BUSINESS TIPS - From Employee to Entrepreneur - Part 2

BUSINESS TIPS – From Employee to Entrepreneur – Part 2


By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC – March 2012

Last time we looked at some of the basic differences between an employee and an entrepreneur.

Now let’s have a look at some of the issues that you will have to explore and questions that you will have to ask yourself and answer honestly as you travel on your path to becoming a successful entrepreneur.

1. Purpose
What is your purpose? I have no doubt that on some level we all understand that we are not only here on this planet called earth, merely to survive during our time here. We all have a purpose in life (whether we actually know what it is or not) and knowing what that purpose is and aligning it to what we want to do, will ensure that we achieve what we want to with a minimum of fuss and bother.

Understanding our purpose and aligning it to what we do will also ensure that we are able to live the best life that we can and become all that we are capable of being.

No one ‘life purpose’ is better or worse than another and our own success will be attained by being all that we can be rather than all that others think we should be.

2. People
Like it or not we are all here to serve people. Whether those people are our customers or our staff or our suppliers or our families, the fact of the matter is that we all need to serve and be served.

We are no better than those that serve than we are less than those that we serve. The more we serve, the greater our reward will be and the greater we will become as individuals.

I’ll say it again – we serve! Get your head around it, get used to it, get good at it and get on with it.
3. Personal Footprint
Let’s face it – there are all kinds of characters in the world of business. Some are grumpy, some are sunny, some are introvert and some are extrovert. The point that I am trying to make is that your success, as an entrepreneur is not dependent upon that particular part of yourself. Your success is dependent upon your credibility as an individual. It’s dependent upon whether you can deliver and/or whether you are honest in your dealings with people. It is dependent upon who you are intrinsically as a person.

Let me ask you this question (and please answer yourselves honestly), if you were in the market of looking for a mentor – someone you would look up to or aspire to be – would you look at yourself as being that person? If your honest answer to that is “NO”, well I guess that you know what your personal footprint will be.

Next time we will have a look at some more of the issues that you as an entrepreneur should be looking at.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za