Have that Entrepreneurial Spirit

It's quite easy to become an entrepreneur nowadays, especially with the proliferation of social media, giving us thousands of ingenious ways to connect with the market. But what's hard is sustaining that entrepreneurial spirit, one of the most important factor in getting successful in a business.

I know some friends who've started businesses on their own. All of them are not yet in their 30's, worked for several years in industries that somehow, fueled their desire to start their own company. But not all succeeded in retaining their businesses. A few closed down because of small profits, some didn't handle employees well while the others simply got tired of being a boss and at the same time, an employee.

However, someone managed to make it in the business. She said it probably was in here genes because their family had a business too or she knew all along she was never meant to become an employee. Either way, being an entrepreneur was her calling and she was able to snag one of the top pharmaceutical companies in the country as a regular customer. Her job before in an advertising agency feed that desire to become successful in her own design studio and that made her a remarkable entrepreneur who wears multiple caps; salesman/ copywriter/ graphic designer.

What made her successful in her endeavors? Here are just a few lessons I've learned:

1. Have passion.

When everything is leading to an awful result and quitting seems to be the only option, your passion will save your face, your ego and your business. Having passion in what you do will help you get over obstacles. Assuming you love what you're doing so much, you'll be able to do anything for it to become a success. 

Profits gained will just be a plus compared to the knowledge that you are able to do something you love everyday. It won't even feel like you're working at all.

2. Meet people and love meeting people.

Any business won't be successful without its customers. And any business will suffer if they fail to love, even like their customers. So being a great salesman also counts when creating a start-up company. Enjoy the opportunity to meet a potential client, talk to someone, be enthusiastic around people and genuinely listen to them and enjoy their company. 

If you're not really the social type, then start practicing. Attend a few business meet-ups with friends and start having small talks with strangers. You'll eventually get the hang of it and once you focus on your business goals, you'd start clamoring to meet new people.

And last, but not the least:

Sustaining a start-up also means undergoing your own business training. So with every successful bidding, every lost account, every met sales goal and every loss of your company, learn something from it. Experience is the greatest teacher anyone can ever have.

Update yourself on the latest tools and business trends as well. Learn what the customer are saying, know what to anticipate when hiring employees, read books on managing finances wisely, join organizations where you'd meet and learn from other entrepreneurs. Learning never stops in school so pick up something from everything that you encounter in life.

Having your own business won't be easy and at the start, you'll probably experience more hardships  compared when you were just a regular employee. The days would be long, the phones won't be ringing at first and the money won't be pouring in. Be tenacious, be persistently clever and arm yourself with relevant information and most importantly, have passion for what you're doing and you'll eventually become a successful entrepreneur.