#5 Ways in which You Can Sustain Your Entrepreneurial Journey Sustaining and growing the journey to its 100% realization is an experience of a life time
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Entrepreneurship, by design is loosely connected to "The event of starting something of your own". While this is true, the event is just about 25% of the real journey. It's just the start, a lot goes into actually making the entrepreneurial journey work. One goes through significant amount of volatility and confusion before taking the eventual step of venturing out, to realize that it's just 25% of the journey could be quite troubling, but that's the fact.
Sustaining and growing the journey to its 100% realization is an experience of a life time. There are many areas to focus on to sustain and grow this journey, which may be related to your approach, your business model, team strength, go to market strategy and many more. These are however the factors external to you, they are the second tier parameters to focus on, the primary and the top 5 areas that make up the quality of your entrepreneurial journey and its outcome are to do with you "The Entrepreneur". We closely look through the 5 steps essential for sustaining and taking this journey to its full value -
Know Your Potential, Your Scale
Fully understand and define the landscape, the real potential/scale of your business model, more importantly your ability and resolve to take it to that scale. The long term potential of yourself and your business model will instil the required levels of conviction and confidence that is so essential and required to enable you during the testing times when you would be pulled down by external factors. It is important to have sight of the end goal, always. Knowing is achieving!
High Emotional Quotient
Your emotional quotient plays one of the most critical roles in your entrepreneurial success. The level to which you are emotionally aligned with your entrepreneurial drive, defines your intensity and ability to drive through with clear resolve under different circumstances. To steer through with challenging times, especially at the beginning of your journey, does require the strength of a high EQ on your side.Your emotion decides your trajectory!
Singular Focus
Once you choose to be an entrepreneur & decide on a business model, there needs to be a singular focus on the business and nothing else. Eat, sleep, drink, dream only about the business. There are lot of compromises that are required and essential in every other aspect of your life, to make space for the desired focus on the business. Also, the most important factor is to not have any Plan B. While most would argue to have an alternate plan, quite often a Plan B acts negatively on your focus towards your primary business model. Put all your attention, energies and focus solely on your chose business model. One path, one outcome!
Identify your "Trust Zones"
The entrepreneurial journey is quite challenging and you have no choice but to travel it all alone. Often you will feel lonely in your journey and lose out on your energies. Identifying your trust zones is the best answer to all of this. You need to confide in them, they become your sounding board, listen to their recommendations. They help you steer through confusing times, and enable you in taking the right decisions. Trust Zones play a very important role in your solo entrepreneurial journey. Trust eases your task!
Financial Expertise
Emotion, Focus, Knowledge, Trust prepare you for sustaining & growing yourself in the chosen entrepreneurial journey, however sound financial planning and expertise is key to see it through, to scale it through and to ensure its delivered. Execution of all the plans, depend highly on how well have you planned it financially. This is one area you have to be in control of right from the word GO. How well you sow (read finances), shall you REAP!
The entrepreneurial journey is fun, teaches a lot, you scale up a lot, the basics are essential to be in place in order to sustain and grow it in the desired direction. The end outcome depends solely on YOU - The Entrepreneur, the level of your intensity & resolve in the above defined areas.