A lot has been written about entrepreneurship and what makes entrepreneurs successful.

But what are entrepreneurs?

Entrepreneurs are creators. They create something that does not yet exist. They are curious and just want to know. They want to create an impact. They see an opportunity and they go for it, despite the risks involved. Money is, for most, the least important factor and not having any money won’t stop them doing the things they want to do.

The other side of the coin is a manager (starting with a CEO down to team leaders). Managers manage an existing structure. They don’t create anything new. If an existing organisations invents something new, it is done by the entrepreneurial minds within the organisation which are rarely the managers.

This last point also hints to the fact that entrepreneurship has nothing to do with running a business. Entrepreneurs are often involved in businesses because this is the only platform they can do the crazy things they want to do. However running a business is a managers job not an entrepreneurs job.

I come across what I call “Lost Entrepreneurs” all the time. They are either really good at managing things but missing the structure to manage, or they are full of ideas and really good at something, but fail completely in managing it all.

If you want to be a successful entrepreneur you need to understand that every coin has two sides. That means you need to train yourselves to become a good manager or you need to find a good partner to represent the other side of the coin. Both is possible and recent history can give you many examples of either option.

I personally prefer a good partnership as it brings many additional advantages. The most important one being accountability. Of course you need to find the right partner and for that you need to go out there and look for it.

If you want to improve your success rate, go out there and find your other side of the coin. 

Success is based in most part on being really good at something and for real entrepreneurs this means to be able to create without being bogged-down by managerial tasks and procedures. So, if you want to improve your chance of success a lot, find yourself a manager you can work with. Advertise for it. Go out and meet people. Talk to everyone about it and when you found one, make this person your partner.

For an entrepreneur there is nothing better than having the freedom to do the things you want to do and create real change in this world.

If you struggle to find someone to work with let me know. I might be able to get you in touch with others.

Which part of the coin are you?

About the Author: John DiSTEFANO is one of Your Monthly Mentors. He started his first company in 1993 in Germany and has been an entrepreneur ever since. His businesses ranged from Advertising over Marketing and Sales to IT to mention the main areas. In 2014 John formed the Entrepreneur Academy in Brussels, Belgium with the aim to provide a platform for entrepreneurs to grow, learn and practise. He is actively involved in many student organisations throughout Europe and regularly invited to talk about entrepreneurship. Read More…

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