Did you start your first business in your childhood?

Not every person can be an entrepreneur. In my opinion, an entrepreneurial mindset is something that we are born with. I know that many will not agree with me and the opinions are indeed divided. But it's a well-known fact that lots of business owners showed entrepreneurial spirit already at a very young age like me.

As a child, I never ran out of ideas to earn some cash. I used to sell different things like flowers, wild fruits and berries, giving performances, and created other ways of earning my pocket money enjoying the process of doing something on my own. Many of those ideas make me smile now and would no doubt make you smile as well, but they worked and were a source of income for me.

Once a friend of mine who has a travel agency told me:" You know I recently realized that all my childhood games were related to traveling in one way or the other and I always found ways to earn some money while playing them." That's it!
I believe entrepreneurs are born, not made, although the first one does not exclude the latter. But of course, there are exceptions like everywhere else because every one of us has our own "why".

Photo by Felix Koutchinski on Unsplash

There are lots of people who have no inclination towards entrepreneurship and have never even thought of starting their own business - it is natural for them to work for others, but amongst those trying there are also serial failures - they start their own business and fail - in other words, fall down and then get back up and keep on trying as many times as necessary until they reach some sort of success.

In a number of cases, it's not only about your skills and efforts that you put into it. It's a matter of luck as well, connections that you have or not have, all of these factors define your success. Because no matter how good your idea is, or how smart and skilled you are, if you have no connections and money to help you bring it to life, you won't succeed even if you have all the qualities that make a good entrepreneur.

There is a general perception that a person cannot be called a true entrepreneur if he/she failed once or multiple times with which I absolutely do not agree. If you have a burning desire to have your own business - entrepreneurship is innate, it`s in your blood. It's not about being good or bad, successful or failing entrepreneur, it's about the passion itself. It's about whether you take initiative and risks or you don't. It's about whether you enjoy the process or not. It is a fire
inside that cannot be put out, it's a way of thinking, a way of perception of how a living should be earned.

Photo by ThisisEngineering RAEng on Unsplash

According to the survey by Northeastern University's School of Technological Entrepreneurship, nearly two-thirds of entrepreneurs claim they were inspired to start their own companies by their innate desire and determination, rather than by their education or work experience.

While entrepreneurship skills can be taught, the survey results suggest that the desire to be an entrepreneur usually is not. Rather, as 42 percent of survey respondents said they launched their first venture in childhood, it seems as though the enterprising spirit is discovered within the individual, not developed by the individual's experience."

In fact, all people in the world can be divided into 2 groups: the ones who like to work for others and those who like to earn their living on their own terms and hate even the mere thought of working for someone else. The second group, let's call them " independent players" can in its turn be divided into 2 subgroups: successful entrepreneurs and failing ones.

Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

The word "entrepreneur" originates from the French word "entreprendre", based on Latin prendere, prehendere - ‘to undertake". A Russian word "predprinimatel" also explains it all - a person who undertakes some actions. A verb "predprinimat" means "to undertake". So the entrepreneur is someone who undertakes certain actions aiming at the creation of a source of income for them. And to be someone who takes action one should have specific character traits that stimulate this process.

What am I driving at? Quizzes and tests!
I am not a big fan of them but sometimes after occasionally taking some I think to myself: " Oh, why do I not do that more often, it's interesting!"

Take the following tests to check how well you know yourself and if it coincides with the results that tests can reveal. Or find out something new about your personality.

First of all, I highly recommend you taking 16 personalities test. It is " freakishly accurate " and gives a very thorough description of who you are and why you do things the way you do. It`s incredibly insightful especially when it comes to your career and how your work with others. I must confess that after taking this test I was amazed at how accurately it described my personality. I didn't expect that much accuracy at all.

Another interesting test is BOSI DNA Entrepreneur Test that will show what your profile means for your business and your role in it.

Please have a look at these 2 quizzes too: "What type of business owner are you?" and "What entrepreneurial spirit do you possess"

And the last thing...Have a look at this website: https://www.crystalknows.com/

It is a browser extension to view any prospect or customer`s personality as you browse LinkedIn. It shows you very accurately which type of person the profile you look at is and how to communicate with them. It is a precious tool for preparing meetings, discussions, sales talks, etc for every entrepreneur.

That`s all for this week.

Take care,

Natalia Sharma
Business Development Manager