For every businessperson in the world, it is a dream to start a company which generates millions of dollars in revenue over time. People don’t always want others to be their boss and desire greater breathing room and flexibility to take matters into their hands.
You want to start a business and believe you have a great idea and a plan which will take you on the path to success. As you start working towards your goals, you come across a common debate in the business world. Are genes responsible for making entrepreneurs or is it the external factors such as conditioning and environment which play a crucial role?
It is an interesting debate and you get to learn a lot about yourself and the business world. It is widely believed that there must be something in the DNA of entrepreneurial people which separates them from the rest of the lot.
Let’s assume that there are genes which increase the chances of you becoming an entrepreneur. Going by this premise, you pitched your idea to a group of investors and convinced them to provide you with the necessary resources to start your business.
During the initial years, it was easy to run the company and you didn’t have to make any tough decisions. However, as the business starts to grow, the size of the stakes starts to get bigger, which makes the whole process challenging.
There are (hundreds of) employees on your payroll depending on you to make the right decisions so that the company continues to rise. There is a tremendous jump in responsibility and skillsets you require to operate at this league. As you are competing with the larger companies in the industry, the pressure starts to build up substantially.
From the series of events above, you can conclude that starting a business is a lot easier than keeping it going for several years. Transforming companies which generate small amounts of revenue to a multi-million dollar one requires more than just genes.
There are a lot of factors which come into play, which explain whether entrepreneurs are born or made. For instance, research highlighted the link between entrepreneurs and their chances of success in the industry. As per the study, the experience of these individuals plays a huge role in how well their companies perform in the future.
This makes a lot of sense, and you need to know the ins and outs of running a business, which comes with exposure to running a company. When you learn from your failures, there is a high chance of being successful. You are less likely to commit the same mistakes, which will help you make the right decisions for your business.
There are several other characteristics which will determine how well entrepreneurs perform in the market.
For any entrepreneur to be successful, they must know the art of making sales, as it is a crucial skill. Whether you are focusing on selling a service or product to the consumers or a pool of talented employees to a larger firm, knowing how to sell will give you a huge advantage. Without this quality, it is next to impossible to survive in the entrepreneurial world.
Regardless of how many talented employees you hire, you will be the one making the final decision. You can get all the advice you need from external sources, but you should trust yourself to make the final call. It isn’t easy knowing for a fact that you have to bear immense responsibility in taking your business in the right direction while handling its operations simultaneously.
Even if you have a great product or service, it won’t do well in the market unless you have a proper understanding of consumers. As an entrepreneur who wants to be successful, understanding the pain points of customers is essential.
Take a look at some of the people who started the biggest companies in the world. Bill Gates along with the help of a handful of people started Microsoft, which went on to become one of the most influential and largest tech companies in the world. Even today, Windows, the desktop operating system by the company, has a market share of 75.47%. Windows has been around since 1985, a testament to Microsoft’s deep understanding of consumers.
You need to be hungry to ensure your company succeeds despite facing all types of odds. The drive in becoming successful should be as important as you wanting to breathe air every second.
When you have this type of hunger inside you, it will push you to take the necessary steps which further helps your company immensely. In the long run, it will give you the energy you need to put in the long hours to run your business during the initial period.
Taking your business from the bottom to the top is quite the challenge. There will be times when your company is unable to perform as well as expected. During this period, you can’t afford to lose faith in yourself or your employees. You need to believe that your company will ride out the bad waves and emerge at the top. The road to success is quite challenging, which requires a lot of patience - a key trait every entrepreneur needs in this day and age.
Regardless of whether you have the genes or not to become an entrepreneur, it is essential that you recognize your weaknesses and identify how to overcome them. Your DNA doesn’t determine how well your business will perform in the market, but it is rather the actions and decisions you take which steer your company. As an entrepreneur, you must work hard to improve your skills every day so that you become a successful owner. In other words, you need to put your heart and soul into your company and yourself to emerge on the top!