A few weeks ago, I wrote about entrepreneurs achieve their goals and admitted that I did not achieve to become an entrepreneur.
Today, I want to write about the fact that I was a happy intrapreneur throughout my business life and share with you how successful intrapreneurship can be.
In this process, it may make sense to look at some realities of entrepreneurship: starting your own business is hard, with plenty of uncertainty and worry.
But instead of convincing yourself that you need to make a great leap towards your entrepreneur dream, you can actually start right where you are.
If you want to be a self-made person, you can start by thinking of ways to improve the skills you’ve got right now. You can do that by looking around you in your current place of work and asking yourself: “what skills would I need to enhance this place?”
You can become an entrepreneur within your current place of work with just a shift of mindset. Why not use your time to think about business ideas you’ve got in your head?
Why not use that time to search for a better way of doing things. If you would do something different if you run the place, test it out in this place. Try out your meeting facilitation skills, your negotiating skills or your managerial skills right where you are.
Build a mindset of productivity and growth; think about what annoys you today. That’s all an entrepreneur is, he is someone who solves problems. You can do that right now. Build a mindset of finding problems and solving them.
If you’re a manager, figure out how to build an environment where people feel good about innovation.
If you’re a team member, figure out a way to add more value to your team. Practice your presentation skills, practice your ability to teach, practice everything and anything you will need to be a successful entrepreneur.
The beauty of a 9–5 is that you have space to create and prove value. If you can do that, well you’re pretty much set. Use the time to build your way of working.
And here’s the thing. Use it all to add incredible value to the place you work right now. Find the problem and work on building something that will successfully solve it. Practice being an entrepreneur right where you are, that’s an intrapreneur. It’s a shift in mindset.
You want to get better at creating ideas? Start every morning off by writing down three random ideas. Whether that be wings for pigs, drones that cut trees or pencil holders that smile at you. It doesn’t matter, the point is to get your brain thinking in different ways. Build your creative muscle.Work like you are working for yourself but instead stay right where you are.
Becoming an intrapreneur gives you time, takes on zero risk and it might be just enough to scratch your entrepreneurial itch. Looking at my own career, I enjoyed my entrepreneurial life as an intrapreneur. I was happy—and so were my employers. And finally, let me tell you that I successfully managed the important transition to integrity, leaving corruption and other unfair business practices behind.
I look forward to your responses; you can reach me at [email protected]