How Ready are you to be an Entrepreneur?

There’s no doubt that the interest in entrepreneurship has seen a boost over the past half decade. With so many people laid off from their careers, many are looking to entrepreneurship as a means to better financial security. They no longer want to put their financial wellbeing in to the hands of another company that may lay them off again when things take another turn for the worse.

Those just leaving college have similar beliefs. They’ve heard that on average, only one out of every two college graduates are finding jobs in their field so they’ve decided to start businesses of their own. There are many reasons to start a business but all entrepreneurs have some key traits in common.

Recently, the, “Are You An Entrepreneur?” survey, inspired by a Kauffman FastTrac survey and posted on forbes.com set out to measure the preparedness of those who wanted to become entrepreneurs in the near future. Over 5,000 responses have come in since the survey was posted and the results indicate that most people believe they’re ready to start their own businesses for the right reasons.

When asked why they wanted to become entrepreneurs, 48.5% listed “passion to be an entrepreneur” as their top reason. The second most popular response was the 29.5% who said that they wanted to be their own boss, and the third was, “I have a great idea or innovation”, which received 17.4%.

Also worth noting was the fact that only 1% of respondents claimed to be seeking entrepreneurship because they were unable to find a job elsewhere indicating that some of those who were out of work had a passion for entrepreneurship while working for somebody else.

Respondents also listed skills that they felt needed improvement. 19% listed networking as their most undeveloped skill, 16.3% listed persuasiveness, 15.6% thought they lacked necessary market awareness, and 13.5% thought they were lacking business knowledge.

Bottom Line

Is it time for you to start your own business?  If you’ve had dreams of being an entrepreneur, consider following your dreams and opening the doors of your business. The economy may be challenged but many entrepreneurs will tell you that starting a business in a down economy is better than waiting for thriving conditions.

If you’re like the respondents of this survey and believe that you’re lacking in some of these key areas, there are plenty of resources available to help you sharpen your skills. No entrepreneur starts their business having all of the skills they need. Now is a great time to get started.