ENTREPRENEURIAL ACUMEN | NOT EVERYONE HAS IT

Entrepreneurial acumen determines whether a person would succeed if s/he embarks on an entrepreneurial journey. People find it fancy and cool to say that they have a start up, or they are thinking about a start up but when they realize the unconditional work ethic goes behind it, they literally shit their pants. It often takes years of hard work, long hours, and no recognition to become successful. They understand the true meaning of dance until it rains, the persistence and perseverance it requires.

Entrepreneurial Acumen | you will not make it, if..

How much do other people’s opinions truly matter to you? My mentor says, if you give equal weightage to everybody’s opinion then you are doomed to fail. I have an uncle, he is neither in politics nor runs a business, he works as a manager, but he loves advising people on how to run a business and debates on political issues. If you base your decisions on such lip service then God bless you and your business.

Comfort zone, what’s that? If you are cocooned in where you are in life, and are not willing to make the changes to become better, then I have bad news for those wannapreneurs. I have heard my mentor saying, the pain we feel during building our business, they are mandatory growing pains. There is no other way around it.

You are drunk on the thought of innovation so much that you throw feasibility out of the window. Don’t get me wrong, innovation driven businesses do succeed provided they are providing solutions to the existing problems. The chances are slim when it comes to starting from scratch. Rather than reinventing the wheel, why not leverage an existing tried and tested model?

If you are a certified castle builder in the air! A lot of people think making a business plan means they’re starting a business. Planning means nothing without action. Many people are afraid of failing if they start a business, that fear weigh them down.

I hate to break it to you but the life of an entrepreneur isn’t a forgiving one. As my mentor put it, it’s a lifestyle choice. You might feel like everything you’re doing is for your business because it probably is.Being an entrepreneur isn’t for the faint of heart, and it’s definitely not for people who are afraid to fail. You need to befriend failure and learn how to stretch yourself outside your comfort zone.

Whether you think you can, or think you can’t — you’re right. – Henry Ford