What Does It Mean to Be a (Successful) Entrepreneur in 2019

Being an entrepreneur is much more than starting a business. Read on to find out what does it mean to be an entrepreneur.

Over half a million people become entrepreneurs every month. That’s 6 million people every year.

Of course, the vast majority of those people will fail and have to reenter the workforce. But if we’ve learned anything from the growing rate of aspiring business people it’s that the prospect of failure doesn’t phase them.

Why is that? Why are people willing to risk their stable lives for a chance at running a company?

In short, people want to live the lives that successful entrepreneurs lead. What does it mean to be an entrepreneur that’s successful? Below, we explore that highly subjective question.

1. You’re Passionate About What You’re Doing

One of the reasons why Americans are so unhappy these days is that they’re not devoting enough time to the things that they’re passionate about. Think about it… You sleep for 8 hours, work for 8 and then have 8 hours left to divide up between household chores, eating, taking care of kids, running errands and doing all kinds of other things.

When do you find the time to help the homeless? Where do you find the opportunity to paint?

For millions of people, the answer is that you don’t.

Being able to take those 8 hours that you devote to work each day and putting it towards an entrepreneurial venture that lets you make money from your passion is a big part of the successful entrepreneur’s lifestyle.

2. Being in Control

Success and autonomy go hand in hand when it comes to being an entrepreneur. As a matter of fact, not having to answer to a manager is one of the brightest benefits of running your own business.

Sure, as an entrepreneur you have to answer to clients. Still, if there’s a client that you don’t like, you get to make the decision to let them go and get to retain your business when you do.

Being a decision-maker and having the freedom to steer your destiny is an integral part of the successful entrepreneur’s experience.

3. The Flexibility to Change Directions

Consumer tastes are evolving almost constantly in today’s digital age.

Large businesses are so set in their ways that it takes them a long time to pivot with the times. Small entrepreneurial ventures, on the other hand, have the mobility to chase trends and even get ahead of them.

If you’re a successful entrepreneur, you wield enough control over your company to be able to chase down new and exciting businesses prospects at a moment’s notice. No board approval, managerial sign-offs or months of deliberation required!

4. You’re Creatively Engaged

When was the last time that you felt truly creatively engaged at work? We’re willing to bet that it has been a while.

That’s because it’s not in your employer’s interest to challenge most of its workforce creatively. In a corporate setting, each person on a team serves a function and that small function combines with other small functions to produce a consistent product.

Entrepreneurs get to break out of that conveyor-belt system and enjoy being jacks of all trades. Every new day presents a new challenge on the marketing front, customer acquisition front and more. As these challenges are tackled, entrepreneurs use this useful link to explore education opportunities or jump right into taking classes in their community.

That wonderful cycle of stoking creativity and learning is worth becoming an entrepreneur over on its own!

5. Others Are Benefiting From Your Success

Successful entrepreneurs don’t hog the fruits of their labor. They share their success with others.

How do entrepreneurs share their success?

For starters, they create jobs that support families. Entrepreneurs might also create products that make people’s lives easier. Many entrepreneurs go even further and donate substantial amounts of their profits to charitable organizations which can leave a broad positive mark on society as a whole.

6. Money Is Not an Issue

At the end of the day, the most basic barometer of business success is how well an entrepreneur is doing financially. What does it mean to be an entrepreneur that’s experiencing financial success?

That depends.

Most entrepreneurs leave their 9 am to 5 pm job with the goal of making more money than they were. Once they’ve crossed that line, you might think that entrepreneurs would celebrate that success and move on but the truth is, most don’t.

Entrepreneurs are constantly setting and resetting their definition of what it means to have financial abundance. With that in mind, perhaps being a successful entrepreneur means being a person that has the luxury of always chasing down a new and bigger income goal.

7. Legacy

Successful entrepreneurs build things that outlast them. Today, Walt Disney isn’t around to see how far his studio went. He did, however, lay the foundation for what was to come.

The millions of people that start their companies every year set out with the exact same goal, whether they know it or not. For many, that goal will come to fruition.

What Does It Mean to Be an Entrepreneur?

There’s no single answer to the question of “What does it mean to be an entrepreneur?” At the end of the day, success is a gauge that you set for yourself.

What we will say is that if you’re finding yourself ticking a lot of the boxes that we laid out in this post while running your business, by most people’s standards, you’ll be doing pretty darn well.

For additional entrepreneurial inspiration, check out more of the business-focused content on our blog.