No guts no glory: entrepreneurial spirit, explained

So, here you are, reading an article about entrepreneurship. Thinking of starting a company of your own. Wondering if your mindset is right, wondering if the chances you’ll manage to grow a successful business are big enough.

Well, we’ve got some good news for you. If you’re reading this, there’s already a big decision you’ve made. The one making the whole difference, in fact. You see, entrepreneurial spirit is something you can’t get rid of. It’s just the same as having a talent: at a certain point, you can’t hide it anymore, even if you want to. And yet another piece of good news: if you realize entrepreneurial spirit is something you probably don’t have, you can always develop it.

In this article, we’ll go through the very idea of becoming an entrepreneur and the profits of it.

Huh? What’s entrepreneurial spirit at all?

You’ve probably stumbled across this expression several times already. So what is it, for cookie's sake?

When we’re talking about entrepreneurial spirit, we’re pointing out a very specific mindset. Here are some things that define this mindset:

• Seeking change;
• Being critical & asking questions;
• Embracing innovation;
• Seeing the big picture;
• Looking for better solutions and new opportunities.

Now we often hear that being able and willing to take risks is what defines a true entrepreneurial talent. This theory presumes that there are two types of people in the world: the ones who try to avoid risk, and the ones who really believe risking is the only way to win. And we’re happy to tell you this theory is not even close to the truth.

One of the most essential rules of real entrepreneurship goes like this: don’t risk more than you can afford to lose! Biting more than you are ready to chew is okay, it’s a part of the entrepreneurial seeking for innovation and better approaches. However, it doesn’t mean you’ve got to be haunting risks and gage everything you have. See, one misconception less, and it’s just one of the first paragraphs yet… 😏

So just seeking change is enough?

Nope. Sorry about that. There are many ways to seek change. What makes business-minded people different is an eagerness to create something new from (nearly) nothing. Being able to see the big goal and the (more or less) clear ways to reach it within a realistic period of time.

This is the great difference between entrepreneurs and, for instance, activists (not that you can’t be both). An entrepreneurial spirit pushes you to:

🏔 Set an innovative goal;

🗺 Define the ways to achieve it;

🙌 Do what you can to realize your plan;

💎 Monetize nearly every step you take.

No monetization model? It’s not about entrepreneurship then, go and search for an article about charity work.

What starting my own business gives me?

Becoming an entrepreneur is a special decision. People decide to start their own business for various reasons. The top three are:

👑 Being their own boss;

😎 Being responsible for decision-making;

💸 Being financially better off.

For many, launching their own business is a way to finally start creating a “dream team”. The possibility to manage tasks and workloads in their own way, and even to get a more pleasant work-life balance is yet another reason for many to consider starting your own business.

However, what makes successful entrepreneurs stand out from the crowd is that they are developing innovative business ideas. In fact, they bring forth new solutions to acute problems, the solutions customers are willing to pay for, repeatedly.

Entrepreneurial spirit isn’t something you execute alone

And this is where we get back to the initial point: seeking and embracing innovation is the cornerstone of the true entrepreneurial spirit. Being passionate about your unique vision of meaningful innovation is another key success factor.

You may ask yourself, how can I develop this mindset and how am I to keep it up over time? The answer is pretty simple at first sight: environ yourself with people who are as passionate about what they do as you are.

The people who are ready to be in charge, are not afraid of change, and are willing to make the world a better place. This is a smart move when we’re talking about building your peers network, but it’s applicable to creating your team, as well.

Summing up

So now you’re familiar with the basics of what an entrepreneurial spirit is. The greatest part of it is to seek better solutions to the existing challenges, and not hesitate to bring these solutions into practice. This is a mindset you can have already or can develop by surrounding yourself with people who have more of this attitude.

Is this mindset alone enough to make your business booming? Let’s say, starting your own business requires not only a certain type of mindset but also a great share of hard work and research. But this is something we’ll talk about in the next articles of these series. See you there! 😎