The 12 Laws of Entrepreneurship
What I believe about entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is a very interesting ride on a personal level. Whatever happens in the outside world, you get confronted with your own thoughts and feelings on the inside. It can be an emotional roller coaster, because the laws of work that you were used to as an employee don’t apply any more as an entrepreneur. In the beginning this is very confusing. You think that if you just work hard, you will get a reward. Well guess what: probably not.
“You think that if you just work hard, you will get a reward. Well guess what: probably not.”
Being self-employed is not about working maximum hours, also in weekends. That’s the romantic image that we have, from rugs to riches, but in real life it doesn’t work that way. Being your own boss comes with a new set of ‘natural laws’, that often are counter intuitive. In this article I list 12 laws of entrepreneurship.
1. Work smart not hard: get the basics right
2. Be willing to fail: that’s how you learn and grow
3. Do things you want to avoid: confront yourself with your fears and learn to get uncomfortable.
4. Ask uncomfortable questions: they are priceless
5. Take a stand and take risks: this is how you stand out and survive
6. Ask for help!
7. Invest in your knowledge, skills and network: rise!
8. Don’t ask for permission from your friends and family; they are on a different journey
9. Ask to get paid: this is a business, not an expensive hobby
10.Cheap services get disappointing results. Only invested people pay attention and stay until the end.
11.Listen to your gut. Is it fear or is it love?
12.Be grateful and turn your attention towards growth, so you can blossom!
1. Work smart not hard: get the basics right
We all hear those stories, that it takes hard work to build your company. That it takes years. That it’s risky and hard. That it’s difficult for the family around you etcetera. Sure, this can be the case, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Coming from a job where you got paid a fixed amount a month, working the extra mile would get you a raise and a higher position on the long term. Guess what? This is not the case when you’re the only one working in your company. The results don’t depend on you working extra hours. The results depend on what you are working on in the first place. Creating a website can be very rewarding and family and friends love this, because they can cheer you on, but it’s totally useless and can even harm you, if you don’t have the basics right.
What I mean by basics? Those ‘boring’ questions: What do you do? Who do you work with? What problems do you solve? How? Why would anyone want to work with you? What’s your expertise, your mission, your vision, your story?
These are the basic questions that I ask my clients, when we start to work together. As they don’t sound so sexy, they are often not taken seriously. Because yes, they are part of lesson 1, the beginner’s stage. People prefer to go to the next question to get results faster. Nothing is less useful than that. You have to have your basics right.
Quite frankly this is also what you say in a conversation when you first meet someone. It’s essential to have your pitch ready, in a way that convinces and creates curiosity. You don’t have your website broadcasted on your chest when you meet someone. That’s why this first basic sentence, and the ones that follow are so important. They are the first impression you give, and you want them to stick for the right reasons.
2. Be willing to fail: that’s how you learn and grow
In school and at university we learned to give the right answers. That’s what we were trained to do, to get good grades and as a result social recognition and proud parents. We were not trained to fail. That would have been ridiculous. Right?
Wrong! In real life, when you want to grow your business, you have to be willing to fail. You cannot grow substantially if you only take the ‘right path’. To make things even worse, your business is unique, so there is no ‘right path’. You have to figure it out for yourself. Sure, you can copy paste other people’s businesses, but that’s not a guarantee. First of all, you don’t know whether it really works for the other (image is not everything) and secondly you really don’t know whether it will work for you. It might look ridiculous on you. I see this quite often and I’m amazed how low people go. But again: probably because they think they are doing what they are ‘supposed’ to do. What you are supposed to do, in my opinion, is your own thing. Shine the light on your uniqueness, embrace it and show it to the world. This is what you came here to do, on this planet, in this lifetime. This is how you can shine and inspire others to live their best life. Entrepreneurship, especially the service based one, where you are the thought leader of your company, it’s about using your own uniqueness for the benefit of your clients. Can you imagine how your clients might feel when they discover that you’ve been copying from someone else? Out of the window goes all the trust in one go.
3. Do things you want to avoid: confront yourself with your fears and learn to get uncomfortable.
That being said, you have to be willing to confront your fears and get comfortable being uncomfortable. Get used to rejection, to different opinions, to naysayers, to talking behind your back, to cynicism etcetera, because these are all signs that you are doing something that you haven’t done before, and that others are afraid of doing as well. Even though the message is negative, it’s a good sign: you are growing! Now I’m not saying that you have to suffer deliberately. Not at all. Just don’t panic, when you don’t receive the positive feedback you’re yearning for, when you do something scary. You are very brave to stretch yourself. To do something you don’t know the outcome of. This is leadership! When you try something new, something unknown will happen. This can be good or bad. Either or it’s different, and you’ll be able to draw your conclusions and grow.
Don’t panic when you have a setback. Many more will follow. It’s part of the game, and this is one of the big reasons why most people quit. They are not willing to get hurt so often and give up. You instead know it’s nothing special, just a sign you’re on a track that not many walk on. Don’t take it personally. Ask yourself instead: why am I walking here basically on my own? Because it’s not leading anywhere or because the road is bumpy? If it’s bumpy you buckle up and continue towards your goal.
4. Ask uncomfortable questions: they are priceless
Asking uncomfortable questions is priceless. First of all be honest to yourself. Ask yourself the questions that need to be answered. Don’t fool yourself into things. That just doesn’t work. Nor does it work to fool others into things. People have gut feelings and just feel when you’re not authentic or unsure. Therefor be open: ask what is going on. Be willing to confront the other. It might feel scary and uncomfortable, but it’s also a sign of respect. You show the other that you care enough to ask something disturbing that is of value to you. If a conversation goes south, you can take a time out and ask more about a detail that might reveal something painful that might be lingering under the surface. Daring to ask shows courage and compassion, and it takes the conversation to a deeper level. Go for it. You both will benefit.
5. Take a stand and take risks: this is how you stand out and survive
Asking questions can be risky, but mostly they will reveal valuable information, that you can base your next step on. If you take risks, you will stand out and eventually you will have more experience than most people, and you will have the right to take a stand on certain topics. And you will feel certain about them too, because you’ve experienced these things firsthand. Your confidence will grow with it as a bonus.
6. Ask for help!
This is a tough one. It’s far more fun to be successful and succeeding, than to fail and feel stuck. When things are not working out, we tend to keep it for ourselves and try to fix it on our own. But here’s a thing I know for sure: we don’t have to figure out things on our own, especially if that particular wheel has already been invented.
We don’t have to figure out things on our own, especially if that particular wheel has already been invented.
Dare to ask and dare to ask for help. It makes you vulnerable, for sure, but it’s also a sign that you trust the person you ask help from. What that person will do with your question, is their business. They might help you or humiliate you. Either or, you will give yourself a chance to be helped and you will learn something from the experience. It might be a different outcome than that you’ve hoped for. That’s ok. You are one step ahead anyway and you may congratulate yourself for your courage.
7. Invest in your knowledge, skills and network: rise!
This brings me to the next point: ask for help in the right places. Get educated by reading books, get your skills trained by experts and reach out to likeminded people to share your experiences with. Surround yourself with ideas and people that lift you up. Invest in professional help and advice. The return will be major. You will instantly be able to give better advice yourself, so your clients benefit from it too.
However, choose ‘your guru’ wisely. There are many ‘experts’ that can teach you certain things, but maybe not necessarily the things you need to learn right now. Sometimes it’s better to invest more, into the next level, than to play it safe and grow slowly. It might sound wise to grow as you go, but how much time (and money) are you wasting if instead you can take a big leap right now?
8. Don’t ask for permission from your friends and family; they are on a different journey
Taking leaps and risks is an entrepreneurial trait, that not all entrepreneurs have. Some like to keep things ‘safe’. That’s their journey. So even when you reach out to family and friends who have their own business, don’t be surprised if you get surprisingly negative feedback. It comes from their experiences, their fears, their mindset. This can feel very harsh, because it’s incongruent with the experiences of the past with this person, but now that you’re an entrepreneur, you get a different ‘treatment’. Listen to what they have to say, ask questions and move on. You are on your own journey and you don’t have to believe everything your trusted friends and family have to say about how you should lead your company. No permission needed to follow your gut and mission.
9. Ask to get paid: this is a business, not an expensive hobby
To avoid having to beg for money from family and friends, ask for money from your clients instead. Now this sounds logical, but believe me, so many people find this hard. They feel as if asking for money for their services is as asking for money to be loved. It just doesn’t feel natural to get paid for something you love doing. You can solve this by offering some of your services for free: the ones that don’t consume much of your time and attention. However, as soon as someone wants your feedback on their specific situation, it should be rewarded with money. Money is the oxygen of your company. It enables you to live and do what you do best, both for the people who can afford it, as well as for people who can’t. The ones who are not able to invest, should not take your precious time. Even worse: if you help someone for free or with a discount, this might harm them, because they might perceive your service as cheap, and as a result they are not so committed to do the necessary work till the end. This is not only harming your clients’ outcomes, it’s devastating for your confidence too.
10. Cheap services get disappointing results. Only invested people pay attention and stay till the end.
Now I learned this the hard way. It’s amazing how humble we might feel when we first offer our services. We are proud of our ‘product’ and hope for positive feedback. We tend to offer it for a ‘reasonable’ price, so that people will say yes to it. We are afraid that if we raise our prices people will say it’s too expensive. Logical, right? Well no! I challenge you to raise your prices, to attract the right clients: the ones that are truly committed. These clients don’t care about how much your offer costs. They clearly see the value in it and they want specifically your help. Raising your prices is a test to see how motivated someone is. If people invest, they are invested. If they pay just a small fee, guess what happens… As soon as times get tough, they run to save the projects they did invest in, not yours… Harsh but true: make them pay and they will pay attention to you. Keep in mind that even though they technically pay for your services, what they really do is invest in themselves. It’s a sign that they believe they can reach the outcomes you help them with and that they believe they are worth the investment.
11. Listen to your gut. Is it fear or is it love?
Sure, facts and figures count. Know your numbers. But there is more to leading a business. Often you find yourself in a situation where the facts are missing and most things are unclear. How do you decide then? What do you base your decision on? You can turn to an oracle, to God or your gut feeling. Well, I turn to my gut feeling, and ask myself whether I am making a decision based on love or fear. Two very strong emotions, that can drive us through hard times and decisions. When I tend to do something out of fear, I lovingly turn to myself and acknowledge it and have compassion. Wanting the fear to go away is a natural reaction. It’s better to accept it instead. Just give it attention and listen to what it says. Does this sound weird? Well, just try it. You might be surprised what you’ll hear yourself saying. Take note and take action from a loving place. Fear based decisions are hardly ever good ones. Instead take a moment and sit with your unpleasant feeling. Probably it will dissolve once you acknowledge it and something better will pop up. Lead from love.
Lead from love.
12.Be grateful and turn your attention towards growth, so you can blossom!
When things work out your way, be grateful. When things don’t work out your way, look for things, circumstances and people to be grateful for. Focusing your attention to what works, works wonders. As they say: what you give attention to grows. So be careful what you think about. Put on a positive record, when you feel frustrated. Sure, you have to fix what’s broken, but in order to get unstuck from negativity, you need to focus on what does work. Take the burden with you on your journey, don’t let it keep you stuck in a bad place. Again: focus towards growth and you will blossom.
In conlusion
Becoming and being an entrepreneur is not for Sissies. It really challenges you on a very deep level. In order to keep sane and going, find out what works for you. My 12 ‘laws’ are what I have found to be true. Maybe you have other ones. Keep in mind that even though at times you might feel lonely in your own creation, there are thousands of other female entrepreneurs in the world, feeling exactly the same way. You are not alone. You and your business are just unique. But not alone on your unique journey. Connect to likeminded ladies and you will thrive.
If you’d like my help on your unique business journey, book a complimentary session to get you and your business ahead quickly: https://BlossomEmpoweringEvents.as.me/Free2021StrategyCall .
I love to help you attract the right clients and I’m looking forward to talking to you to get you quick results. It’s my pleasure to help you rise and blossom!
Cordially,
Anna Molnár
Business Coach for Female Entrepreneurs
The Hague, February 2021.