Whether you are embarking on your first career, have come to a career crossroads much later down the line, or fall somewhere in between, you will benefit from these sessions. First, let me congratulate you for coming this far. You obviously care deeply about who you are and what you are going to do with your life. It would amaze you at how many people never even get to that point.
The exercise we are going to do can be done after taking the main “so you want to be an entrepreneur” quiz or not, but we think it will help and the forms calls for a score.
The idea behind the questions below is to explore how you and your life fits with the life of an entrepreneur, so be brutally honest with yourself, no-one needs to see this but you. The questions are all open and should help you tease out issues, or further questions that you can explore to help you decide about which direction is best for you.
Gather your resources
Let’s get started on our journey; joining us will be our fictional friend Jane. Grab a pen now and look at the website to download the forms we will start using here.
To help you get started we have come up with a fictional character “jane” who is a regular person, and we are having her answer the questions so you can get a feel for how this process works.
Together with “Jane”, take a quick look at this list of ten questions that will help you answer the ultimate question: Do you want to become an entrepreneur? There is no right or wrong answer; just write whatever comes into your head. Keep your list to hand. We will then revisit it towards the end of our time and what I promise to be surprising results!
Download the pdf sheet of questions and checklists, print it, then complete it quickly and honestly.
Below are some examples of the forms and checklists and how to answer them. The EQ Score comes from the quiz in the book.
Top ten ways to answer the ultimate question – Do I want to become an entrepreneur?
Your name: EQ Score:
- What characteristics do you share with successful entrepreneurs?
- What are your reasons for wanting to become an entrepreneur?
- How would your family and friends react to you becoming an entrepreneur?
- What do you think your life would be like on a day-to-day basis?
- What do you think the downsides are, and how would you cope with them?
- What is your ultimate vision or goal?
- What are your core personality traits?
- What life stage are you at, and how do you think this will affect your chances?
- What resources do you have available to you?
- What can you see myself doing for the rest of your life?
Fictional Jane’s Answers
Below is how Jane did it to give you some ideas and how to go about it.
Name: Jane Toomey
EQ Score: 68%
- What characteristics do you share with successful entrepreneurs?
At this point, I think, very little. I work as a logistics manager for a local catering firm and don’t get much of a chance to put my ideas into action. Although I do have lots of dreams and ideas, I am not the most gregarious or ‘risk hungry’ person you will ever meet – I don’t think that sounds like an entrepreneur.
- What are your reasons for wanting to become an entrepreneur?
I’m not sure I do want to be an entrepreneur; I mean, I like the idea of working for myself, and I know I have good ideas. Still, I need to understand more about what the lifestyle would entail.
- How would your family and friends react to you becoming an entrepreneur?
Would it impact them very much if I chose to become an entrepreneur? I’m not sure. They know even less than I do about real entrepreneurs. I suppose they would worry about the risks involved. My mum would say, ‘let someone else take the headache of running the businesses. My friends wouldn’t believe I could do it!
- What do you think your life would be like on a day-to-day basis?
I suppose no one day would be the same, and I would have to attend many meetings about funding and revenue, but I know there will be much more to it. I’m tempted to say ‘sit and count all my money’ ‘because they seem to be focused on making as much money as possible, but again I may be surprised with the reality.
- What do you think the downsides are, and how would you cope with them?
From what I understand about entrepreneurs, I think they tend to make a lot of money, then lose it all, and then build it up again- Can I cope with the risk of losing it all? I’m renting an expensive flat, and it’s not just me. I have promised to put my brother through college next year, and he would suffer if it all went wrong. Entrepreneurs also seem like big egos who like to do it all themselves – I think I would miss team members around me, supporting me, celebrating, and commiserating with me.
- What is your ultimate vision or goal?
I don’t know yet . . . I would like a family and a job related to my love of cooking, recipes, and good healthy food that allowed me lots of time to spend with loved ones.
- What are your core personality traits?
I am not sure. I am good with people, I guess, and I am an excellent organizer. I also come up with good ideas, but beyond that, I am not sure. I even don’t know if those skills would stand up independently without the support of a big company around me.
- What life stage are you at, and how do you think this will affect your chances?
I am four years out of school. I never went to college because I did a summer job in a catering firm, and they agreed to take me on as an assistant straight out of school. I have a genuine passion for food and catering in general, and I think they spotted that. I have only worked for this one company and have seen little of the world. I think it might work against me. I have moved out of home, and I am renting a flat-so I own nothing.
- What resources do you have available to you?
That would be a problem, I think. I have a minimal amount of savings, which were meant to go towards buying an apartment. They wouldn’t be enough to start a business. I don’t think a bank would give me any money, and my friends are all paying off college debts.
- What can you see yourself doing for the rest of your life?
That is a more straightforward question. I can see myself being around food, cooking, and catering of some kind for the rest of my life. I don’t know if that is the right answer, but there is nothing else right now.
Jane notes:
I feel a bit vague in my answers, but I don’t know what it means to be an entrepreneur, and I don’t know what I want to do with my life. Hopefully, by the time I look at these questions again, I’ll know what I will do next, whatever path I choose.
You can see that Jane is new to the idea of being an entrepreneur, a situation which may not apply to you; you may have started your journey already. However, don’t avoid these questions as they will be instrumental for you as you go through the mentoring sessions.
Take the time to note the answers in a separate notebook which you can use for making all the notes as we go along.
Checklist
Now we can dig deeper and re-examine your feelings around the top ten traits. Right now, how aligned do you feel with each trait? As before, we had fictional Jane do it to help show you an idea of how this process will tease out things for you to consider.
Based on your learning of these entrepreneurial traits, complete the checklist using the downloadable forms.
Below are examples of the forms and sample answers.
| How you measure up (rank from 1–5, with 1 being least like you and 5 being a strong match to you) | |||
| Personality trait | Your answers | Jane’s answers | |
| 1 | Persistence | 3 | |
| 2 | Confidence | 4 | |
| 3 | Vision | 2 | |
| 4 | Action | 4 | |
| 5 | Dedication | 3 | |
| 6 | Faith | 3 | |
| 7 | Integrity | 4 | |
| 8 | Adaptability | 2 | |
| 9 | Courage | 2 | |
| 10 | Communication | 4 |
Now choose out of the ten traits, which are the following:
| Your answers: | ||
| Least like you | More like you | Strong match to you |
| Jane’s answers: | ||
| Adaptability | Persistence | Confidence |
| Courage | Dedication | Action |
| Faith | Communication | |
| Vision | Integrity |
Once again, don’t give up if these things look difficult for you – add them to your formula for success. Be positive. If you are not happy with some of these things, note them down – then do what I do; find the additional resources to complement your skillset when the time comes.
Jane’s notes on what she learned:
Low on adaptability and courage. Not sure how that will affect me. We must wait and see!
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