What does it take to be an entrepreneur? By Fred Swaniker

Some of you have begun to write me messages saying, “Fred, please mentor me. I want to become an entrepreneur!” I support this very much, because as I’ve said several times here, Africa--and the world--desperately needs entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs drive human progress. They create bold innovations that solve major pain points for society. They change lives and save lives. They ultimately create wealth for entire societies.  I know from experience that being an entrepreneur is one of the most fulfilling careers available, and I hope many of you here will choose it.

However, I want to also share with you that it’s not an easy path. When I dig deeper to ask people WHY they want to be entrepreneurs, sometimes the answers they give let me know that they probably won’t become entrepreneurs. If the reason is, “ I don’t like my job” or “I want to make money “or “I don’t want to work 9-5,” then I know that person most likely  won’t survive entrepreneurship.

So before you decide, here are 5 questions to ask yourself when considering entrepreneurship as a career:

1.Do I have a good idea? (or am I  able to generate good ideas)
In order to build any venture, you first need to have a good idea. A good business idea comes out of two things: observation and empathy. If you want to offer a product or service, there has to be demand for it. The way you create a product people want is by observing your market. What are they missing? What product or service can improve how they do things?
This is what people call “product-market fit--your product must fit the market! If it doesn’t, you won’t have any customers and your business will fail very quickly.

2.Am I a doer?
Not a dreamer or a thinker, but a doer.
Once you have a good idea, you have to act on it. Entrepreneurship is an active word. You’re not an entrepreneur until you have created something that you can show other people. Not just a business plan or concept note (which is a helpful start, but not the end). You need an actual example of what your product or service is as quickly as you can. If you want to open a restaurant, don’t wait until you have money to rent and furnish a fancy building. Show us the food you are going to make and sell it to friends and neighbors to begin with; in your living room if need be.  It doesn’t have to be perfect, but you need to start with SOMETHING. They say that entrepreneurship is like ‘flying a plane while you are still building it’. Without this initial proof of concept, no potential investor or partner can take you seriously.

3.Do I have passion ?
You have to care about what you are doing.  You can have a great idea for something that fits the market but it is something you don’t care about. Should you pursue it? Probably not. If you’re not passionate about something, you’ll quickly run out of steam and won’t be able to survive all the ups and downs you’ll go through as you try to build the business over the long haul.

4. Can I build great teams?
Skills are very important to the success of any business. Imagine you had a great idea for a smartphone app, but don’t know how to code.You’ll either have to invest in learning how to code or hire someone who can. If you have the right idea that fits market needs but can’t build a team with the skills to execute, you won’t be able to bring the idea to life. In my experience, great teams trump ideas most of the time. An ineffective team can make a great idea fail.  However, a great team can often turn a so-so idea into a winning venture.

5.Can I withstand the pressure?
Entrepreneurship is hard. A lot of people think it’s easy and glamorous because you get to “be your own boss” and run away from the 9-5 schedule. Not so! As an entrepreneur, I work probably double the hours I did when I was in a regular job, including nights and weekends! And as an entrepreneur, you have so much more pressure to deliver---for your customers, your suppliers, your investors, and your employees (who you have to pay every single month). When things fail, your employees can walk away, but you can’t. Your reputation will always be at stake. The media, the general public will know you as the person who didn’t deliver. You can’t blame anyone else. Investors have put their faith in you and will hold you accountable if you don’t deliver results. It’s not an easy ride nor is it for the faint of heart! It’s a 24/7  job that requires  a lot of dedication, passion, resilience, faith, and commitment.

Despite all these challenges, there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing. The joy of seeing a dream come true doesn’t feel like work to me.

After reading this, what do you think? Are you ready to join in the challenging but rewarding journey of entrepreneurship? I hope you will!