Are You Cut Out to Be an Entrepreneur?

Think about striking out on you own? 27 million Americans, or 14% of the workforce, run one or more businesses, and in 2019 almost 775,000 new businesses were created. It’s not easy to take on the risk, but every day somebody takes the plunge. Do you believe you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur?

Ask yourself the following:

1.     Are you risk averse? In order to succeed as an entrepreneur, you need to be willing to take risks, manage risks, and make informed decisions to mitigate the risks over which you exercise some control. If your nature is to play things safe, you may be more comfortable allowing someone else to steer the ship.

2.     Do you enjoy your own company? Working on your own is not the same as being part of an organization’s hierarchy where everyone has a defined role and are working toward a common goal. As an entrepreneur you may be working on many different initiatives simultaneously, they may be in different fields, and the end games for each one may vary. A lot of being an entrepreneur is being alone, working alone, and acting alone.

3.     What is your tolerance for accountability? Imagine a world where you get all the credit when everything goes right and all the blame when anything goes wrong. Now imagine credit and blame are money. As an entrepreneur, the buck stops with you. You own all the successes and the failures.

4.     Are you good at business planning? Every new business starts with an idea. Taking an idea from concept to reality is an entrepreneur’s specialty, and an endeavor positioned for success is the result of due diligence and a solid business plan. If you want to play with investors’ money (or even your own), a good business plan is essential to success.

5.     How big is your cushion? The salary market average for being master of your own fate is $0.00 because nobody is paying you. If you want to launch “The Next Big Thing,” your payday is someday in the future. Make an honest assessment of your financial position and figure out how long you can support yourself while you get your new business(es) off the ground.

6.     Do you have capital? Or access to capital? Being an entrepreneur is pay-to-play and nothing brings an idea to market faster than a steady infusion of capital. Whether you use house money, a bank’s money, an angel investor’s money, or a group of investors’ monies, the common element is money! If you’re going to be an entrepreneur you either have to have capital or know how to get it.

7.     Are you good at marketing? Your new AI-Powered Robotic Widget that does peoples’ taxes and washes their cars isn’t going to sell itself. You need to be a master of the pitch and skilled at marketing your idea – both to investors and to your potential consumers. Then, when your dream is rolling off the production line, or opening its doors, or going live, you can pivot to the marketing prowess necessary to launch a successful new brand, such as building a website and managing digital e-commerce.

8.     Are you the kind of person who needs constant praise? Do you thrive in an environment where there is a clear path to compensation increases, bonuses, promotions, and perks? If having a charted course that provides built-in goals and security is your speed, then being an entrepreneur may pose challenges outside of your comfort zone.

9.     Are you willing to be flexible with your time? By flexible, I mean time has no meaning. Your hours aren’t 8am – 6pm anymore. Your hours are when your customers and partners need you.

10.  Are you able to manage uncertainty and failure? Investing time and capital into an endeavor doesn’t guarantee its success. It’s stressful, especially until you pay your investors and or creditors back. No matter how foolproof the business plans were of the 775,000 new businesses launched in 2019, the majority, if not all, most likely did not have contingency plans for a global pandemic. Some won’t survive. If you want to be an entrepreneur, your career may straddle both worlds and the best rotate between the two with ease, living the mantra, “you win some, you lose some.”

Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website,