I would consider myself to be an entrepreneur like Dan Lok. I know that sounds somewhat pretentious but I see my journey from when I left university to now as being one that many entrepreneurs would identify with. I recently went full-time with my blog and freelance writing which going self-employed in any sense is taking a financial risk. I still have those thoughts that perhaps this month I will earn very little but ever since I left my full-time job as a receptionist, my career in blogging and freelance writing has only been improving and growing. I’ve learned a lot over the time that I’ve been blogging and so I thought I’d share with you some tips on how to build on your entrepreneurial skills this year.
*This is a collaborative post.
*This is a collaborative post.Continue To Learn
When I left full-time education, I initially stopped learning and thrust myself into the world of self-employed work as an actress. This lasted for about a year or so and then my blogging started to pick up more than before. It was at this point that I thought, ok I could make some money from this venture if I put in the time and if I was willing to learn how to pitch to clients and to garner more work. Slowly but surely, I started to learn more about the world of blogging and how to run it as a business, not just a hobby.
I think that this is something that can be consistent with all areas of entrepreneurship because, in order to progress, it’s important to have the knowledge to be able to progress. So whether you’re reading articles or watching YouTube videos, all of this is education for your future career. Dan Lok is a successful entrepreneur, having made himself a career as a self-made millionaire and business mentor. He has a great podcast around entrepreneurship, which you should certainly check out in order to learn from one of the best in the industry.
Network Regularly
Networking is a skill that you should always be looking to improve. Not everyone enjoys networking, perhaps due to their own self-confidence. However, I’m an introvert and I pushed myself to be more vocal when it came to blogging events and opportunities online that would hopefully secure me more work. Now, I’m able to reach out confidently to people via online places like LinkedIn and I’d feel more at ease with attending a conference or networking event and chatting to strangers. I’ve found that it’s all about finding that common ground in which to start up a conversation. Once you’ve found a common interest, that can allow the conversation to flow easily.
I think we all have that fear of talking to someone and the conversation fizzling out awkwardly, right?
Start A Business When You’re Ready
Finally, if you’ve attempted to start a business already and it’s not done as well as you’d hoped, don’t worry. The whole attitude as an entrepreneur is that you’re confident in yourself to take a risk and not all risks pan out the way we’d hoped they would. However, you learn from your mistakes and when it comes to starting a business, do it when you’re ready. Put in the time and build up your knowledge and awareness of what works and what doesn’t work. Mistakes and failures are good to make because that way, you learn how to avoid them next time.
Do you consider yourself to be an entrepreneur? Let me know in the comments below and what you think of the Dan Lok podcast.
*Disclaimer – This is a collaborative post with Dan Lok. All words are my own.