Are You a Closet Entrepreneur?

grant • July 19, 2020

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How to develop the entrepreneurial mindset to take the plunge

Being an entrepreneur can be a lonely place at times . We are a special breed and there aren’t that many of us. Most of your friends and family just don’t “get it” and will often try and rein you in, hold you back or discourage you incase you fail! In fact this is one of the main reasons “closet” entrepreneurs never take the plunge. 

To help you figure out if you are a closet entrepreneur, ask yourself if any of these phrases sound familiar?

You say:
“I think I want to start my own business”

They say:
“What if you don’t make enough money?”
“You are safer sticking with a proper job”
“It’s far too risky, what if you fail?”
“You’ll never make it in business on your own”
“What about the mortgage”
"Blah, Blah, Blah!!!!"

Boooooooooooooo!

As you can tell, I’m not a big fan of being discouraged by non-entrepreneurs!

Although your friends and family telling you these things mean well, they have no idea what they are talking about! How could they possible understand what drives you as an entrepreneur if they are not an entrepreneur themselves? It’s true, taking the road less travelled is risky, it’s full of pitfalls and potential failure. And that is exactly why entrepreneurs are a rare breed, because they are the one’s willing to ignore the nae-sayers and take the plunge into the risky “unknown”!

Of course the truth is there is a large amount of risk in having a “proper job” too. Especially as we go into the largest recession the world has ever known. Right now, the people that are willing to take risks are just about the only people making decent money.

The pandemic is great example of this and the evidence is all around us. I know several people who have made their fortune selling PPE because they took a leap of faith at the beginning of lockdown and bought tonnes of stock in the hope they cold sell it. It could have been a waste of money, but we all know how that one ended up!

Once you’ve taken the plunge, maintaining the enthusiasm and focus takes a lot of energy. This is something I pay a lot of attention to with our Blam Partners (all entrepreneurs) as they are mostly solo-preneurs and rely on Blam HQ and on each other to keep motivated and focussed. This principal is never more obvious than in our mastermind groups, or “Blam Multi-mind groups” as we call them. The idea that was articulated so well in “Think and Grow Rich” (if you haven’t read it you are missing out on a HUGE education) of using a group of like minded entrepreneurs to help each other succeed and solve problems in a monthly round table meeting, is sooo powerful. 

Being with other people just like you is a powerful, motivating, enlightening experience and the power of the group multiplies the results. If you’ve ever heard of the phrase “you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with”, you’ll see why a mastermind can up your average significantly.

If you haven’t started a business yet, but want to start getting the entrepreneurial mindset that will help you get there, there’s plenty you can be doing prior to joining a mastermind group. 

Listen: Listen to the guru’s in business and learn what they teach. YouTube, Facebook and Instagram are great places to start with this.

Read: All top entrepreneurs read A LOT of business books. I like highlighting sections and copying paragraphs. Start with Think and Grow Rich.
Learn: We are always learning, but to be successful in business you must be coachable. Applying what you learn is key, knowledge is useless without action. Finding a mentor to help with this can be gold!

Whatever your situation, if you truly are an entrepreneur you will take the plunge at some point. That’s because by definition, if you don’t take the plunge, you are not an entrepreneur!

So if you answered “yes” to the question are you a “closet entrepreneur”, the chances are it’s because of the people you are surrounding yourself with. If you change the company you keep, you can much more easy keep a company!

To your success

Grant
CEO - Blam

PS: I'm not suggesting you dump your friends and family but spend more time with entrepreneurs of a like mind. As my mentor always says. "Birds of a feather, flock together!"

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