Thinking Like an Entrepreneur – Dealing with the Difficulties of Entrepreneurship
Speaker: Jared Allen
Jared Allen is a current doctoral student who is working on his research that specifically focuses on how entrepreneurs respond to uncertainty, setbacks, and failures. He was an entrepreneur for over ten years; however, he is now running two businesses and carries the responsibilities pertaining the venture growth of his businesses through sales, advertising, social networking etc. Specifically, he is an owner of a chain of training facilities in the Phoenix area working mostly with athletes such as golfers and volleyball players. Additionally, Mr. Allen also has his own apparel company located in China where he manufactures specialized type of apparel.
Therefore, today’s webinar mainly focused on the difficulty’s entrepreneurs face on a day-to-day basis. Most of the material is derived from mainstream psychology and is applicable to lots of different areas of life especially when you’re dealing with difficult situations. Most of the material is tailored towards entrepreneurs particularly the early-stage entrepreneurs who are in the process of figuring everything out.
In terms of entrepreneurship, there are four defining characteristics that Jared Allen emphasized such as the following: failure, uncertainty, long hours spent multitasking, and particularly experiencing an emotional rollercoaster.
“Especially at the beginning stages where you are figuring things out with prototypes and you’re constantly having people come to you saying it’s not a good idea… having to deal with all that is a super prevalent issue for entrepreneurs” – Jared Allen
Furthermore, in terms of uncertainty, there is also a sense of personal risk due to the lack of funding. Not to mention the long hours spent multitasking in general while having a full-time job, having to work on everything yourself at first, and even having a family. Therefore, as many entrepreneurs encounter failure, uncertainty, and burnout, it is possible to experience an emotional rollercoaster as you come against so many high and lows throughout your journey.
Additionally, the fundamental aspects of ourselves that end up influencing everything else is through the way you maintain your mindset, how you approach goals, how you execute on your goals, and how you self-manage emotionally, physically, and mentally.
“As entrepreneurs we have the capacity to develop the characteristics within yourself that you want physically, mentally, and emotionally. As long as you believe it’s possible and second you put in the work” – Jared Allen