This post might hurt your feelings. If it does, I apologize in advance. However, think of it like medicine that it good FOR you, but doesn’t necessarily taste good TO you.
So, are you a professional or are you an amateur entrepreneur? Do you know? Do you understand the difference between the two? I assure you it goes deeper than you might think.
It goes deeper than the simplistic distinction of being full-time vs part-time in your business. I know several part-time entrepreneurs who are certainly professionals. On the other hand, I know many full-time entrepreneurs who are still amateurs. It’s not about generating revenue in your business either. This illustration goes beyond that as well.
In the world of sports, a professional is someone who has reached the ranks of the elite or who is making a living off of playing the game he/she loves to play. An amateur is often the person who is still a junior or lacks experience, is still playing at the college level or who hasn’t received a contract or endorsement deal for his/her services as of yet. In fact there are rules that dictate that college athletes are not allowed to be paid for their services, receive ‘gifts’ or personally endorse any product or service. If they do, they run the risk of losing their scholarships and/or funding from the schools they attend. The minute they get paid, they are deemed to have left the amateur ranks and are now considered a professional.
In entrepreneurship, think of the difference between being an amateur and a professional in this way:
An amateur entrepreneur has yet to fully commit to being a professional. You may think you have, but in truth you’ve really only embraced the ‘idea’ of being a professional entrepreneur. What does this look like? Here are a few indications that you haven’t fully joined the professional entrepreneur ranks just yet:
- You treat entrepreneurship (your business) as a past-time. You know what I mean, you work on it or in it when you’re in the mood. If you’re ‘not feeling’ it today, you choose to do something else like binge watch Netflix or spend 3 hours watching an awards show and posting about every performance/outfit on social media.
- You haven’t yet established an iron clad exit strategy from your 9-5 or corporate gig. You continue to hold on to the limiting belief that the only financial security in life lies in a bi-weekly paycheck and a ‘good’ benefits package.
- You spend more time ‘working in’ your business than developing your business to a level where you’re generating revenue while you’re away from your business.
- You are uncomfortable when it comes to having sales conversations because ‘sales’ make you feel icky. You fear rejection, and so you avoid having an actual conversation with your prospect.
- You haven’t figured out how to get your products/services into the hands of your ideal client because you don’t know how to really sell to them.
- You rely solely on social media/email ‘marketing’ and hope that someone will magically fall in love with your product and/or service enough to buy from a single social media post or email.
I won’t beat a dead horse. You get it? You’re feeling what I saying, right?
Professional entrepreneurs are in control of their time, focus, revenue, profits, and more! More specifically, a professional entrepreneur:
- Knows her business so well (down to the granular level) that she can easily predict (vs wishing) her weekly, monthly & annual revenue.
- Has systems so tight in her business, that when she’s asleep, on vacation, sick, in a meeting with a new client, etc. – her business is still churning and burning!
- Is confident enough to have natural conversations with potential clients that generate revenue for you while providing excellent, high level value for your client.
- Is so committed to growing and developing your business, that you eat, sleep, and breathe it until it has left the initial phases of a start-up and is a self-perpetuating machine. (This means removing all distractions that aren’t family related, don’t add value to or generate revenue for your business. This means focusing so intently on your own business, that you don’t have time or inclination to worry about what others are doing with their business and spending hours stalking ‘the greats’ on social media.) – I told you this might sting some.
- And finally – A professional entrepreneur knows how and when to stop getting ready; when to stop getting set. She knows beyond a shadow of a doubt when it’s time to GO! She fully understands when to take ACTION and begin executing all of the things, the information, the data, the plans that she has been making!
Now in full transparency, I still struggle with a few of these issues from time to time too. We all do. The key is to recognize it, regroup, and get back on track when you find yourself acting like an amateur!
If you’re ready to move up from the amateur ranks to the Pros, you need the right coach. Mediocre coaches have no idea who they should work with. Good coaches work anyone just for the asking. Great coaches know exactly who they were created to work with. I know who I was created to work with. I work with amateur entrepreneurs who instead of finding herself on the precipice of giving up yet again, she yearns to be on cusp of something magical, something more magical than she could have ever imagine and something so close she can just reach out and grab it. She’s looking for a bona fide business coach who can truly help her win in business and do it faster, easier, and better!
If you have the courage to not only accept where you are but to dig deep and give it the effort it really takes, give me a shout and let’s discuss how we can work together! You can reach me at Hello@KemberliStephenson.com