From Employee To Entrepreneur – What You Don’t Learn In College
Dorothy Andreas has spent over four decades building profitable businesses. A Keynote Speaker, Best Selling Author, Business Growth Coach, and recipient of over 80 professional awards, her life has been dedicated to the pursuit of business excellence.
You have finally climbed as high as possible in your current situation. It’s time for you to spread your wings, realize your dreams, and become your own boss! Now what?
You will be excited and motivated beyond belief… and stretched to the breaking point on many days. As you forge ahead, expecting these wild swings will reduce the shock factor when they occur.
Excelling in your field brings much positive attention, atta-boys, and accolades. Perhaps the most surprising thing for the newer entrepreneur is the exchange of applause for new responsibilities.
A 59% increase in new business filings since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S.* demonstrates the strength and determination of the entrepreneurial mindset. Your preparedness is key to your success. Your flexibility and understanding are key when things become turbulent.
This list includes a few of the most common and unexpected experiences for the new entrepreneur
Time and energy demands will increase as you build out your own new company. Take note of all that you are doing. Create a time budget for yourself. Build in a lot of cushioning every time anything new is about to happen. New could include looking for a new location, building out your website, working with a new team or staff, opening bank accounts and credit card processors, interviewing, training, collaborating, research, or anything that has not yet been done before. Your notes will be greatly valuable the next time you find yourself in the same or a similar position. You will save more time each time, as you refine your systems and processes.
Your relationships will change. Everyone around you is now dealing with a new and more focused version of you. Stay close to those who support you, accept and receive their support in a healthy, open, and appreciative way. Create a trusted circle of advisors, mentors, coaches, and people who want to see you win. Notice and avoid those who sabotage you with negative or doubtful comments. Feedback is excellent and a necessary part of growth. But the naysayers may simply not be able to accept the parts of you that got up, got out, and brought your vision to life while they were simply not able to commit to their own vision. This break-up of friendships is one of the more hurtful situations you might experience. When trusted people turn their back, you’ve got to remember that it is not about you, it is about their inability to grow with you.
Remain anchored to your higher purpose. It is so easy to neglect your family, your faith, and even your mission and vision for what you are building as you get caught up in the minute-by-minute demands associated with early start-ups. Develop a morning ritual that begins with three things you are grateful for, even before you open your eyes.
Your career is now your blank canvas. Your daily actions, habits, thoughts, reliability, and leadership are being driven by meeting the needs of your customers. Grow your business by being so outstanding, that you are referable. Cultivate a healthy staff to help you realize your goals. Your decisions must be in alignment with your vision for the future, short term, and long term. Taking the time to plan and document your next 7-, 30-, 90- and 365-day goals will keep you on track. Be pleasantly surprised as you work towards certain goals, positive and rich unexpected results happen along the way.
Your money mindset must shift gears. You now see yourself as the creator of revenue, the maintainer of cash flow and the possessor of profits. If revenue is good from the start- be cautious. Until you’ve got three years of history, stacking your cash in interest-bearing accounts, paying off as much debt as possible, and not blowing newfound money on extravagant things will take maturity and discipline. Remember, lenders want your high interest payments, they may dissuade you, by contract or conversation, not pay down debt early. It is up to you, but mounting bills keep all entrepreneurs out of the creative zone. Creativity positions your company as a unique entity. Investigate thoroughly how each dollar invested with bring you a return. When the return is high, notice what systems allow for the growth. When the return is low, notice what you can eliminate as quickly as possible.
Creating and implementing systems, while keeping your mindset positive and flexible is a winning formula. The entrepreneurial journey encompasses a wide range of physical, technical, and emotional skills that are simply never addressed. These few crucial steps will help you to avoid pitfalls, pain, and empty pockets. For three secrets to success that have generated tens of millions of dollars for myself and my clients, visit Streamline Success.
Dorothy Andreas, Keynote Speaker, Best Selling Author, Business Growth Coach
Dorothy Andreas has been an entrepreneur since 1980. She started 9 businesses, had successful exits, and has employed over 1000 great people. A Keynote speaker since 1995, winner of over 80 awards for business excellence, mentorship, leadership and philanthropy, her passion is her family, business growth, and the charities she holds close to her heart. Dorothy is the author of three best-selling books; Streamline Success: Eliminate Chaos From Your Service Business, Conflict Revelation: The Three Essential Elements for Creating Harmony in Business, and Build A Million Dollar Beauty Business.
