How to Become an Entrepreneur on the Job

Are YOU an intrepreneur? I love this article by Deborah A. Bailey. She talks about having an entrepreneurial mindset within the corporate environment, which I see many times in my work within organizations.


"An intrepreneur is a person who has an entrepreneur skill set but works within an organisation, enterprise, or venture. This could be within an organization that seeks the dynamisism of forward thinking employees or incubation companies." (Wikipedia)

It is not only about taking control of your career and ensuring job security; it is about bringing more purpose to your work and your vision to the world in your own unique way. What I enjoy most about working within the corporate environment as a brand strategist is seeing each individual brand (aka personal brands) – passion, unique attributes, and strengths of each individual who make up the corporate team.


I have found that when corporations have a team of intrepreneurs (I would also describe these intrepreneurs as those employees who know their personal brand), it has a significant impact on the success of the business. When employees find those things that they are passionate about within their work as well as what their natural strengths are and how they are known to those around them, they become the BEST representatives for the corporate brand.


How to Become an Entrepreneur on the Job
As a direct result of all of the economic realities we’re faced with, more people are looking into starting their own business. For some people this will be a new and welcome direction. However, starting and running a business isn’t for everyone. When an employee wants to apply entrepreneurial traits to their career, they can do so as an “intrepreneur.”

What’s an intrepreneur? I’m sure there’s more than one definition, but one way to define it is when an employed professional acts like an entrepreneur while remaining in the corporate environment. Instead of being reactive and not having any control over your career, you can use entrepreneurial traits to be more proactive in your career.

No one wants to feel that their work has no purpose. It’s hard to get through a day or feel any excitement for what you’re doing if you can’t see why what you’re doing matters. One reason why people go into business for themselves is because they want more freedom over their lives. They’re tired of being in an environment where they spend the day reacting to the decisions of others.

This is where looking at yourself as an intrepreneur can change your entire outlook. If you’re ready to adopt entrepreneurial behaviors such as taking more risks and creating a vision for what you want to achieve, you’ll be less likely to get stuck in a career rut. It means taking responsibility for your decisions and for the results.

Here are tips to become an intrepreneur in your career right now:

1. Take an honest look at your job situation. How do things look in your company and in your industry? Are there growth opportunities?
2. Be open to learning and growing. If your skills have not been updated in years, find opportunities to upgrade them now.
3. What’s your vision for your future? Where do you see yourself in six months or in a year? Are you willing to take steps to reach your goal?
4. Become more of a risk taker. Is there a project that you’d like to work on or a new process you’d like to introduce to your department? Are you willing to share your ideas or make a request for what you want?
5. Learn to trust yourself. If you don’t have confidence in yourself or your ideas, it will be difficult for you to take charge of your career. You have to believe that you deserve to have a better experience and that you do have something to offer.

Whether you stay in your work environment or decide to move out into business ownership, you can transform your relationship with your work. Take charge of your career and go from employee to intrepreneur.


Resource:

Copyright © 2009 Deborah A. Bailey

For more great articles, visit The Secrets of Success Blog. This article originally appeared in Identity Magazine.

Deborah A. Bailey is a writer, communications expert, coach, author of "Think Like an Entrepreneur: Transform Your Career and Take Charge of Your Life" and host of "Women Entrepreneurs - The Secrets of Success," an Internet radio talk show. For more information visit her website at www.dbaileycoach.com.