Are you really an Entrepreneur?

I am starting to twitch when I see self-employed people call themselves an entrepreneur.

Please stop calling yourself an entrepreneur, when you are truly NOT one, yet.

As an entrepreneur coach, I need to set something straight that will help you go from earning a great income to building a revenue-driving business. I am going to have to be blunt and honest as I share these tactics, because sugar coating it won't help. I want you to understand it clearly, so you can know for sure if you are blocking your own success with these limiting barriers of attracting the financial abundance you truly desire. The semantics matter because it helps you expand your thinking, and definitely determines how you can grow your business. 

First, let's get clear on what you should be calling yourself: 

• Solopreneur - Selling your time for money as a service to a single client, or multiple clients at a given time. You do everything yourself, which in return, results in a personal income that you get to spend how you see fit. If you don't land a contract to deliver a service, you don't earn as much. You may have online courses, books, programs that you sell to your clients. You may be managing an online community with a subscription model. You get to set your schedule and income potential based on the capacity you have to provide services to your clients.  You are your business. If you stopped, your earnings and your income would stop.

• Entrepreneur - In order to build and service your ideal client base you have a team of people you employ (whether contracted or full time) to fulfill the contracts, orders, and service demands. You make sure the appropriate products, services, and delivery cycle to meet the demand of your clients can scale and is able to be managed by others. You manage the strategy, direction, and quality of the products/services that build sustainable revenue and think about a succession plan as you move into an ownership role, so you can move onto the next business to launch. Your income is derived from the base salary you designate, plus the overall performance of the business. 

Which one are you? If you are a solopreneur, you know, selling your services/time for a higher cash flow, please stop calling yourself an entrepreneur.

If you want to be considered an entrepreneur, you are required to think past yourself in your business, and have a shift in mindset on the money that flows through your business. Take it from me, it was the biggest lesson I had to learn in order to break the 7-figure mark in earnings for my business, and really step into the entrepreneurial mindset in order to scale. I was a solopreneur for years selling my time for money and built a great life for myself, but then I realized I was not actually living to my fullest potential or providing for my clients at the highest level of service I could. I had to get out of my own way, and think past my own income goals.  I had to start thinking like a service-based entrepreneur. 

To shift the mindset and become an entrepreneur, you have to stop focusing on your personal income and start focusing on driving revenue. You have already proven you know how to make money: that’s a J-O-B, working for other people. Selling your time for money is just like a J-O-B: you are tied to the limitations of what your client needs you for and get paid to deliver that. The only difference is you get to control who you work for and when you work, which I leveraged for years. But, that focus is on your personal income only, and doesn't scale.  

As an entrepreneur, when you focus on how you fill other people's pockets, through your service, adding value, and hiring correctly - you are no longer just making an income (J-O-B), you are building business REVENUE that in turn creates a limitless investment plan in yourself. When you think in terms of revenue for your business, and what your income needs to be against that revenue, you start to expand what you can actually offer your clients. If you are a true entrepreneur and want to build legacy income, focus on building steady revenue streams, helping others get paid, and the operations required to do it over and over again. If you are a solopreneur reading this, and the doubts start creeping up about your ability to hire and manage others, you are right to question if you are ready for more. I just want to make it super clear, so you can choose the right path for you and understand where you may be limiting yourself. 

Thinking in terms of revenue drivers, business strategy, and ideal client demand is the baseline money mindset of an entrepreneur. When you start thinking beyond yourself and past your own skill limitations, and start to think holistically about what your client really needs and how can you expand your services to meet that demand, then you are thinking like a leader of industry, no longer like an employee/solopreneur who is just trying to earn their income. You can build a great life with an employee mindset, but to build a business that scales and have the impact you truly desire, you need to start thinking like a business owner.

The mastery in entrepreneurial leadership comes from leveraging the whole, and thinking beyond just yourself. 

When you stop focusing on just earning an income and add the focus on driving revenue for your business, you have created an expansive way to really think about your business goals. You start to consider what it takes to actually build something that surpasses your singular capabilities.

Do you feel that shift? Do you see how thinking as a true service business owner can expand what you will earn? When I set my goal to earn 7 figures in my business, I knew I didn't want to work 40 hours a week at $500/hour minimum; that would not be fulfilling to me, and also felt overwhelming to do it all on my own. I knew if I set a 7 figure goal, I would need to bring other people into my business to expand my reach and service more clients the best way I know how. I had to stop thinking like a solopreneur and become a true entrepreneur. I know you can feel the difference now. 

Are you on the cusp of entrepreneurship and not sure where to start, or how to think about your business and get a clear strategy on how to build your sustainable business, leverage your time, and earn the revenue and income to live wherever you want, travel, send your kids to the best schools, fill your wardrobe with your favorite brands, donate to your charities, invest in your health and up-levelling programs, and feel a high level of fulfilment each day doing it? Then you belong in my inner circle. 

Your potential for revenue growth is what will exponentially grow your income, let’s shift that into high gear. If you are asking yourself how do you make this shift, apply for my Business Growth Mastery Weekend Workshop and let's hop on the phone for a quick 30-minute chat.

You are not alone, I am here walking to talk alongside you. 

If this shift of thinking has helped you identify money blockers in your business, I want to hear from you! What breakthrough did you have? Email [email protected] and share it! Who knows, you might get invited to join me on a podcast episode to share your journey with my listeners.