Making the shift from employee to entrepreneur requires a fundamental change in how you prioritize your time. While anybody can theoretically become an entrepreneur, the mindset required is vastly different than the limited scope that comes with being an employee. Oftentimes, just expertise in a particular industry isn’t enough to be successful when striking out on your own. The good news is that, by recognizing these shortcomings, anybody can shed their prior outlooks and embrace the spirit of entrepreneurship.

2. Making the shift from employee to entrepreneur requires a
fundamental change in how you prioritize your time. While
anybody can theoretically become an entrepreneur, the
mindset required is vastly different than the limited scope
that comes with being an employee. Oftentimes, just
expertise in a particular industry isn’t enough to be
successful when striking out on your own. The good news is
that, by recognizing these shortcomings, anybody can shed
their prior outlooks and embrace the spirit of
entrepreneurship.

3. Take
Ownership

4. As an employee, it’s easy to feel as if
you’re grinding at the day-to-day in hopes
of a promotion or pay raise. Really, the
grind without any ownership is what
drives some to become entrepreneurs to
begin with. Shifting into entrepreneurship
means recognizing that any sort of reward
will take a long time to achieve. Creating a
startup or similar may require the
entrepreneur to suspend their own needs
for a time, working to foster the company
before themselves. Entrepreneurs that set
out hoping for their companies to be piggy
banks to be exploited are sorely
disappointed as they realize that a hefty
commitment is necessary.

5. Think Critically
Startups require the creation of an entirely new
market space or, barring that, carving out a niche in
an existing market. It’s often said that nothing is
truly original, but entrepreneurs are forced to be
creative and consider how to craft a unique value
proposition. This is not something that most
employees are trained to handle; often, success
means following company regulations or standards.

6. A new entrepreneur may be
overwhelmed at the prospect of
having to build something
innovative from the ground-up.
However, the beauty of
entrepreneurship is the freedom
to collaborate. The founder of a
new startup might find a business
partner that complements their
skill set or hire consultants from
an industry to suss out its
strengths and shortcomings.

7. Listen
Innovation comes by finding out what customers want.
Some of the most successful startups have excelled at
discovering common problems or limitations in an
industry. Others have simply found a way to offer a
sought-after product or service for cheaper than their
competitors. Still more eschew the established
markets entirely, discovering a need that is not being
adequately addressed by any existing company.
Regardless of the approach, a smart entrepreneur
keeps tabs on emerging markets in a way that an
employee might not be able to prioritize.

8. Accept Risk
Trying to play it too safe as an entrepreneur will result
in a venture floundering and falling flat. While risk
aversion is an important survival instinct, all
entrepreneurs should recognize that they’ll need to
depart their own comfort zones to find success. Even
in a startup that performs well, a founder will have to
abandon benefits such as retirement contributions as
their company gets off the ground. It can feel much
like a safety net is being removed when making the
shift from employee to entrepreneur—but for those
that have a vision for themselves or their work, they
might find their commitment rewarded.

9. Thank you!
John Jezzini
JohnJezzini.co
Twitter:
@JohnJezziniGNH