In Entrepreneurship - It’s Okay To Be a Follower
The 2nd Step to becoming an entrepreneur is finding a mentor or mentors. Starting out in entrepreneurship definitely has it’s ups and downs. Especially for a young entrepreneur. Jim will tell ya, I’m not the smartest cookie, but I’ve done like 1 or 2 things right in life. One of them was married my wife, and the other was found a bunch of mentors.
Mentors are so crucial to a young entrepreneurs but why do so many 20-somethings not have mentors? I think the biggest reason is because when we get out of high school or college, we sometimes think we’re hot shots, that we can take on the world because we just accomplished something. I have no problem with thinking you’re a hot shot (cause I think I’m one myself…jk), but it’s super important to make sure that you’ve got someone in your life that is coaching you, motivating you, there when you fail, to keep you accountable, and help you become the person you become.
A mentor doesn’t always have to be someone that you talk to, it can also be someone that you read about, someone that you buy CD’s from, it doesn’t matter, as long as you’re following someone. Someone once said, “The day you stop following is the day you stop leading.” Leadership is a key component of an entrepreneur because you’re leading either your business or other people that are following you.
I owe most of what I know about entrepreneurship from folks that mentored me years ago. They taught me many things, but the main thing they always taught me was to always be following someone because they did the same thing.
Go out there and find someone that can help you learn about entrepreneurship, help you grow, pick you up when you fall, someone hat has YOUR best interest in mind. Real leaders LOVE pouring into 20-somethings cause they know we’re the future of the world. Here’s some things that you need to bring to the table when being mentored:
1. Be coachable
2. Have a strong desire to learn
3. Dont ever be late to your appointments whether they’re face to face or on the phone!
Don’t let yourself get in the way of finding a mentor and achieving all it is that you wanna achieve. Remember, in entrepreneurship, you don’t always have to be the leader, it’s okay to follow. Find a mentor and trust me, you’ll learn so much about yourself and it wil be well worth your time!
How has a mentor helped you out? How did you approach your mentor? I think these are questions that we all can learn from?
Tags: leadership, young entrepreneurRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Young Entrepreneurs
1 opinion for In Entrepreneurship - It’s Okay To Be a Follower
Karl Edwards
May 15, 2008 at 9:34 am
Great point!
You’d be surprised how glad people are to share their experience. It’s quite the compliment to be asked a question, probed for insights or contacted for advice.
Thanks.
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