In fact, you use an entrepreneurial mindset to excel at your job.
The following is an excerpt from Lauren Berger’s book,Welcome to the Real World.
I wholeheartedly believe that there is a way to feel like an entrepreneur without owning your own business.
Everyone has the ability to be entrepreneurial within their companies; they just don’t know it yet.
Yes, you absolutely can.
I would go further and say that for succeed within your role you oughta be entrepreneurial.
People often think, “I don’t own my business.
I work for someone.
How can I be an entrepreneur?”
But there is another way to think about it.
In many ways, an entrepreneur manages his or her own time.
An entrepreneur comes up with an idea, builds out the concept, and executes the plan.
An entrepreneur looks for ways they can add value and be responsible for their own time.
Jared Snyder works at HSBC Bank in New York City.
He has worked in the banking industry since he graduated from Georgetown.
I spoke with Jared and had him break down how he went from idea conception to final execution.
He wanted to add value to the client.
The only way to differentiate was to develop relationships, internally and externally.
Jared knew that he wanted to find his own niche within his company.
How can I bring this to the next level?"
To bring his idea to life, Jared had to create allies in the office.
He needed people to support him and his idea.
In terms of building strong relationships with clients, an event like this would surely do it.
So he took himself out of the equation.
He thought solely about his boss: What would this event do for his boss?
How would it make him look good?
Before bringing the idea to his boss, though, Jared had some prep work he needed to do.
“You have to know your market, your competitors.
You want to be well versed in your world.
Who else is doing this?
Are there enough tennis players?
Are there compliance issues?
What kind of legal issues are there?”
When Jared approached his boss he only had notes with him, nothing formal.
I did not have a formal pitch book or pages of notes.
It was simply a well-thought-through idea presented on a scale where multiple areas of the bank would benefit.
You just need enough notes so that it’s possible for you to talk about it.
Sure, there was a chance of total rejection, but Jared wasn’t nervous.
“Ninety percent of my regular day job is rejection,” he said.
“Failure and rejection are irrelevant in lifeyou might feel badly here and there but they mean nothing.”
He truly represents an entrepreneur within a large corporation.
you might’t embrace entrepreneurship until you are comfortable and excelling within your current position.
You were hired for a position.
You know what that position is.
You must complete your daily responsibilities efficiently and correctly before starting to take on additional projects.
For example, look at what Jared did.
He made sure he understood that his boss wanted to build stronger relationships with clients.
He reads the news, his favorite blogs, industry gossip, and more.
This helps him stay current and relevant, which is key for business and conversations.
Seek Autonomy within Your Role
Look for ways to be a self-starter within your current role.
What projects can you run point on?
Which projects can you make your own?
What steps can you take to speak to your boss about the process?
Finally, Phil, a guy in my Spanish class, approached me.
He was trying to be a professional web designer and needed more experience.
He said he would draw my crown logo for $30 and I could use it indefinitely.
He drew an amazing crownI still use it on my site today as the main logo.
You see, the power of collaboration!
If your boss sees you acting too friendly with another executive they might doubt your intentions or your loyalty.
You don’t want that.
Remember, if you lose the support of your boss that could be a big problem.
Take Calls and Emails from Strangers
Sounds crazy, right?
If you’re an entry-level employee, you might be in charge of answering the phones.
You never know when the next big idea is around the corner.
Perhaps she is supposed to call a certain amount of people in an industry each day to build relationships.
Most would have been scared to cold call.
She might have the next big idea.
Your passion always prevails and shines through.
His boss agreed to the design and construction of green buildings.
The firm is now nationally recognized as one of the leaders in the green building industry.
Google used to require employees to spend 20 percent of their time working on projects they came up with.
Linkedln and Apple also have their own variations of programs like that.
This is definitely an established trend and I expect to see more companies encouraging this in the coming years.
Regardless of how much your company encourages you to channel your inner entrepreneur, you must take action.
Illustration by Kevin Necessary.
Photos byBryan Ochalla(Flickr) andRachel Voorhees(Flickr).
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