Self-entrepreneurship was on the upswing about five years ago. But since then, this status seems to have fallen out of favor with entrepreneurs. When I talk about entrepreneurs, I’m talking about people who undertake and not about “service providers” who are in fact “employees” in disguises, such as specific parcel and meal delivery people who depend on a company and are therefore like employees, since they answer to the goodwill of a higher entity. Is it still possible today to get started by creating your own company?
Overcoming obstacles to becoming an entrepreneur
Yet, as Nicolas Serrat points out on his website, it is easy to become an entrepreneur. You have to want to! Because the greatest obstacle to overcome, whether you are a man or a woman, is the fear of not being able to do it. But if you rewind your life, it is often made up of failures that have allowed you to progress. So why is it so wrong to fail? Why do you want to be an entrepreneur?
It’s all a matter of nuance. For example, in the United States, failure is formative. And that’s how it should be seen: Nelson Mandela used to say, “I never lose. Either I win, or I learn. ” That’s also my way of thinking, and that’s what I try to teach people who want to take the plunge. Especially in these times, when you can find many tips to succeed, you are no longer alone! Even if the self-entrepreneur is considered as one person, you have to know how to surround yourself and take advice from those who know.
Some advice from successful entrepreneurs
First of all, let’s start with the one who revolutionized “the world” of commerce: Jeff Bezos, who says that you have to do something you have a lot of passion for, “even if it’s not in the current trend.” Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, added that it is so difficult to succeed in what you undertake, that “if you don’t have the passion and you are sane, you will stop.”
Paul Graham (Y Combinator, a business incubator in the USA), for his part, said that the product or service an entrepreneur offers must address a problem. This avoids selling something that doesn’t meet any demand. You must, therefore, pay attention to the needs of your audience and respond to them.
Walt Disney said that “the best way to get started is to stop talking and start acting,” which is confirmed by Jack Dorsey (Twitter) when he said that “the hardest thing is to start.” Having an idea is excellent; executing it is essential!
Surround yourself!
As mentioned above, many people do it better and faster! For Warren Buffet, it is necessary to “rub shoulders with people better than you.” This is also what they say when you attend a meeting: if you are the most exciting person in the room, you have come to the wrong place! Beware of the corporate culture. Often put aside by companies, this element is essential. Tony Hsieh (Zappos) proposes a model in this area with the “company of happiness.”
Customize and adapt
Take care of your storytelling. Even if it seems surprising, your buyers will pay more attention to your story than to your product or service. Accept criticism that may be brought to your attention and communicate as much as possible to get feedback on your proposals. As stated earlier, an idea is worthless: it is its execution that counts. Therefore, you should not hesitate to present your project even if it is only in the initiation phase. In this regard, have I already told you about my “marathon”? #Teasing! Elon Musk (Tesla) also advises you to “always look for criticism, because criticism of what you do is worth its weight in gold.”
“Know when to listen to others and when to listen only to yourself,” said Mark Svenson. That is, know when to balance things out and only listen to constructive criticism. If someone tells you, “That sucks! “If you’re told, “it sucks, it doesn’t get 3G,” then you know where to go to improve your product. Only mediocre people will always try to undermine your ambitions, while “big people make you feel that you, too, can become big,” as Mark Twain said.
Bounce back: any experience is good to take
Cécile Lazorthe, from Leetchi, returns to a crucial element: failure. She asks entrepreneurs to make it as an opportunity to develop their resilience. Try, fail, fix and start again, or as we say across the Atlantic “Try, Fail, Fix,” this must be the leitmotiv of those who want to succeed.
Another tip: don’t see yourself as more important than you are by “raising” funds too early. Getting money is all well and good, but be careful: you are giving up part of your business to others, and at some point, you may see it go down a path that may not be the one you would have liked to take.
There are a few other things to consider as well: although anyone can become an entrepreneur, everyone has their personality. We need to analyze our strengths and weaknesses to see if it can “fit” with what we want to do. It can also show you the difficulties you might face. For example, in the world of the Internet, if you don’t speak a word of English, it will be difficult (but not impossible) to become famous. Well surrounded, everything is possible!
Impossible is not French, you have to dare to get surprising results. For example, when I created this blog, I didn’t think I would meet influential people from the television world, and I was surprised when some of them asked me questions I thought I would never have to answer. Nowadays, the entrepreneur is no longer alone, but he still has to give himself the means to achieve his ambitions. This can be done through training courses, seminars, meetings, etc., where the sessions will allow ideas to germinate that will help a project to flourish.
