Image by: MiiiSH
By Tony Melino

So you want to be an entrepreneur, huh? Well, do you even know the path an entrepreneur has to take to become successful? Do you have a 5-year plan? A 10-year plan? A 20-year plan?

These are just a couple questions you should ask yourself before venturing off into the world of entrepreneurship. So I’ve come up with a 4 things every entrepreneur (or aspiring entrepreneur) should keep in mind.

1. Thinking Big Isn’t Enough

When it comes to entrepreneurship, thinking big just isn’t enough. Seeing the “big picture” just isn’t going to allow you to take the necessary steps to have your company flourish. Sure, there are entrepreneurs that want to open a restaurant so what do they do? They open a restaurant. That’s not thinking big enough though.

If you want to actually make money as an entrepreneur, you have to think bigger than big. You have to see the empire, not just the first step.

Take Barbara Corcoran for example. She is on ABC’s Shark Tank and is one of the sharks that invests in entrepreneurs almost daily. She took a little under $1,000 and turned herself into a real estate mogul. She became a mogul because she thought bigger than anyone else and she was successful.

2. It’s Not Glamourous

Another misconception about being an entrepreneur is people think it’s glamourous. Reality check: It’s not as glamourous as you think. Wouldn’t it be amazing to be a multi-million dollar entrepreneur by the time you hit mid-twenties so you can go to the clubs and pick up all the ladies? It’s a dream but so very people actually hit financial freedom at that age.

The reason they hit it at that age is because they were just really lucky, they started their business at the age of 5, or they took over a family business.

Either way, it’s not going to be a Hollywood glamourous story like you’ve seen on tv. It might but don’t get lost in the illusions of what actually is.

3. Rejection

Get used to hearing the word “no”. Rejection is just a part of being an entrepreneur. Just because you think you have a multi-million dollar idea doesn’t mean that everyone is going to think of it as a multi-million dollar idea.

You have to have a passion for what you are doing because that’s going to be the only thing that gets you through the slow periods. If you aren’t passionate about what you are building, what would be the point when the going gets tough?

4. Simplicity

The last thing to keep in mind fellas… is that you have to keep it simple. When you start thinking about the big picture, you get swept away with all the ideas a million dollar company deals with.

You aren’t going to be hiring employees right away, you aren’t going to be rolling in a pool filled with cash, and you definitely aren’t going to need to spend thousands upon thousand on multiple products/services.

Start with one, hone it, and then start expanding. Simplicity is key when it comes to building your brand.