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How To Become an Entrepreneur: 8 Practical Steps
In 1967, a war veteran working at a menswear store decided to try entrepreneurship. Not satisfied with men’s clothing during that period, he decided to make more colorful clothing, something he would enjoy wearing.
To start, he designed a line of ties. He went from store to store selling his designs. Encouraged by the $500,000 worth of ties he sold in that first year, he launched his own brand. Today, that brand is worth $19 billion. The brand is Polo and the entrepreneur is Ralph Lauren.
This is what entrepreneurship can do for you. But how exactly do you become an entrepreneur? Getting comfortable with the process could be the difference between success and failure. Here’s a comprehensive guide to becoming an entrepreneur.
What Is an Entrepreneur?
Ever dreamed of building something from the ground up? That’s the spirit of an entrepreneur. They are dreamers who come up with ideas and pour their resources into creating something. As Ralph Lauren so aptly puts it, “You have to create something from nothing.”
Entrepreneurs bet on themselves to turn simple ideas into thriving businesses. They spot opportunities in buying, selling, or transforming one thing into something more meaningful. For instance, they turn a fixer-upper into someone’s forever home.
Characteristics of Entrepreneurs
So, you’ve decided entrepreneurship is your calling, but do you know what it takes to become one? Let’s take a look at what separates ordinary business people from entrepreneurs:
A Desire for Growth
One of the chief driving forces for entrepreneurs is the need to spark growth. Most successful entrepreneurs have a growth mindset, pushing them to create better products, develop innovations, and diversify the market. They hope that growing the market will fully utilize available resources while maximizing profits.
Not Held Back by Norms
Successful entrepreneurs reject industry norms as absolute limits. While rules provide efficiency beyond trial-and-error approaches, only through applying them do their boundaries become clear. Entrepreneurs strategically use established rules where beneficial and break new ground where necessary.
Not Satisfied With the Status Quo
Most entrepreneurs are driven by the desire to revolutionize existing markets by creating better solutions. Steve Jobs quipped that entrepreneurs have no respect for the status quo. They are crazy enough to think they can change the world. And because they change things, they push humanity forward.
Want To Build a Better Future
Entrepreneurs are known for their creativity. They introduce new products and services that enhance the standard of living. Many entrepreneurs identify gaps in markets and develop solutions to solve them. Additionally, they create jobs, and the taxes paid spur economic growth.
Driven To Succeed
There are countless motivations that drive entrepreneurs to success. Chief among them is the motivation to pursue their dreams at all cost, eyes on the prize. Entrepreneurs also have a passion to make a difference in society. Overall, they have the self-belief that they can spur the change.
Are Trailblazers
For many entrepreneurs, following market trends is not an option. It is up to the market to follow their moves. They create goods and services so loved by the community that competitors must imitate or perish.
Aspire To Make a Positive Impact in the Community
Entrepreneurs have a strong desire to create vibrant community spaces beyond work and home (third places). The goal is to offer personalized services tailored to local needs, aiming to enrich community life and strengthen social bonds. Entrepreneurs want to attract the best talent for the betterment of their communities.
Persist, No Matter What
Successful entrepreneurs view setbacks as chances to grow. They learn from mistakes and persist toward their goals. Even when hypotheses fail or ventures falter, their willingness to keep going forward drives them to eventual success.
The 8 Practical Steps To Becoming an Entrepreneur
1. Identify the Gap
One of the key steps in the entrepreneurship journey is identifying the opportunities. Kick off your entrepreneurial quest by looking inward. What bugs you about this particular industry? What “job” needs doing better to get it running like a well-oiled machine?
Loads of big wins started this way, like Sara Blakely, who founded Spanx after she wanted underwear that didn’t show through her pants. If the proposed venture has a chance for a fresh market entry or shaking up the industry, there’s potential in it.
2. Polish Your Skills
You don’t need a fancy degree to become an entrepreneur. However, you must arm yourself with relevant knowledge to avoid repeating rookie mistakes. Here’s how to go about it:
● Shadow a seasoned pro.
● Read books about entrepreneurship (like The Lean Startup and The $100 Startup).
● Sign up for courses that break down entrepreneurship deals (like the Dale Carnegie course endorsed by Warren Buffett) or home inspections (WIN training program by WIN Home Inspection).
The more you know about the ins and outs of entrepreneurship, the more confident you’ll be about making strategic moves.
3. Identify Your Space
You’re halfway to success when you pick a niche that ignites your passions. Doing what you enjoy provides the fuel needed to keep you motivated when the going gets tough.
If you’re doing something you love, that increases your chances of thriving. How? When you love what you do, you’re naturally good at it. Your ability to spot a property’s potential becomes second nature.
The skills you develop will help you tackle real problems with ease. You can pick from a variety of niches, like:
- Real estate
- Technology
- Home Services
- Consulting
- Health and wellness
Selecting the right niche that matches your passion and skills could be the rocket fuel that propels you to success.
4. Research and Validate Your Idea
How do you know you have a winning idea? Research. Start with local business owners. Survey a handful of them to uncover their pain points. Most local businesses need dependable solutions to ease buyer worries.
Let’s say you want to start a home inspection service. How do you know this service is needed in that area? You find out how many homes are on sale in your location. Browse home-selling sites. Visit local real estate pages on social media platforms. Drive around and ask. You never know, you might even discover a big real estate firm nearby with enough jobs to justify a partnership.
Thereafter, scrutinize competitors. Are other inspection services slow or overpriced? That’s your chance to shine with a fast, affordable model, like the one WIN Home Inspection offers.
That is also your best chance to validate the business, like how Airbnb corroborated demand for their idea by renting air mattresses during a conference. You can use free tools like Google Trends to gauge interest in an idea.
5. Create a Business Plan
When preparing for a long road trip, you wouldn’t hit the highway without the right navigation maps, would you? That’s what a business plan is to a startup.
A business plan showcases your big vision. It turns your passion into action. Sit down and dream big: What kind of deals light you up? Who’s your ideal customer? How will you run day-to-day operations? Jot down your goals and financial targets.
This plan is your personal treasure map. It will help keep you focused on tackling every milestone as you build your empire.
If you’ve got no idea where to start, use templates from sites like Bplans or SCORE for structure.
6. Secure Funding
How much funding you can secure will play a big role in determining your investment path. Here are popular ways of getting the capital flowing:
- Self-funding: Bootstrap your business by dipping into your savings. Cut personal expenses, sell an asset that’s collecting dust, or borrow from family. It’s all about starting lean and maximizing every dollar. This path feels like those old days when you scraped together pocket change for something you really wanted.
- Get a Loan: Head to your bank and pitch a business loan to cover the startup costs. This is generally the easiest way to get a big cash injection fast. However, banking institutions are known for driving a hard bargain, so they may not offer the best deals.
- Approach the SBA: The Small Business Administration (SBA) provides affordable loans to smaller businesses. It grants billions of dollars each year to investors. The SBA offers favorable interest rates for longer terms, with a lower down payment than conventional loans.
- Approach an investor: If you have a killer business pitch, this might be the best route. Craft a business plan that sparkles with intent to attract the attention of angel investors and venture capitalists. Investors love profitable ventures, so show them how your idea will eventually line their wallets.
- Try crowdfunding: This is a way to draw funding from a community. Ask friends, family, social media pals, and investors to chip in, typically through platforms like GoFundMe or Kickstarter. Tech startups usually work best on such platforms.
7. Launch and Scale
When everything is in place, it’s time to launch. But that doesn’t mean the hard work is over. You now have to think about scaling the business. Scaling up is about identifying and repeating your successes.
Dive into your data and use those insights to steer your next move. Lean on your team, too. Hire seasoned pros to learn more about the market. These should guide your decisions when you decide to expand.
Building an entrepreneurship empire can often be a marathon, so be patient. Think of Netflix’s journey; they went from distributing DVDs to streaming videos to making their own award-winning content. The company grew revenue from $2.1 billion in 2010 to $41.6 billion in 2025.
8. Network
Your network is the rocket fuel of the entire business. Connecting with industry veterans can unlock doors you didn’t know existed. Set up coffee meetings with some bigwigs, and they might tip you off on market-changing dynamics. They may even introduce you to lenders who align with your mission. Don’t miss out on industry events or local meetups. It also helps to be active in related online forums.
Need Help Becoming an Entrepreneur?
The entrepreneurship journey is no walk in the park, but it’s not impossible. One of the best ways is franchising, which allows you to launch a business with a proven business model under a brand with name recognition.
Franchising makes it easier to become an entrepreneur than starting independently. For instance, if you want to own a home inspection franchise, WIN Home Inspection offers Full Home Inspection franchise services. We are the #1-ranked home inspection franchise in the U.S. for three years in a row. Additionally, we offer 35+ essential services, including Full Home Inspection, Duplex/Multiplex Inspection, Commercial Inspection and Home Maintenance Check.
Schedule a free consultation with us today if you need help with starting a franchise at a low cost.
