Entrepreneurship is a courageous journey with high risks and opportunities for great rewards. What I have learned through many years of observation and experience of working with numerous talented and ingenious entrepreneurs is that you must take inventory of your assets. Sometimes an oversight but you must always begin with yourself. You are your greatest and most important asset! You are especially important when you are at the beginning of the formation and building of a new vision and business operation. You serve as the foundational asset. Nothing can be accomplished if you are without good health and a sound mind. It's very important to strike a productive balance between your worklife as a business owner and your private family life or personal down-time.
Entrepreneurship can become all-consuming; that's the nature of being the visionary. However, to prevent crash-and-burn or cause burnout without the desired success achieved, I always recommend to those entrepreneurs that I serve to be mindful of the following:
Your Personal Assets
1. Good Health
2. Sound Mind (Ability to Focus)
3. Brain Power (Knowledge)
4. Talents (Natural & Trained)
5. Energy (Life Force)
6. Skill-Set (Transferrable + Experience)
Once we understand and realize that we are our first and foremost asset, then we better understand how we may invest in ourselves in a way that demonstrates to others that they will become attracted enough to make an investment in an emerging vision.
1. I believe Good Health is number one because it's very difficult to accomplish anything when your health is challenged regularly. Though many people overcome health challenges and achieve, there's always more opportunity to achieve even more with good health. So, protect your health by treating yourself well, by eating well; by getting sufficient rest and by scheduling downtime to rejuvenate and generate new energy to be productive.
2. Having a Sound Mind is also essential to success. Your ability to focus on the task(s) at hand to see things through to completion allows you to progress and to see yourself progressing. A sound mind means having a mind uncluttered with distractions or disruptive things which causes you to get sidetracked from the prize. Being organized helps to keep a sound mind and a peaceful mind; enough to accommodate the unexpected things when they show up. Also, participating in those things that you love away from worklife contribute to a sound mind.
3. Brain Power (or Idea / Knowledge Power) is the currency of the 21st Century. Your capacity to captivate your ideas and to translate those ideas into something tangible or intangible which consumers identify as a means of making life easier or more convenient is the basis for a business. Your ability to repeat that process increases your potential for multiple revenue streams and business continuity.
4. Your Talents are those things that you have a special ability to do something well. They are easy for you to do or natural for you to learn. It's always easier to do something when you already have an ability have knowledge or are passionate about. Once you have harnessed this talent you are on a pathway to success. When you are paid to use your talents; that's success because you're being paid to do something you love. That's not work; it's joy!
5. Energy is the combination of Time and Life Force Mental-Physical Effort required to produce something from nothing. That's the process of actually getting your idea or vision out of your head and creating that tangible / intangible thing that someone can see, taste, touch, hear or experience. Your ability to to be active and to command that energy and harness it is the main reason you can recruit and build a team to help you to create. Your enthusiasm and effort becomes contagious and your team are the first ones to buy into your dream or vision to deliver that product or service to market.
6. Your Skill-Set is your ability to use technical know-how, experience and social interpersonal communication which are transferrable into your business. This is a learned power and should become a lifelong commitment to command a competitive advantage in the marketplace and to continue to demonstrate expertise and leadership.
It's essential to invest in yourself and your assets to increase your value and the value of your company. Next time, we'll continue the conversation regarding a discussion of the benefits to investing in yourself and your business.
Frank Stokes
Founder
Business Entrepreneurial Stewardship Training