… 5 Critical Entrepreneurial Strategies that “Accidental” Entrepreneurs Need…

Some people start life with an entrepreneurial spirit. Lord Alan Sugar, has been known to recount stories of scouring the streets for empty glass drink bottles and selling them for a penny each. Richard Branson started his first venture at the age of sixteen. These people have been studied extensively in order to understand their personalities, and to try to capture the essense of successful entrepreneurship – maybe one day they will bottle it and we can all effortlessly make our millions.

There are other types of entrepreneurs though. The “accidental” entrepreneurs. These are the people who may have been happily working in employment until suddenly something changed. For some, it started as something out of their control such as redundancy. For others they may have been struck by a brilliant idea, which they had to bring to market. For some, their lives changed and they needed work to fit around them, rather than trying to fit their lives around work. Whatever the reason, these entrepreneurs are equally brilliant to the natural ones – they make their business idea work. But it isn’t always easy, so here is a quick list of five things you can do to maintain an entrepreneurial edge:

1. Be Passionate

Whether your entrepreneurial status was by choice, or by necessity, be passionate about what you do. Your passion will shine through and people will buy into that (both your clients and your support networks).

There is evidence that you can provide people with as much information as you like, but that most human decisions are made with a large portion of emotional involvement. Therefore, the best way to engage people in your idea, or service, is through an emotional connection. You can only achieve this emotional connection with passion. Whether it is passion for the process, or for the outcome, or for the populations you work with – find your deepest passion for your work and remind yourself daily about the fantastic work you are doing.

2. Build Your Resilience

You will fall upon tough times. Every entrepreneur has. There will be times when money is tight, or when people doubt your ideas, or credibility, when you question whether you should just go back to employment. During these times, the natural entrepreneurs fall back on a sense of resilience. If you don’t have natural resilience, the good news is that you can build it. (Now, to clarify, having resilience doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to have a wobble – you can sit and cry in the bath for an evening if that helps – but it is about being able to pick up the pieces, look at the situation in a positive light, and see a way forward.)

Once you have resilience strategies in place, which consider your personality traits and working preferences, you will be able to move on from almost anything.

And remember – you have survived everything life has thrown at you so far (or you wouldn’t be here) – you can survive this too!

3. Build Your Self-Confidence

For some, self-confidence comes naturally. The self-confident people can usually be found bouncing into networking events without a care, describing their products/services with conviction, and excitedly selling their credentials (even when they may not have many). For others, self -confidence is something, which is built upon over time. When you have to rely on yourself, and your own powers of persuasion to keep your business moving, you need this key ingredient.

You need to remind yourself that you are capable, you are qualified, you have a good idea, or product, or service – and that you can deliver it. You need to remember this in the face of everything. But more than that – you need to project it to others.

You need others to believe that you know what you are doing, that you have confidence in yourself and your product/service. You need others to want you to deliver it for them, over all the competitors.

You can build your self-confidence. And you should. Because no- one else will sell your business for you.

4. Remain Adaptable

Things change. The world changes. Recessions, wars, parliamentary changes, Brexit, technology – all of these things can cause the business world to change in a heart beat. We work in ways today, which our ancestors could never have imagined. Remember that your business venture today may be brilliant for the world we live in now, but it may need to adapt or evolve to change.

As a business psychologist, I have seen companies go from wanting to spend wildly on team events and away days, to suddenly needing assessment services for large restructure programmes almost overnight.

Businesses who do not adapt to their customer needs, and the changing world, will lose traction. Just look at Blockbuster video rentals. They may have made the initial adaptation to move from VHS to DVDs, but what did they do when the world went internet crazy? Nothing. And where are they now? Nowhere. They did not adapt, and they were pushed out by Netflix, and other online providers. (I hear some people asking what they possibly could have done as a company with its only asset being a dying technology. There is always something. For instance, partnering with a mini supermarket – people will still nip out for milk/bread etc.; or partnering with take-away delivery companies such as Deliveroo etc).

Remember your USP for now, and think about how it could adapt. When you see changes happening around you, consider where your business fits. Design a strategy for dealing with change.

5. Stay Motivated

When you have no-one to tell you which hours you have to work, which tasks you have to work on, how much time to invest in each activity etc. it is both fantastically liberating, and, weirdly, sometimes demotivating. You now need to look at the endless hours of your future, and the massive pile of tasks which a new business requires, and make sense of it all.

You need to find strategies for keeping yourself motivated through the quiet times, and prioritizing tasks. This way you keep the business moving, and you ensure the important things are done first (don’t forget your tax return because you are busy building your social media presence for instance).

Some people are great at staying motivated, others may procrastinate and then find they have less time than they need. The way you will motivate yourself will depend on the type of business you own, and your working styles and personality. Some of the easy ways to stay motivated include:

Rewards – tell yourself you will reward yourself for good work (either through quantity or time, depending on what you are doing in your business). The rewards need to be instant, so buy them in advance, and reward yourself as soon as you hit your target. If your reward is a holiday, print a picture of the place you want to go and put it somewhere you will see it every day.
Planning - write out the things you have achieved each day, and plan the things you will achieve the following day. Set yourself a number of achievements you would like to reach each week, each month etc. and watch your work tick along. Use a calendar… preferably on your phone so it reminds you to do things.
Network – speak with others who work in a similar field of work, or who are in a similar situation, and support each other. Having a strong support network to bounce ideas off, and to discuss progress with is invaluable

Using some of these strategies can help you to work like a “natural” entrepreneur. If you would like some support, or coaching, to help you to set up, or continue, your “accidentally” entrepreneurial business, contact us