INFORMATION

SHEET
Speaker: Jodette Karyl Nuyad
Reasons to become an
Entrepreneur
■ NO INCOME RESTRICTIONS
As an entrepreneur, there are no limits placed on what you can
earn. Your income is determined by the value of your business
idea to others, how well you market, how skillful you are at
managing a business and how hard you work.
■ LEAVING THE RAT RACE
By becoming an entrepreneur, you may have the luxury of
creating a flexible work schedule. You can also avoid the work
commute.
■ IMPLEMENTING AN IDEA
Perhaps you have come up with an idea for a product or service that
no one else has thought of and can make people’s lives easier. By
putting your idea to work by starting a business, your idea may help
people, while giving you the chance to earn a substantial income.
■ ESCAPING DYSFUNCTIONAL WORKPLACES
As an entrepreneur, you won’t have to work at a place where office politics
prohibit you from career advancement, you won’t experience an
environment where workers don’t get along and you may not experience
difficulties in dealing with supervisors.

■ PURSUING A PASSION
You may be a creative person who is working in a “non-creative” career.
By becoming an entrepreneur, you can pursue these types of careers on
a freelance basis. If you prefer, you can even pursue your passion part-
time until you are able to generate a full-time income.
BUSINESS SKILLS AND
KNOWLEDGE
■ Financial management
Being able to effectively manage your finances is critical. You will need
to be able to forecast your cash flow and sales, as well as, monitor your
profit and loss.
■ Marketing, sales and customer service
It is important to be able to promote your products or services effectively. Providing good
customer service and having a marketing strategy in place will help you to generate sales.

■ Communication and negotiation

You will need to communicate and negotiate with your suppliers, potential
investors, customers and employees. Having effective written and verbal
communication skills will help you to build good working relationships.
■ Leadership
If you employ people, leadership will be a key skill. You must be able to
motivate your staff in order to get the best out of them and improve
productivity. Allocate time to mentor and coach your employees.

■ Project management and planning

Starting a business means you will have to manage a range of projects, such
as setting up a website, arranging the fit-out of your premises and developing
a range of policies and procedures. Knowing how to effectively manage your
resources, including time, money and staff will help you to achieve your goals.

■ Delegation and time management

Failure to delegate is a trap many business owners fall into usually
because they are reluctant to let go of control. Managing your time
effectively may mean delegating responsibility to someone else in the
business or outsourcing. Identifying who you can delegate tasks to,
allows you to concentrate on those tasks that generate revenue.
■ Problem solving
However much you plan, you will encounter problems in your business.
This means you need to be able to make good decisions, sometimes
under pressure.

■ Networking
Building good relationships through networking will help you to grow
your business and give you the support you’ll need.