Baby Boomer - Is One Belief Holding Back Your Entrepreneurship?

US Entrepreneurship Is Up

Entrepreneurship is certainly the hot topic of the day. Recent reports tell us that entrepreneurship has reached a 14 year high. During the recession, so called necessity entrepreneurs formed businesses to replace the jobs they could not find. Now, in the recovery, opportunity entrepreneurs are forming businesses because they see better opportunities to pursue.

Donna J. Kelley, associate professor of entrepreneurship at Babson College, tells us that the necessity entrepreneurs have not disappeared, but the opportunity entrepreneurs are springing back. Nearly 78% of people who started businesses last year started them to pursue opportunities. This is up from 71% in 2010, but not up to the pre-recession number of 87.3%.

(See US Entrepreneurship Reaches 14-Year High Report)

But the Challenges We Face May Require New Efforts from Entrepreneurs

Noted entrepreneur and author, Jack Nadel, tells us that there is still a crisis ahead. In the Huffington Post, Nadel reminds us that there has been a gradual decline of wages and the consequent shrinking of the middle class. If he is right, necessity entrepreneurship may be the new form of opportunity entrepreneurship. He quotes a related Huffington Post article that says:

“The U.S. now has ‘the highest income inequality in the developed world. It follows only Chile, Mexico, and Turkey among all nations.”

Nadel further points out 45 million Americans are now living on substandard wages, and they need  desperately to supplement their income. If seventy percent of our economy is driven by domestic consumption, who will buy our goods and services? He believes the answer is in evolving entrepreneurs who will build our economy from the inside out.

(See: The Middle Class Problem is Now an Emergency:Entrepreneurs, We Need You!)

Will Baby Boomer Entrepreneurs Fill the Gap?

Nadel reminds us that the rallying call that has always helped entrepreneurs spot opportunities is “Find A Need And Fill It”. This requires a targeted thinking to learn how to really listen. This is a key component of what we so commonly call The Entrepreneurial Mindset. But how do we make the transition as Baby Boomer consumers to having the Baby Boomer Entrepreneurial Mindset? Professor Fred Kofman suggests that there is one belief that generally holds back people in all career segments. Perhaps this belief is also the key to liberating the entrepreneurial mindset.

He says “Your job is not your job. Your job is not what you do, but the goal you pursue.”

When he was a teacher, he thought his job was to teach. He later had what he calls “a flash of humbling insight where I realized that teaching is irrelevant; what matters is helping others learn.”

“That realization changed my career, and my life. I stopped teaching and started helping my students learn; I stopped advising and started helping my clients succeed. So, how would you change your job description if instead of your role you focused on your goal?”

But this shift would not be enough to maximize your value. If you are a member of an organization, your individual role is not your real goal. You must find your highest goal?

(See: The One Belief That Is Holding Back Your Career)

What Is The Next Step?

As an aspiring Bay Boomer Entrepreneur, what is the goal you pursue? To further understand Professor Kofman’s  point, take time to watch the featured video. Then see how to apply his suggestions to developing your entrepreneurial mindset. What will it it mean for you to be an entrepreneur on a team solving problems for bigger teams: your customers, along with our national, and world economies?
For more tips on developing your entrepreneurial mindset, join our mailing list. My Baby Boomer Business Dream. Brought to you by Shallie Bey, Founder – Smarter Small Business Blog ~ The Business Dream Weaver