Just because you wear a black
turtleneck, jeans, and sneakers doesn't make you Steve Jobs. Then what makes
an entrepreneur?
A VC once said, "There
are entrepreneurs and there are Entrepreneurs!"
I'm not exactly sure what he meant
by that, but I'll tell you what I think. I think the term
"entrepreneur" has become more than a little overused, watered down,
diluted.
That shouldn't come as a surprise to
anyone. This is supposed to be the era of the entrepreneur. Practically
everyone has a business, a brand, a blog. Everybody's a CEO of one. And yet,
relatively few actually embody the true meaning of the word
"entrepreneur." So what does it mean?
To me, it means assuming significant
personal risk in forming and running a business.
And of those real entrepreneurs, few
manage to create a profitable, growing enterprise that delivers unique
products, meaningful employment, and shareholder value. What makes those Entrepreneurs
unique? What sets them apart from the pack? That's a very challenging question.
And the answer may surprise you.
They defy characterization. You really have to get to know these people, work with them
for years, maybe even get inside their heads a bit, to understand what they're
really all about. Here's one thing I know for sure. They're each one of a kind.
The real deal. They don't try to be unique. They just are. And they don't try
to be like someone else, either. They know that wearing a black mock
turtleneck, jeans, and sneakers doesn't make you Steve Jobs.
Money means little to them. It's sort of ironic how little money matters to those who
are true entrepreneurs at heart. After all, the really successful ones end up
with so much of it. For them, money is just a means to an end. And since
money's not a distraction or a temptation, they can truly focus on what really
counts: doing what drives them, what they're passionate about. Challenging
themselves, proving it can be done. Building a company, wealth and all that are
secondary.
They're on a mission from God. No, they're not really. But when they speak about their
vision or idea, you'd swear they've been possessed by some sort of demon that,
instead of inciting chaos and mischief, inspires innovation and creation.
There's definitely an aspect of fanaticism in their zeal for whatever has
captured their imagination. That could be because they truly think they're
special or need to prove something. Interestingly, that aspect can be a
self-fulfilling prophecy.
They don't take risks for the sake
of taking risks. Just as they don't set out to make
money, true entrepreneurs don't usually set out to take risks, either. They
just don't let anything stand in the way of whatever it is they're driven to
do. They'll pursue it come hell or high water. Risk just comes with the
territory. Despite being driven to do what's never been done, I just think that
motivation is stronger than their fear of what might go wrong. Or maybe they
just don't think about it.
They weren't born that way. Most of the successful entrepreneurs I've known started
with nothing or at least from modest beginnings. Some had parents who did their
own thing, but most didn't. They usually had mentors or people who inspired
them to trust their gut and have confidence in themselves. That, to me, is a
key ingredient in the making of an entrepreneur: the motivation to go for it
despite the odds and conventional wisdom.
They're not iconic leaders. Our society loves to create heroes. We hoist them up on
impossibly high pedestals. But in my experience, the entrepreneur as iconic
leader is a myth. Successful founders usually have partners. Bill Gates had
Paul Allen and Steve Ballmer. Steve Jobs had Steve Wozniak. Larry Page had
Sergey Brin. Also, entrepreneurs are often better at founding and creating than
they are at running and sustaining companies.
They're not very patient. Whoever said patience is a virtue was definitely not a VC
or anyone in the startup business, for that matter. Successful entrepreneurs
don't usually care much for social convention. They have little patience for
convention. They don't want to hear how things are done, have been done, or
should be done. They do things their way. But here's a twist. While they will
fight you tooth and nail over a key decision, as soon as they realize they're
wrong, they'll turn around in a heartbeat.
To me, it all boils down to this: If
you want to become an entrepreneur for the sake of becoming an entrepreneur,
that's probably not going to work out so well. If, on the other hand, you're
driven to accomplish something cool and unique without a safety net, then I
think you should go for it.
http://www.inc.com/steve-tobak/7-things-that-set-real-entrepreneurs-apart.html?cid=em01014week12c
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