What Approach Should You Take?

There is a cliché image surrounding entrepreneurs which essentially amounts to a caricature of a man (almost always a man) with a cell phone clamped to one ear and a briefcase held in the other hand, looking increasingly impatient as the rest of the world fails to give them their due for being so clever. In fact, entrepreneurs get a bit of a hard time from a lot of people, but in all truth the definition “entrepreneur” tells you no more about a person than the word “tall”. There are many different perspectives to entrepreneurship, and the one thing which unites all entrepreneurs is that they use their initiative to make money. The many things that separate them, now, they are the important bits.

Some entrepreneurs are just like the cliché mentioned above. It is inevitable that they will be, really, as clichés tend to have some basis in fact. Often it is this kind of impatience and hustle that takes a business from being quite average to being the best in its field. This is the case for as long as any entrepreneur will benefit from being impatient and persistent. That is to say that it works well for quick pressure selling, but not so well for more specific niches. Some entrepreneurs are successful for other reasons. Some are actually a lot more methodical because it is that approach that will gain them the most interest from customers. What is it, you need to ask, that defines the niche in which I work?

Sometimes you need to be the details guy or gal. Customers set a lot of store by getting exactly what they want, and will pay what it takes, wait as long as it takes, to get it. being strong on detail will get you everywhere with those customers. A manufacturing entrepreneur may well find that their target market is full of such customers. Then again, it might be all about the quick turnaround. A good sense of observation rarely goes to waste for an entrepreneur – being aware of what seems to be popular can feed into making lots of money, and being ready to ask questions and learn about your customers often pays off handsomely too.

To find what makes your entrepreneurial spirit unique to you, you need only look at what you are like as a person. If your friends use words like “considerate” to describe you, then you are, in all likelihood, going to make money by being attentive to customers’ needs. If you are often described as “witty”, then you may well find that you have the sales pitch that can sell just about any product to a captive audience. Play to your strengths, and what’s more, always be inwardly tenacious. You don’t need to always be in the customer’s face. Being there when they need you – whatever kind of entrepreneur you may be – will always pay off. Having a reputation for reliability is the kind of advertising that money cannot buy.

First Published: Aug 24, 2009 EntrepreneurJourney.com