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Introduction

Things to Know About Yourself Before Starting a Business

Things to Know About Yourself Before Starting a Business

There is both good and bad news about becoming an entrepreneur—the good news is that you won’t have a manager to answer to (you’re the boss now!). The bad news? When you build a new team, people may be telling you what you want to hear, rather than being honest about what works and more importantly, what doesn’t work. To overcome, you must capitalize on your strengths and find mentors that you trust. While considering entrepreneurship and whether it’s right for yo, it’s helpful to take a realistic view of yourself—and of your own limitations—this will help you on your path to success.

Martin Zwilling, startup mentor, executive, author, blogger, tech professional and angel investor, encourages individuals to get to know themselves before starting a business:

  • Know yourself: Get to know your strengths—what do you enjoy, and what will motivate you to solve a particular problem. Don’t let yourself get inundated trying to work on solving someone else’s problem.
  • Know what you don’t know: To be successful, you should surround yourself with the best people, which means that ideally they should complement your strengths and fill your gaps in knowledge and expertise—this way, you’re more likely to be able to see the real opportunity and set the right objectives to be successful.
  • Confidence is key: Entrepreneurs have no one to hide behind—knowing yourself and being confident is a step to development strong leadership skills. To grow, you’ll have to use those skills to build and motivate your team and your customer base.
  • Play to your strengths: Play to your own personal strengths and accept feedback from your mentors and your team that deal with decisions outside of those strengths. This will help you to become a better listener and a stronger leader.
  • Saying “no” without feeling guilty: It’s important that you say no to tasks and projects that you can’t deliver on—prioritize and know your limits. Don’t be afraid to delegate, and never use the “too busy” excuse.

In addition to the above, Zwilling mentions that it’s also important to be authentic and to know what needs fixings. By being genuine, you will build respect from your team and customers and business partners will trust you. In order to improve, you must also understand yourself and set priorities. Knowing these things about yourself can help you decide whether the path to entrepreneurship is right for you.

To read more, visit: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/248796.

Thanks for reading and until next time… stay WISE!