By Brenda Weathers Hargroves
My “Seven Characteristics Of A True Entrepreneur” post asked readers to list other traits. The responses included: dedicated, detail-oriented, innovative, mindful, bold, risk-taker, personable, disciplined and focused.
These characteristics, as well as the ones I talked about in the article, are general. Let’s take a minute to discuss how circumstances can cause people to question their belief in their business. The examples below illustrate how entrepreneurs resolved situations despite facing personal specific challenges.
Personality Challenge – Although Bob was an introvert, he had an excellent idea for a business. His natural tendency led him to make excuses and not go, but he pushed himself to attend networking events – an ever-so-important step to success. After a couple of months, he made the leap into entrepreneurship. Although still an introvert at-heart, he committed to attending every event he could fit into his schedule. His motto became “Just go.” It took another six months of getting out there, meeting people and making contacts for Bob to benefit from his efforts.
Financial Challenge – Anne’s employer hired her to manage a new branch. He told her she would receive equity in the business if she increased sales. Her employer later broke this unwritten agreement the day he strolled into her office and casually informed her he had sold the business; with the assurance she would have a job with the new owner.
Anne decided to quit and compete by starting her own business. Knowing she would be a serious threat, her former employer made known his intention to drive her out of business. He sued her, claiming she took proprietary information. The suit was resolved, leaving Anne with $12,000 of unexpected legal expenses. She negotiated a payment plan with her attorney and paid the debt off in two years, all while successfully growing her business.
Faith Challenge – Chris’s book was selling well in her local area. She wanted to increase her visibility, so she decided to host a retreat. The event would focus on an unusual topic related to her book that, to her knowledge, no one else has explored. She took a leap of faith and rented an expensive meeting room at a major hotel. Chris advertised and was pleasantly surprised with the response. The event was a success and began the road to increased sales.
Personal, financial and faith challenges can be daunting. Conquering them requires unwavering belief in yourself and your business. You must be prepared to contend with financial challenges as well as those that test your faith and character.
No matter what obstacles cross your path, you must be determined your business will be successful and continue to focus on ways to make that happen. Remember, while you will face challenges, positive situations will also arise and there will be people out who are willing to help.
Business ownership is very much like life’s journey. It’s up to you to master embracing and appreciating the positive and learning from the negative. My best advice: Follow my entrepreneur friend Justine’s mantra – Fail quickly. To which I add – If possible, correct the problem. Learn from your mistakes. Move on.
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