Skip to main content

Should You Be An Entrepreneur? Take This Test

Are You Cut Out to Be an Entrepreneur?

Take The Test (By Daniel Isenberg)
Some of your friends are doing it.
People who do it are in the front pages and web almost every day.
Even President Obama is talking about it.
So should you do it?
Should you join the millions of people every year who take the plunge and start their first ventures?
I've learned in my own years as an entrepreneur — and now an entrepreneurship professor — that there is a gut level "fit" for people who are potential entrepreneurs.
There are strong internal drivers that compel people to create their own business.
I've developed a 2–minute Isenberg Entrepreneur Test, below, to help you find out.
Just answer YES or NO.
Be honest with yourself — remember from my last post: the worst lies are the ones we tell ourselves.
......................................................................................................
  1. I don't like being told what to do by people who are less capable than I am.
  2. I like challenging myself.
  3. I like to win.
  4. I like being my own boss.
  5. I always look for new and better ways to do things.
  6. I like to question conventional wisdom.
  7. I like to get people together in order to get things done.
  8. People get excited by my ideas.
  9. I am rarely satisfied or complacent.
  10. I can't sit still.
  11. I can usually work my way out of a difficult situation.
  12. I would rather fail at my own thing than succeed at someone else's.
  13. Whenever there is a problem, I am ready to jump right in.
  14. I think old dogs can learn — even invent — new tricks.
  15. Members of my family run their own businesses.
  16. I have friends who run their own businesses.
  17. I worked after school and during vacations when I was growing up.
  18. I get an adrenaline rush from selling things.
  19. I am exhilarated by achieving results.
  20. I could have written a better test than Isenberg (and here is what I would change ....) 

If you answered "YES" on 17 or more of these questions !
....look at your paycheck (if you are lucky enough to still get one).
If the company that issued the check isn't owned by you, it is time for some soul searching:
Do you have debts to pay? Kids in college? Alimony? Want to take it easy? Maybe better to wait.
Do you have a little extra cash in the bank and several credit cards?
Do you have a spouse, partner, friends, or kids who will cheer you on? If so, start thinking about what kind of business you want to set up.
It doesn't matter what age you are: research by the Kauffman Foundation shows that more and more over–50s are setting up their own businesses.
Talk to people who have made the plunge, learn how to plan and deliver a product or service, think about that small business you might buy, talk to people with whom you would like to work, and talk to customers.
"I like to take risks" is not on the list.
People don't choose to be entrepreneurs by opting for a riskier lifestyle.
What they do, instead, is reframe the salary vs. entrepreneur choice as between two different sets of risk:
·         The things they don't like about having a steady job — such as the risk of boredom, working for a bad boss, lack of autonomy, lack of control over your fate, and getting laid off — and
·         The things they fear about being an entrepreneur — possible failure, financial uncertainty, shame or embarrassment, and lost investment.
In the end, people who are meant to be entrepreneurs believe that
·         Their own abilities (e.g. leadership, resourcefulness, pluck, hard work) or
·         Assets (e.g. money, intellectual property, information, access to customers) significantly mitigate the risks of entrepreneurship.
·         Risk is ultimately a personal assessment: what is risky for me is not risky for you.
"I want to get rich" is not on the list either.
All else being equal (and all else is rarely equal in the real world), on the average, people who set up their own businesses don't make more money, although a few do succeed in grabbing the brass ring.
But the "psychic benefits" — the challenge, autonomy, recognition, excitement, and creativity — make it all worthwhile.

Daniel Isenberg is a Professor of Management Practice, Babson College (http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/02/should_you_be_an_entrepreneur.html)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PRIVATE RETIREMENT SCHEME (PRS)

PRIVATE RETIREMENT SCHEME (PRS) Development of the PRS Industry With increasing life expectancy and rising living standards , many Malaysians find that their savings are inadequate to meet their retirement needs.  PRS form an integral feature of the private pension industry with the objective of improving living standards for Malaysians at retirement through additional savings of funds . As long-term investment vehicles, PRS are designed to help enhance adequacy and expand coverage of retirement benefits to all segments of the population. It complements Malaysia’s mandatory retirement savings schemes . Contributions to the PRS are voluntary .  Individuals (retail investors, self-employed and employees) or  employers can participate as PRS contributors.  Offering private pension benefits could be a tool for employers to attract and retain skilled talent. The PRS information set out in this publication includes a description of the framewo...
1 comment
Read more

MedicineNet: Diabetes Mellitus

MedicineNet: Diabetes Mellitus Diabetes facts ·          Diabetes is a chronic condition associated with abnormally high levels of sugar (glucose) in the blood. Insulin produced by the pancreas lowers blood glucose . Absence or insufficient production of insulin causes diabetes. The two types of diabetes are referred to as type 1 and type 2 . Former names for these conditions were insulin-dependent and non-insulin-dependent diabetes , or juvenile onset and adult onset diabetes . Symptoms of diabetes include increased urine output, thirst, hunger, and fatigue . Diabetes is diagnosed by blood sugar (glucose) testing . The major complications of diabetes are both acute and chronic. Acute complications : dangerously elevated blood sugar (hyperglycemia), abnormally low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) due to diabetes medications may occur Chronic complications : disease of the blood vessels (both small and large) which can ...
2 comments
Read more

MedicineNet : Lung Cancer

Lung Cancer http://www.medicinenet.com What is lung cancer? Cancer of the lung, like all cancers, results from an abnormality in the body's basic unit of life, the cell. Normally, the body maintains a system of checks and balances on cell growth so that cells divide to produce new cells only when new cells are needed. Disruption of this system of checks and balances on cell growth results in an uncontrolled division and proliferation of cells that eventually forms a mass known as a tumor. Tumors can be benign or malignant ; when we speak of "cancer," we are referring to those tumors that are malignant. Benign tumors usually can be removed and do not spread to other parts of the body. Malignant tumors , on the other hand, grow aggressively and invade other tissues of the body, allowing entry of tumor cells into the bloodstream or lymphatic system and then to other sites in the body. This process of spread is termed metastasis ; the areas of tum...
2 comments
Read more