By David Sanders, Certified Master Consultant
There is a huge business trend which for the last 30 years had gone mostly undetected as one of today’s major trends. Yet it has gone on for more years than ever before in American history and is continuing today as strong as ever. Maybe you’ve noticed it.
Your life and that of everyone you know is being impacted by this special type of businessperson. The New Oxford Dictionary defines entrepreneur as “a person who sets up a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so.”
Americans have been going into business for themselves at an unprecedented rate since 1975. There was a time in American life when the major corporations ruled. No more – today they employ less than 20% of the work force. By the early 90’s the majority of US exports were produced by firms with fewer than 16 employees!
It might surprise you to learn that women are the fastest-growing segment among entrepreneurs. And Hispanic women are the fastest-growing of all.
Why do people become entrepreneurs? They want to pursue a passion in life, to control their own destiny, to be free of the confines (and often suppression) of being an employee in a large corporation, a cog in the wheel at best and a mindless minion at worst.
Yet the establishment has just started to pay attention to this trend. Fortune Magazine now publishes a small business edition, banks are creating special departments, etc.
Being in business for oneself is not without problems. Most people who take the leap are usually skilled at only a few of the things a business owner has to know. There is a lot to making a business work – skills as an executive, hiring and handling personnel, sales and marketing, finance, quality control and PR – in addition to expertise in the company’s products or services. Thus, we see a high percentage of new businesses going under each year.
One of the key challenges that entrepreneurs get into is their dream of having their own business becomes a nightmare. People start a business of their own, often without a workable plan. Worse, they leave out purposes and policy, which kills them. They do the same thing with their lives. The end result is that they start out running their business and end up with their business running them and their lives go out of balance.
Just as a business has to have a business plan, an entrepreneur will find that a sound life plan is vital, as well. You are also the CEO of your life, not just your business.
To counter these problems, systems have been developed to deal successfully with the problem areas and make entrepreneurs far more successful and life a lot more fun. Perhaps the happiest, most successful businesspeople around are those who master each of the skills needed to run their business, and life as well. These are the individuals who will shape our world.
David Sanders, Certified Master Consultant, is CEO of Creative Business Strategies, Inc. and former Marketing Director of a Beverly Hills ad agency. He can be contacted at CEO@CreativeStrats.com.
