The Entrepreneur
Ten years ago no one would ever have dreamed that this tiny gadget would become a must have all over the world. When it came out, it was mocked for being user-unfriendly. The scroll-wheel feature looked horrible, people said and no one was ever going to spend money on this thing. The inventor of this nifty device was rejected by companies and desperate, he turned to one of the biggest names in computers to help him out.
When it was released in 2001, nobody could predict the enormous impact that this “invention” and accompanying software would bring. It sparked a revolution not just in the area of electronics, but around the world.
You probably own one of these devices. Trademark white earphones, it usually comes in candy colors and has had many versions since its original release.
Meet the IPod and the original man behind it, Tony Faddell. Faddell and Apple certainly never dreamed that the IPod would become essential hardware for so many people around the globe. The entrepreneur in Faddell knew he had a good product, even when he was rejected and laughed at.
These are the success stories that fuel people’s dreams, the one idea that got off the ground and made millions Tony Faddell is not alone.
· Do you have a great idea that you have turned into a business?
· Are you running a business right now that feels more and more like it is eating up days of your life?
· Are you holding down one or more jobs that simply eat up your day?
· Do you have a billion responsibilities that just swallow up time?
· Do you hit the sack every day feeling exhausted, only to get up and do everything again the next day?
Think the guy in the corner of the ancient medieval market peddling horse pads for the saddle sore knight. Think the man hawking the sword sharpener—the easy way to sharpen that broadsword during jousts and tournaments. There is always that one person who sees a need and looks to fill it—at a profit.
The moment mankind decided that they needed goods and services and developed even the earliest marketplace, the entrepreneur was born.
Historical examples of great minds that took great risks include names like the Vanderbilts and Rockefellers. Disney was an example of a great innovative mind that saw potential where others did not. Bill Gates is another, with Windows opening the world to the personal computer, but to personalized software.
These are household names, modern examples of those who got rich off a simple idea and built empires from them.
Entrepreneurs commonly share one thing: they took risks that came through and reaped millions of dollars from their ideas. Before Oprah came along, no one realized the earning potential that a woman’s talk show could have. Until Oprah revolutionized television.
These are the big and bold examples. There are dozens of little businesses that thrive on the principal of the entrepreneur. Home-based and small business stories vary. People have successfully created businesses out of hobbies, skills they already possess and needs they had that they could not find fulfilled anywhere else.
Some start off with smaller, part-time ideas. They work from home and create products or services that serve as a way to create more income. Others look for capital or seed money and go into high risk ventures that turn into main money makers.
Julie Clark, for example, built the Baby Einstein empire from the simple idea that she had. She wanted to teach her baby about arts. It started with nothing but a couple of home videos and soon grew in a multimillion dollar business.
Home based entrepreneurs have seized on the Internet as a cost-effective way of marketing their goods and services without much start up capital. They are able to reach out to a global market from the comfort of their own homes.
The entrepreneur is different because he or she looks at business from an innovative perspective. The entrepreneur is the kind of person who sees possibility in the smallest or the most ludicrous of ventures.
People have made money from customized earphones, creating ready to download Myspace layouts and other ventures that some may dismiss as tiny.
This is because ideas come in many shapes and forms. One never knows what will click, marketwise.
If you are one of the few who has it built in you to take that risk and create something concrete out of an idea, then you may have the bones of an entrepreneur.
It can be an enormous challenge, a risk or a thrill ride. Many ordinary people have created sustainable, profitable careers seemingly out of thin air.
There is no magic key to success. It is always a result of hard work, patience and good timing when launching a new product of service to the market. Entrepreneurs thrive on need.
Entrepreneurs are defined differently from other forms of business types as risk-takers who see new ideas or look for new ways to view a problem. They turn these ideas into profitable ventures that make them rich. You, as the entrepreneur, hold an idea that no one else has thought of.
Ideas vary. You can be looking at anything from social to lifestyle changes that you know have some earning potential for you. It involves looking at basic needs from new perspectives and turning that idea into reality. Entrepreneurs are defined by a go-getting attitude and necessary leadership skills that drive them to not just identify a need but create that need.
The core idea of entrepreneurship is fulfilling a need that people are previously unaware of. When looking at businesses, there are quite a few types or models to follow.
Franchising, for example, means taking an already established business model and implementing it in your area. Unlike starting your own business, you may have to deal with the franchisor directly. If you decide to franchise a Starbucks, there are certain standards that you have to adhere to when it comes to hygiene, food and beverage preparation and employee handling.
Common examples of franchising include fast food restaurants and the ever present 7/11. Many former entrepreneurs sell their ideas by registering them (as a trademark) and opting for franchise rights later on.
Entrepreneurs, however, prefer to license business that sell or promote their own products or services. Technology has made it possible for the savvy business-minded person to do so with minimal capital and maximum returns. Although the old definition defines an entrepreneur as one who takes maximum risk for great returns, there are several options available these days.
Internet or home based businesses are seeing a marked rise in use. It is easy, safe and a good way to do business if you start off with minimal capital. Many entrepreneurs are juggling full time jobs and businesses at the same time. It makes sense in these unsteady economic times.
Some prefer to use networking sites like Multiply or Esty as a way to find customers, retain them and earn a steady profit. Others go the traditional route by registering companies and leasing office space.
Entrepreneurs are as diverse as the ideas they carry and the businesses they create. They are people, like you, who come from different backgrounds, have different experiences and need to share this with the world.
Social entrepreneurs, for example, are entrepreneurs who look for something that will transform current conditions in society. They are motivated to alleviate conditions and to create change at the grassroots level. They look at ways to improve their communities by looking at discrepancies in economic, social or educational conditions. Social entrepreneurs are largely non-profit.
Serial entrepreneurs, on the other hand, constantly come up with new ideas and start new businesses based on these ideas. They often sell these ideas to bigger companies and reap the profits or maintain a series of small to medium businesses under this one umbrella.
The final type of entrepreneur is the lifestyle entrepreneur. These types of entrepreneurs look at how to improve the needs and lifestyle of people around them. It can be something as small as handcrafted clothes to launching a new food product.
Entrepreneurs have become a core aspect of any economy. Terms such as mompreneurs (stay at home moms with businesses) or ecopreneurs (entrepreneurs primarily focused on the going green trend worldwide) are easily tossed around. It has come to mean any person with a viable business idea and the determination to follow through with it.
Great managers and great businessmen have some common traits. One of them is the ability to manage time. They know how to make the most of the time and the resources given to them.
They know when to say no, how to manage their day and how to get maximum benefit from the time they have invested in things. This is something that you can also learn and apply to your life.
Learning simple strategies that will help you not only get that idea off the ground but also organize your life in a way that you never imagined! The secret is all in time management and how to use it to create your own time, your way and your rules.
All of these strategies are easy to apply and adapt to any situation. You will also learn about organizing, planning and unbelievably easy time management techniques to help you become the best entrepreneur you can be.
