Are You an Entrepreneur or Just an Ideas Expert?

It’s almost like it’s the ‘in thing’ to be an entrepreneur these days.

But who can blame us? The opportunities and options to do so are limitless.

In the modern era, it is easier than ever to start our own business or venture from practically wherever we want in the world. All we need is the Internet and a way to trade currency with our buyers.

To have a great idea, we need even less. We just need two neurons to fire in the right direction to bring a couple of concepts together – and bingo!

We have ourselves the next sliced bread, Facebook, or Selfie-stick.

These two approaches are all well and good if we are looking to boost our own internal self-esteem and claim ‘entrepreneurship’ as a core trait on the resume of our identity.

However, in the over-looked world of actually making things happen, this claim leads many failed businessmen and ideas people alike back to the proverbial drawing board faster than the time it took to produce their idea in the first place.
It really is time to ask ourselves: am I truly an Entrepreneur or just a great Ideas Expert?

The traits of the Ideas Expert are predictable and common:

1. They have a new idea on a weekly basis, and speak about it with certainty.
2. They claim to be an entrepreneur without ever actually taking action on their ideas.
3. They quit when the going gets tough. This is because having a great idea is far easier than actually taking action.
4. They possess big picture thinking capabilities, but not the strategic level thinking to plan out the execution of their idea.

The true entrepreneur, on the other hand, possesses far more directed and resourceful traits:

1. They research their ideas and test the market for viability of their product before shouting it from the rooftops.
2. They take directed, deliberate action on their ideas and change their approach based on feedback.
3. When the going gets tough, they get tougher. They understand that being an entrepreneur is a way of life and obstacles will be a constant, but they wouldn’t have it any other way.
4. They possess realistic big-picture thinking and are willing to take the action required to realise their dream.

There is no right or wrong here, but rather an honest internal check on what our actions truly suggest about what our identity really is.

Many people mistake ‘entrepreneurial tendencies’ like coming up with great ideas for earning the label of ‘Entrepreneur’ without realising that a great idea is about 0.2% of the work required for business success.

The message here is to take purposeful action on your great ideas, or keep them to yourself until you are in a position to do so. Chances are the idea you have is actually quite viable, so take a true entrepreneurial step and ask yourself “what have I really got to lose?”