You have heard us say over a dozen times how important it is to take action and not just sit there and pretend to be entrepreneurial. The idea of being an entrepreneur is very fascinating to many, as the freedom of time and freedom of doing what you love rather than working is a goal that is dreamed of by many people. While it is a dream for most; very few act on these same aspirations. There is a select few who, despite not acting on their beliefs, still feel as though they belong in that same circle. Here are different ways to identify wannapreneurs from entrepreneurs. If you are one of them, then perhaps you may want to read along on how to change certain behaviors that will lead to long-term success.
You always have great ideas but….
Wannapreneurs give the world a look into their ideas but do so with an optimistic contradiction. Many will use phrases like “I have this great idea but…” and typically add a line about having a family, or lack of funding. There seems to always be a reason or two why a perfect idea is simply missing one thing. Its like that imaginary obstacle that never goes away. While they never act on their ideas, they also feel like there is ownership to their idea and keep it close enough like a goal they will never act on.
You always have lots of goals.
One of the other biggest mistakes they make is having a laundry list of goals at all times. Often starting with I want to travel, I want freedom, I want wealth, and so on and so forth. Lots of vague goals without any real purpose other than self gain. Since in most cases wannapreneurs have yet to succeed in making money, they also combine their long term personal desires with a business reason. You may hear something like I want to travel the world and work from anywhere.
You love to network to talk about entrepreneurship and business.
Most wannapreneurs network without any reason, meaning that there is no objective in meeting any person. In their minds, being surrounded by successful people will help them in an unknown way, shape, or form. Their misunderstanding of being surrounded by successful people leads them to attending many conferences to hear others speak. They believe it is an important part of their journey despite having no concrete reason to go.
You speak highly of entrepreneurship despite having never succeeded at it.
Many wannapreneurs feel the need to convert everyone around them to entrepreneurship but yet have to take the plunge themselves. Many will speak about the life altering path that entrepreneurship is but won’t have any concrete examples of how it has changed theirs. They will often quote others in their thoughts and use very influential people’s names to re-enforce their points.
You are waiting for that right time.
Often wannapreneurs share their ideas with others and typically state their intention to wait for the right time. Many of them identified this ‘perfect’ time in their head but have tied it to something unlikely in order to never make the plunge. I once had a wannapreneur tell me “When I hit $200K at work, I’ll quit...” and my immediate thought was who quits a job after working 20 years of hard work and having reached a $200K level?
Here is the reality of entrepreneurship for anyone out there. Its not easy, it will define who you are as a person, and there is no such thing as a perfect idea or the right time. Every day is the perfect day, and every idea must come with a perfected execution, and you’ll notice I said perfected, not perfect because in the world of entrepreneurship, the goal is not to get it right the first time, but to make it work period.
