Becoming an Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurs need to have knowledge in many different areas. According to the Acton Business School, there are three critical areas of knowledge for starting a business:

1. In-depth knowledge of the industry of your business - You must know the history of the industry, competitors, suppliers, customers, and barriers. Typically, you will need to spend years learning all you can about the industry.
2. Skills to run the daily operations of a business – You need an understanding of day to day operations of any business. Topics include, production, accounting, administration, conflict resolution, and organization. You need to determine the business culture and ensure all of these areas are aligned with company ideals.
3. Ability to raise money – “Money is the fuel for a start-up business. Fail to raise it or run out before the venture turns cash-flow positive, and your business will die.” (So You Want to Be an Entrepreneur? Don’t Jump in Unprepared., Acton Foundation for Entrepreneurial Excellence, ActonFoundation.org.)

  

Building a business is time consuming and stressful. Much time will be dedicated to building the business. We need to prioritize and plan, so we do not lose sight of the most important things in our lives. Jan Newman, in a speech give at BYU, said to never let our loyalty to the Lord and our family be comprised. (See Newman, Jan, “Loyalty to God and Family”, March 7, 2011.)

N. Eldon Tanner, in an April 1975 General Conference address said, “Satan is continually at work, and in his cunning way tempts us through our appetites and passions and friends to do those things which are not right and proper for us to do. Too often, not only our youth, but some of the brethren in high places succumb to temptation. We must be on the job all the time guarding against evil. We must never relax or forget who we are and what we are trying to accomplish.” 

We need to put our God and our family first. We need to always be on guard against temptations that Satan uses to pull us down. He will use any tactic that will make us stumble and fall.

Wences Casares, of Lemon Bank gave three things for entrepreneurs to remember:

1. Entrepreneurship is a calling that chooses us – it is inescapable.
2. Time is our most valuable asset.
3. Entrepreneurs create the most value by doing the same thing for a very long time. 

As you can see, the journey of an entrepreneur is long and often lonely. One needs to be most certain of the path chosen to follow. This is not an easy journey, but in the end, it will be most rewarding as long as we are true to our inner compass. Remember to stay loyal to your God and your family. Stay true to your core values. Put in the work needed and learn the skills that will help you achieve. It is doable!