Dear Professor Investor, Entrepreneurship has become a hot topic, but how do I know if it's right for me?
Dana from Tel Aviv
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Not everyone is ready or able to be an entrepreneur it takes a lot of work and effort. However there is also no specific DNA someone needs in order to be an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are neither born breed, individuals decide to be entrepreneurs or have such choice forced upon them. It is neither pure nature nor pure nurture, it is a bit of both PLUS a mindful choice.
The most important things to consider before making the leap into Entrepreneurship are: passion, money, and execution.
All entrepreneurs have at least one thing in common: passion. They are passionate about their product/service/solution and about making it successful. Being passionate allows their work to not feel like work and to be fun to them. If you find something you are passionate about that doesn't feel like work then you found the right path for you.
Money is important to everyone. It is important to know that if you quit your day job and start a company you have to be able to go at minimum 6 months without any revenue. The world of startups is uncertain but what it certain is that you will be unable to make money at the start mostly because you will be injecting money into building something before you can make revenue. If you can go 6 months without revenue then go for it.
Lastly is execution. An idea can be bad but if you know what it takes to make it successful you have to know how to build it and get it into customers' hands then you can turn most ideas into opportunities. Ability to execute if fundamental. Why is this true? Because even if you have a bad idea if you know how to execute you can pivot/iterate and eventually find your product market fit.
If you have passion for an problem and for a product, if you can go without an influx of money, and if you know how to execute and iterate then you have a decent chance at being successful as an entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurship is a 24/7 gig if you are not ready to dedicate your life to your solution then you aren't ready to quit your day job.
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Questions can be sent to sean.wise@ryerson.ca or to @SeanWise. Please be sure to include "Dear Professor" in the subject line. For more startup wisdom check out Dr. Wise's new book: STARTUP OPPORTUNITIES: know when to quit your day job