By Kristen Gramigna
Kristen Gramigna is Chief Marketing Officer for BluePay, a leading payment gateway provider for small businesses.
Entrepreneurs have a unique mindset that helps them start businesses that stand out from the crowd. Here’s a look at some of the obligations every entrepreneur has that can positively impact the world.
4.) The belief that work isn’t a “four-letter word.”
Being an entrepreneur requires a certain comfort level with risk and ambiguity. With that comes the deep-rooted belief that anything is possible with the right amount of dedication, work, time and patience. In a world where workplace happiness statistics are grim (a Gallup survey of 5.4 million working adults reveals that half of employees are not engaged with their work), work as an opportunity to pursue passion and fulfillment rather than a “means to an end” until retirement appears to be a rare yet inspirational perspective that the collective workforce lacks.
3.) The willingness to fix what’s broken.
Many people can see what’s not working in the world — and voice their displeasure about the many things they perceive contribute to their disadvantage and/or displeasure. Far fewer use the observation to pursue a better solution. Entrepreneurs remind others that there is more value on dwelling on what’s possible, instead of what’s prohibitive.
2.) The ability to see worth independent of money.
Though Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg have become household names, their entrepreneurial quests weren’t about making money. Despite how much of it they made from their innovations, their net worth still isn’t the real headline that accompanies their names, but rather, what they did to achieve it.
As the venture capitalist Peter Thiel, who has famously (and wisely) bet on the future success of companies like Facebook and Square, once publicly explained, he actually gauges a startup’s success or failure on whether the founder is taking a considerable salary draw early on stating that it speaks to the overall mission of the company.
1.) The ability to embrace truth.
Entrepreneurs have a unique ability to put a new spin on getting back up when the chips are down; they embrace the fact that they’ve failed, and transform it into as a badge of honor that can better their future endeavors, and support their entrepreneurial brethren’s chances of success.
Contrary to the advice that resume and interview experts provide those who have been fired or laid off from traditional employment in the corporate world, entrepreneurs see failure as a means to learn, grow and teach, as evidenced through the success of startup “funeral” events like FailCon.
Being an entrepreneur can be a gift — or a curse — depending on where you invest your unique talents.
photo credit: Imagens Evangélicas via photopin cc
About the Author
Kristen Gramigna is Chief Marketing Officer for BluePay, a leading payment gateway provider for small businesses. She has more than 15 years experience in the bankcard industry in direct sales, sales management and marketing.