Channel your inner entrepreneur for success
Many veterinarians make their own way in business, just like other entrepreneurs. Find out if these traits help make you and your practice tick.
An entrepreneurial mindset gives you a different perception of the world and helps you to stand out from the crowd. And veterinarians can have it. Cultivating this mindset can mean the difference between being an employee and being a CEO. Entrepreneurial student group StartMeUp at Ryerson University in Toronto offers these tips to help you find your inner entrepreneur. Think about how they could translate into a vibrant, successful, healthy veterinary practice:
Get comfortable being uncomfortable. There’s nothing more important for an entrepreneur than his or her ability to take a calculated risk. This means stepping outside your comfort zone. Get involved in your local community or civic groups. Meet new people and challenge yourself.
Learn to fail. Everyone wants to succeed, but you rarely learn by being successful. You may face a tough start when starting a new venture. But don’t be too hard on yourself; you have to learn how to do poorly in order to do well. Be patient and learn from your mistakes, because even the most successful people had to start somewhere -- and many of them started with failure.
Spot opportunities. Opportunities to connect with entrepreneurs may not always find you, so you have to look for them. Fall is often the perfect time of year to do so: Back to school offers many potential opportunities with community classes, attending events, and celebrations.
Pitch everything you do. One skill that will aid you in the future no matter what you do is learning to sell yourself and what you do. Actions don’t speak for themselves to everyone. You’ve got to learn how to keep people interested and communicate your ideas and concepts to others. Work on setting yourself apart from the others to make your product or service the highlight of the lot.
Weave a MAT. Structure is necessary to achieve any type of success. Weave a MAT (milestones, assumptions, tasks) to help you hit your targets. This is a great way to plan out your year and will give you more time to enjoy your free time.
Get started. The last step after broadening your comfort zone and learning entrepreneurial skills is to actually work with entrepreneurs who are following their passion and turning their ideas into reality.
