We can’t all be an entrepreneur, there just aren’t enough problems that need to be solved and it takes a certain innate quality to venture out on your own. However, at some point, we will all have to establish and manage our careers, and there is no reason why we cannot apply the mindset of an entrepreneur to this task. It is the combination of managing your career and thinking like an entrepreneur that brings us to the concept of “professional entrepreneurs”.
I came across this term a week ago while browsing the internet and immediately felt a strong affinity for it. After doing some more research, I found that it was used as early as 2000, although it doesn’t seem to have gained as much momentum as other terms with the “preneur” suffix, such as “tecnopreneur” or “mompreneur”. Every professional, regardless of age, should develop their career as a successful company. Here are some principles that successful professional entrepreneurs possess.
A career entrepreneur is founder and CEO of “My Career Inc.” – Google, Facebook and Apple may have been created by dynamic duos, but there is definitely no co-founder for this new company. You are the sole founder and CEO of this business, and you make all the decisions. Grow your career from modest beginnings to the giant you hope it will be. As a CEO, you have many roles and are ultimately responsible for the success or failure of your career. You need to make sure that your product (skills and qualifications) is marketed effectively by the company (you).
An entrepreneur has a business plan – Whether it is written on the back of a napkin or earlier written in 12 point font in Word, a business plan is absolutely necessary that documents the expected execution of your product and the market that is demanding this product. Even non-investment entrepreneurs require a business plan to clearly communicate the product offering and the strategies to bring this product to market. Professional entrepreneurs must also articulate a long-term strategy for professional management that demonstrates progression and growth. It differs from a standard CV which is just a snapshot of a person’s credentials at any one time. A career plan, on the other hand, has a much broader scope and maps your development into the future. Remember, not planning means planning to fail.
An entrepreneur creates value – I wrote about this earlier as a requirement for sales people, but creating value is of the utmost importance for a company. There are positions in organizations so that candidates produce more value than the cost of hiring them. Similarly, entrepreneurs offer products and services that create more value than the cost of purchasing the products and services. If this equation is inversely balanced, then there would be no market for such a product. Career entrepreneurs consistently demonstrate that they can add value to organizations throughout their careers and can dollarize their value. If your skills increase the sales revenue by $ 1 million, then they are surely worth part of the $ 1 million earnings.
An entrepreneur aggressively increases income – Most people will settle for “making a living.” It meets their needs to survive or live comfortably and they generally earn more with seniority. Entrepreneurs are not content with earning a uniform monthly salary; instead, they are constantly looking for ways to increase revenue – upsells, new products, advertising, and so on. A career entrepreneur employs a strategy similar to his career by continually looking for new ways to generate income. It can be working overtime or intra-company activities that lead to a salary increase, or it could be through outside opportunities like real estate investing or opening a restaurant.
An entrepreneur has a competitive advantage – When any investor evaluates the risk of investing in an entrepreneur and his company, one of the most crucial issues on his mind is the competitive landscape. If a new service enters an already competitive market and cannot demonstrate how it adds value above existing players, it will not be funded. Investors are looking for innovators, not copycats! Similarly, career entrepreneurs trust their product offering and can showcase the unique strengths they bring to building illustrious careers. After all, every candidate is evaluated for one job in relation to many other candidates for the same position.
An entrepreneur builds a solid network – It’s rare to find an entrepreneur today who doesn’t do his or her fair share of networking. It’s not necessarily about having to depend on other people, but networking opens doors to opportunities you never imagined before. Personally, my goal is to build my network as much as possible because the more people I meet and interact with, the more people I have as ambassadors for my company. A Careerpreneur recognizes that “who you know” is just as important as “what you know” and will live to build a strong network of contacts around their personal brand. During your career, many opportunities will arise through personal encounters and referrals.
An entrepreneur adapts to change – You’ve heard the saying that “the only constant is change”, well that’s the closest description of entrepreneurship you can get. Entrepreneurs are endlessly faced with changing customer requirements, product characteristics, economic conditions, market demand, etc. Not only must they be resilient and bounce back after setbacks, they must also possess the agility to adapt to changing market conditions. The inability to do this can mean the difference between death and survival. Professional entrepreneurs must also be agile enough to thrive in a wide range of roles to accommodate their careers in tumultuous economic conditions. The recent global financial crisis has put many professionals around the world to the test, and those who have recovered smoothly have been the ones who are prepared for change.
Well, the above are certainly traits that every job seeker should possess. It’s an entrepreneurial way of looking at our career and staying honest. The more proactive we are in managing our careers as CEO of My Career Inc. we will find a direct correlation with a greater sense of professional fulfillment. Try applying the steps above to your career, no matter what stage you are in, and enjoy greater vocational freedom.
We will not all be entrepreneurs, but there is no reason why we cannot be professional entrepreneurs.
