5 Signs You Are Entrepreneurial

While many young people prefer earning a salary each month some choose to work around the clock to make profits instead. Which box do you tick?

My personal, sad observation when it comes to our education system in South Africa is that we are barely trained to be business minded or entrepreneurial. I feel we are taught to be qualified job-seekers and rely on our qualifications or even who we know to make someone else richer. I find nothing wrong with being employed because I know that not everyone is born to be an entrepreneur, but I do believe that many brilliant ideas don’t transform into realities primarily because of fear. I grew up wanting to be my own boss, somehow. And my strategy was that I wanted to work first and gain as much experience and connection as possible before branching out on my own. After six years of working for other people in media my internal voice, which told me to at least start somewhere grew louder but  fear paralysed me. I started this platform in May this year as a foundation of bigger dreams I have and am working hard to achieve, while celebrating other young hustlers who have inspired me and hopefully you to follow your passion. One thing I always knew about entrepreneurship is that it’s not easy and only passion  fuels you when you feel like giving up. As a young black person trying to find her feet in the harsh business world I can relate to my fellow peers who are advised to look for a job, which makes more sense to some of our parents. The thing with that is statistics are not in young people’s favour when it comes to employment and to be honest if you do work you are lucky if you are hired by someone who genuinely cares for your growth and your vision to make something of yourself. And believe me I have a mouthful when it comes to some bosses, (which is a topic I’m reserving for another day). I am still doing a lot of introspection about whether I am destined to be a business woman. But this is what I have observed about people who are entrepreneurial.

You are too independent: You can’t stand being micro-managed and office politics give you a lot of headache. You are also too opinionated and always find yourself in trouble for challenging the status quo.

You are driven and passionate: Those traits are just in your DNA. When you have an idea you want to see it successfully implemented and you always want to surround yourself with likeminded people.

You barely take no for an answer: Giving up has never been an option for you and when something doesn’t go as planned you are content that you at least gave it your all.

You value relationships: You understand the importance of the company you keep and the people you meet because you know that the foundation of any business relations is trust.

You are naturally a go-getter: You always find networking opportunities and constantly knock on every door with the belief that with persistence, your season is coming.

What other qualities show that you are an entrepreneur? We’d love to hear in the comments below