An Entrepreneur’s Mindset

I guess this topic is not new and you have heard some articles about how an entrepreneur should think to run his business. It is a common thought that when you already chose the world of entrepreneurship, and choose not to be employed, then that is the start of of being an entrepreneur. But old habits are not easily forgotten specially if you have been an employee for a long time. So changing your mindset is one of the most important prerequisite in running a business. There are many differences between an entrepreneur and employee and I have read many articles that compare their thinking. But the recent article I read have the best, in my opinion, of what they really differ.

Entrepreneurs focus on opportunity, while employees focus on resources such as money, people and time. For example, a person who thinks like an employee will say “I can’t do it, because I don’t have the money.” On the contrary, a person who thinks like an entrepreneur will say “Let’s tie up the deal and find the money later.”. A way of thinking that separates them worlds apart.

The book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”  which the article also mentioned compared the way two dads think and it’s consequences. This is how it goes (in summary): The poor dad was a Hawaii’s superintendent of education and a hardworking and well-educated man. He have a mindset that you should get a good education, find a good job with good benefits, and let the government take care of you when you retire. The other rich dad with little formal education but with a spirit of an entrepreneur became one of the richest men in Hawaii. The rich dad believe that changing our thoughts would change our lives. He said “Whenever you say ‘I can’t,’ that means you are at the boundary between what you can and can’t do. When you ask yourself ‘How can I do something?’ you open your mind to new ideas and expand the possibilities of your life.”