherwise do themselves: accounting, marketing, paperwork, and so on. However, not everyone in the world of business is adept at executing, some, talk and do so a lot — a whole lot. They procrastinate, squander time on trivial tasks, and have long conversations without an objective. What’s worse, is some of us are not only susceptible to time wasters, we’re also enablers. How to Avoid People who Waste Your Time Enablers are generally very caring, thoughtful individuals and they don’t like to hurt others’ feelings. Even business people who are laser focused and get things done are time waster enablers, because they interact and hire them. While it seems completely counterintuitive, you don’t really know a person’s qualities until you get to know him or her through your work together. Someone might appear to be just as focused and enthusiastic but appearances can be misleading. We’re all too busy, spending our days in back-to-back meetings and our nights feverishly responding to emails. (Adam Grant, a famously responsive Wharton professor, told me that on an “average day” he’ll spend 3-4 hours answering messages.) That’s why people who waste our time have become the scourge of modern business life, hampering our productivity and annoying us in the process. —Harvard Business Review You contract and hire individuals based on their previous work but it isn’t until you really begin to interact with them you learn their true character traits. While you might be impressed with their body of work, you probably aren’t at all eager to become a victim of someone who wastes your time. The really big problem to overcome is to spot time wasters and that’s very difficult, because it could be anybody, not just an employee or contractor, but also a partner, vendor, customer or client. The trick is to identify as soon as possible those who are most likely to waste your time from those who get things done. You can do this by looking for certain personality extremes: Negative individuals. Head down, slumped shoulders, complete with a scowl or frown, negative people tend to broadcast their misery physically with body language. Even those who manage to look composed will definitely show their true colors when speaking. They portray themselves as victims, bring you and others down, and worst of all, waste your time. Super happy people. Happy-go-luckily, big smile, with large, enthusiastic stride, super happy individuals might be a blast and cheer others up, but, these people can be a bit too exuberant. These can easily be signs of immaturity and even though jubilant, they’re not serious about much of anything. These individuals will definitely liven up a room, but, they’ll also waste your time and do so with a big grin and bellowing laughter. You’ll be trying to get things done while they’re cracking jokes and carrying-on. Gossip spreaders. People who can’t wait to tell you the latest about this or that with him or her are to be avoided at all costs because they’re involving you in the drama as well, even if you don’t know it. Individuals that take gossip to a whole new level aren’t interested about getting things done, they are only interested in spreading rumors and stirring-up drama to justify their agenda. Emotional people. Speaking of drama, those who revel in spreading rumors and gossiping can also be very prone to being emotional. They go from one extreme to another and never seem to be on an even keel. These individuals do little else than waste their own time, as well as others. They tend to be irrational and irritable and ought to be completely avoided. Another two personality types who can be total time wasters are attention seekers and self-centered individuals. The former will always want to be the center of attention, no matter where they might be, while the latter will step on toes and cross lines in a self-serving manner. This is why it’s imperative to surround yourself with positive, focused individuals who get things done and share your enthusiasm so that you can achieve your goals. Want to find out about what a business coach can do for you? [shareaholic app=”follow_buttons” id=”26833294″]

My Spouse and I Opened a Business and it’s Ruining Our Marriage — What should We Do?

February 3, 2022 No Comments

Couples often open businesses together because they recognize that two heads are better than one. It not only allows them to be their own bosses but is usually accompanied by the idea that a joint venture will strengthen their interpersonal relationships. After all, running a business together will mean they must be more open and communicative, and therefore it ought to bring them closer together as they work together on their shared dream. But, sometimes couples have very different ideas about how to build and run new businesses and this can easily lead to a lot of conflicts. Fortunately, there are some strategies couples can use if they are experiencing problems in their small businesses. The Hidden ‘I’ in T-e-a-m Make no mistake about it, every joint venture depends on individuals. Two or more people have to come together in a meeting of the minds and spirit in order to make it ultimately work. This starts with an individual choice to pool skills, talents, and resources together once this decision is made and forces are joined together, the business should have what it needs to succeed. However, sometimes individuals can’t get out of their own way and that’s when the problems begin. When things get tough, refer back to your joint goals. Running a business isn’t easy, and when both you and your spouse are involved, that means your livelihood is hanging in the balance of the business you share. Instead of letting this fill you with stress and anxiety, instead, let it fill you with excitement and passion for the work you do. Be a support for each other, so when one of you gets stressed or worried, the other can remind you why you started. —Small Business Trends In other words, there has to be the right mixture of individualism and teamwork in order to make the relationship work. For example, constantly jocking for power will eventually lead to serious issues. If one spouse tells their employees one thing and the other spouse contradicts that, there’s obviously going to the at least some confusion and conflict. This is why successful businesses have defined roles for everyone involved. Doing so greatly increases communication, productivity, and also expectations. How Spouses can Successfully Run a Business Together If you and your spouse are experiencing problems in your business that are affecting your personal relationship, you’re definitely not the first and won’t be the last. The good news is there are steps you can take to reduce or eliminate conflict, such as the following: Mutually define individual roles. Both of you are responsible for running the business, but that doesn’t mean that both of you should be caring out the same roles. Take some time to talk over and outline your individual roles and responsibilities so there’s no miscommunication or unnecessary redundancy. Layout and set your expectations. Each of you has an idea of what you want from the other. But unless you communicate that clearly, there’s no way to truly know what you want out of one another. This will take a little trial and error but you can eventually find tune it in this will be a huge help in running the business efficiently. Leave home at home when you’re at work. There’s a reason that large corporations discourage romantic relationships between colleagues. When you bring your home life to work, you can expect to bring all of those issues into your place of business. Obviously, there’s no good that can come from this, so leave home at home while you’re at work. What other ways can spouses resolve their problems while running a business together? Please share your thoughts and experiences so others can benefit from your input. Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

Most Effective Networking Strategies Successful Entrepreneurs Practice

April 13, 2018 No Comments

Networking strategies can really help grow a business. But of course, you must put in the time and effort for any networking opportunities to achieve a tangible ROI. Statistics vary, however, many reveal it takes up to seven contact points before landing a sale. Regardless of these figures, the time-honored practice of networking pays off. (If it didn’t people wouldn’t bother wasting their time.) So, it’s really about taking the right approach. Why Successful Entrepreneurs Network Networking isn’t new in any sense. It’s an activity that helps to promote a business. But, that long track record doesn’t mean that it always works. There are several networking mistakes people make all the time and don’t realize it. That is, until they don’t see any fruits from their labor. Sales is about influence. There are methods of persuasion that work very well in business. But, there are also several fundamentals that need to be in place if you want to succeed. If those fundamentals aren’t in place, you can pretty much kiss your chances for success goodbye. —Entrepreneur.com Successful entrepreneurs network because it gives them an opportunity to grow their network and not necessarily to sell their products and services. Did you catch that? Networking is more about growing a circle of regular contacts rather than selling products and services. Think about it this way, would you go to a networking event that’s run in a hard-sell environment? Most Effective Networking Strategies You can Use So, now that you know networking is about extending your contacts and getting familiar with others and not selling, how do you do it right? In other words, what are the most effective networking strategies? Well, here are some helpful bits of advice about how to network: Be confident in your value. It all begins with your confidence. If you aren’t self-confident about your own personality (and comfortable with your faults), you’ll give off the wrong vibe. Go into any networking situation with confidence in your value. Don’t expect anything in return. Successful people aren’t afraid to give and not receive anything in return. Now, that sounds scary but it’s actually a sound business practice so long as it doesn’t cost very much. In other words, you can give expert advice, speak to a class, or do something else others find valuable. Find common ground right away. When you meet someone, be sure to find common ground as soon as possible. This way, you’re more comfortable. And, be sure to give genuine compliments often. Don’t sell your product or service. We’re back to the same philosophy about growing your network. When appropriate, speak about your work. For example, how you’ve solved a customer’s problem. But, do not go into a sales pitch. Let other see your value in more ways than one. What other suggestion do you have for networking? How and where do you find networking opportunities? Please share your thoughts and experiences by commenting! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.