Entrepreneur - Self-Mastery (May 29th 2021)

 I consider all the materials learned this week to be all about the entrepreneur developing self-mastery. Since the entrepreneur is supposed to be the visionary, the person that takes the initiative to dare or start something new never done before, or to modify existing ideas and turn it into a value chain for the public, it makes sense that he must be versed in several disciplines. The entrepreneur is not just supposed to be a specialist, but more importantly a generalist.

This week's lesson addresses important questions like, what does it mean to be an entrepreneur? How bad do you want to become one?  Self-mastery addresses these questions adequately. I am deeply impressed by the following statement credited to Elder N. Eldon Tanner:

"There are two important elements in self-mastery. The first is to determine your course or set the sails, so to speak, of moral standards; the other is the willpower, or the wind in the sails carrying one forward."

An entrepreneur must, first of all, identify his craft, thereafter, he must master his craft.

Also learned this week the three areas of knowledge that are critical for starting a successful business. They are:

1. In-depth knowledge of the competitive structure of an industry and a network of contacts within that industry.

2. The skills to run the daily operations of a small, rapidly growing company.

3. The ability to raise money

These three areas an entrepreneur must be very good at in starting a successful business. Understanding the industry’s competitive structure means knowing the history and current status of customers, suppliers, competitors, product substitutes, and barriers to entry. You must understand why people buy your product and what alternatives they have. You also must build a network of personal relationships within the industry. Without these contacts, gathering accurate information is too costly and time-consuming. You must know the good people from the bad—whom you can trust and whom to avoid at all costs. Industry contacts make vendor selection, marketing, and employee recruitment much easier. In addition, a good reputation in an industry is one of the most important competitive advantages.

An entrepreneur must have a sound knowledge of how to run the operations of a business on a daily business. Accounting, bookkeeping, negotiation, recruitment, operational management, at least a generalist knowledge about these areas. He or she will be doing most of these things at the startup stage of the business.

An entrepreneur must know how to raise capital for his business. Money is the lifeblood of a business. Without adequate funding of a business, it would go under no sooner than it starts. An entrepreneur must be a master in these areas if he or she is to build a successful business.

As a budding entrepreneur, I intend to get myself abreast with these skills to enable me to run my own businesses successfully.