Entrepreneurs are expected to have specific skill sets to perform entrepreneurial responsibilities. Entrepreneurs shoulder the responsibility of owning and running their business simultaneously. They make crucial decisions of business and also bear the consequences if a project goes wrong.
With the increasing number of start-ups today, entrepreneurs have to deal with tough competition and constantly changing business patterns. There are various myths revolving round the industry that makes the task of being a budding entrepreneur all the more difficult. Budding entrepreneurs tend to believe and adopt some myths which make their survival in the industry difficult in the long run.
So, here are some common entrepreneurial myths busted which can clear all your doubts and you can execute responsibilities in an effective manner.
Myth#1- Entrepreneurs are all about Business
Most people assume that entrepreneurs breathe business; they think and talk about business all round the clock. The truth is that they do have a personal life apart from business they own or run. Entrepreneurs do not work 365 days or 24 by 7.
As a budding entrepreneur, you might be enthusiased to work for long hours and also invest your weekends for business but this cannot be done over a period of time. Instead, when you own a business you have leverage to balance your work hours as per your schedule (at least to some extent).
You cannot afford to miss out on precious moments of your personal life for work every time which means you can take some time off at frequent intervals. This way you can spend time with family, friends and are not stressed about work all the time
One of the main skills that a successful entrepreneur must adapt is time management. If they do this task successfully numerous hurdles can be eliminated from their way. Remember that multitasking delivers unproductive results so it is wise to focus on one task at a time.
Myth#2- Money is the only motivating factor
There is no doubt earning profit is one purpose of starting a business but surely not the only one. Money does not necessarily motivate you to run business. Most businesses are dream projects of the respective owners which drive them to struggle and strive so much to attain company goals. Financial goal is just a factor that gives business monetary stability and cash inflow to keep the business running. They may take a helping hand from companies offering loans to business.
There are multiple other factors which motivate owners to work hard for their business. They majorly cherish perks of control, flexibility, etc of their business. They also enjoy the benefit that they are not answerable to anyone and get an opportunity to leave a legacy behind them. Moreover, they like liberty of taking decisions which employees do not get.
Myth#3-They always take risks
One cannot deny fact that entrepreneurs take risks but it is not in every project or case. Plus, they do not necessarily take extreme risks for each and every project. Gradually, entrepreneurs learn the trick to take calculated risks and create a proportionate balance between risk and reward.
However, entrepreneurs ought to take some amount of risk to test their luck but they cannot completely rely on luck.
At times, entrepreneurs take alternative finance source to complete their project. This way, they do not lose on a lucrative business opportunity and do not have to go through financial turbulence.
Myth#4-Anyone and everyone can be an Entrepreneur
Every individual has certain skill set and personality traits which make them suitable for a particular profession. Similarly, entrepreneurship requires specific skills and behaviour so it would be appropriate to adopt them and then chose this as your career option.
It has been observed that only a small section of the world has potential to evolve as entrepreneurs as compared to other professions. As a matter of fact, self- motivation is one essential quality which a successful entrepreneur possesses. But, if go with theory there are handful of chances that skills can be developed and with experience they turn out to be decently good entrepreneurs.
Neither does this mean that you are a born entrepreneur. There are successful entrepreneurs who do not have any business background yet are capable of being good owners. The journey for them might be a bit different from rest as they need to indulge additional efforts.
Myth#5-High qualifications
There is no set rule that you need a high qualified or master’s degree in business or entrepreneurship to run a start-up. If you have noticed the richest businessmen across the world are either school drop-outs or with minimum education. Only a quarter of entrepreneurs are college graduates.
Individuals who are keen to start a business would test waters at an early age and emerge successful over the years. They realize the fact that a degree won’t help them to fulfil their dreams. There is no denial that education helps but it’s not necessary though.
Myth#6- Entrepreneurs are only young
Age is just a number and it is never too late keep these two facts in your mind because they can bring the best out of you. Age is not a barrier in the field of entrepreneurship. There are some individuals who would blame their age for not starting a business but ideally they can.
All you need is mental strength, financial reliability and right resources to kick-start a small venture. In fact, older people are experienced as compared to millennial. This means the former is likely to make fewer mistakes which the latter might in initial few years. There is an increase in number of young entrepreneurs due to digitization and the lure to run their own business.
Apart from all these myths, entrepreneurs never quit until they win is the most hypothetical one. Every individual has a different capability to deal with failure. That is why you cannot say that every entrepreneur successfully comes out of failure.
There are some entrepreneurs who may instantly come out of the turmoil while others may take a while.
In a gist, entrepreneurship is a tricky job and not everyone’s cup of tea. It takes a blend of many qualities to come out the other side of entrepreneurship successfully.