2021 is the year that entrepreneurship will surge by a factor of 2 to 3x.
Why? Well it will be out of necessity, given so many people lost their job and so many people realize that they simply have to take control of their future.
How can you take charge of your own future in the face of a long-running pandemic that has crushed economies, markets, businesses and lives?
Waiting isn't going to cut it – waiting for more government stimulus, waiting for the virus to magically disappear, waiting for customers to suddenly come back. The most successful entrepreneurs are not sitting it out. The latter part of 2020 has seen an explosion of newly launched small businesses and startups.
Given SEVENmile Venture Lab's history of guiding entrepreneurs, we’re not surprised. It’s not just first-time founders. We’ve also seen tremendous pivots by more traditional businesses, adapting on the run to seismic shifts in habits and behaviors that experts predict will outlast the pandemic. Australia has done this better and faster than nearly any other country. At heart what we are seeing is the value of innovative mindsets and practices. Ready or not, entirely new challenges will confront the citizenry in 2021.
This year is time to go full entrepreneur.
3 Ways to Explore Entrepreneurship In 2021
1. Understand Your Entrepreneurial Mindset
When the world suffers a cataclysmic disruption, entrepreneurs see opportunity. They know that customers are more open to new products and services, especially those with more novel propositions. Our first tip is a simple but essential one. Embrace your identity with passion and creativity. The crisis and lockdowns have afforded many of us the time and space to discover who we are, and what we want in life, love and work. Entrepreneurs come in different flavors, ala Baskin & Robbins 31 flavors etc. We all need a personal compass, and discovering our specific entrepreneurial mindset can be grounding. Sure, commit to your purpose, but first understand your entrepreneurial mindset. Have the courage to specialize. Knowing your archetype is like knowing which position is best for you in a team game. Once you gain that self-awareness, you can lean fully into your path.
2. Collaborate
Entrepreneurship is a team sport. Ask almost any investor, Angel or VC, and they’ll tell you they invest in teams over ideas. Why? Because execution distinguishes the winners from the also-rans.
Before you get started, consider the team you can gather around you. Yes, collaboration can be difficult these days. The pandemic has put the brakes on the core traditional ways that entrepreneurs used to come together to pursue opportunities – everything from accelerators, incubators and university programs, to pitch nights and meet-ups.
Fortunately, this personal challenge is surmountable. You'll need to get proactive and creative about finding people with whom to share ideas – either remotely or in a safe in-person setting. This is one strength of the SEVENmile Venture Lab; our community.
But you’ll need to act fast. Because the teams being created now and in the coming weeks and months will be stronger, more capable and more likely to succeed. So get out there. Create a team or join one. New technologies and habits have made distributed collaboration easier than ever.
3. Run Experiments
Great entrepreneurs learn to experiment and run tests. They explore new ideas, test them quickly, gauge what the world thinks, and respond with more prototypes. We call this archetype the Maker. Makers are in many ways the antithesis of procrastinators. They don’t sit on the sidelines, overstudying a market or product opportunity, waiting for the right time to act. The pandemic has made entrepreneurship in its most basic form – opening a new business – absolutely essential for thousands because their old way of making a living collapsed.
Going full entrepreneur is the best choice for many people in 2021. A way to slice through the fog of uncertainty that has rendered us all too passive. Embracing entrepreneurship means taking charge of your future. Companies have laid off hundreds of thousands, even millions of workers and Government is not going to be our collective savior.
Yes, you will need to overcome many hurdles, not the least among them, finding the best way to start and talent, but there are also advantages here. There has never been a better case for starting your own business, whether to support yourself, or to provide supplementary income.
This strategy is not just about the money. You’ll be developing capabilities, new skills and confidence that will outlast the crisis. Skills that will help you deal with the uncertainties we're all facing.
There’s never been a more timely opportunity to begin your entrepreneurial journey.
The SEVENmile team are ready to help you begin, what may feel like a fairly daunting journey. Get in touch now to arrange a phone or Zoom chat.