FRANCHISETHE AUTHORITY ON FRANCHISINGGRADE®From commanding the boardroom to controlling your own business. Transition fromExecutive to EntrepreneurWHITE PAPER
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Executive-level skills provide a distinct entrepreneurial advantage.While it’s true that entrepreneurs come from all walks of life, the transition to business ownership is smoother for some based on their background experiences and education. Business executives, for example, are inherently well suited to entrepreneurial ventures because their career path has already prepared their mindset and sharpened their skillset. By harnessing the unique skills learned in the C-suite, executives are well suited to business ownership, with experiential advantages making it easier to excel as a self-made entrepreneur.Transitioning from an executive career path into an entrepreneurial endeavor can be a challenging, yet highly rewarding experience. It goes without saying that in either role, It takes a lot of dedication and hard work, but for those who have the drive and ambition it is well worth the time and money put into it. While the two positions are fundamentally dierent from one another (one is focused on systems and processes, while the other is more risk oriented), they are both leadership positions and as such there are some skills that can be transferred from one to the other. Here are some examples:To be a successful executive, one needs to be a strong communicator with an ability to negotiate, engage, present and get their point across. This is not only important to be able to manage a team and discuss ideas with the other executives, but also when meeting with clients. This skill is useful as an entrepreneur as well, because in order to succeed you need to be able to avoid ambiguity and generalization at all cost by clearly articulating your ideas to your employees and customer base.Seasoned corporate executive, or similar senior leadership experience in government, military or non-prot, with mature career experience in the range of Sr. Director, VP or C-suite. Resume reveals a track record of accomplishment and advancement. IntroductionKey Skills and AbilitiesCommunicationExecutive Prole?By sticking their necks out and accepting the toughest and most visible tasks, executives know their work will get them noticed and help them advance. It’s a skill that translates extremely well when opening a business. By going out on a limb an entrepreneur knows they have a chance at succeeding and you won’t nd them sitting around waiting for things to come to them.InitiativeExecutive Transition
A good executive will understand the position they are in and know all aspects of their job. They will know how their company operates and simply put, just gets it. This skill allows an entrepreneur to create an atmosphere conducive to growth because they know how important it is for their employees to contribute. They will encourage people to share their ideas and come up with ways to solve the problems they face. They seek out ideas and opinions to help their business grow. This will also help them to prioritize and make tradeos, because they will know what is critical and what can be bumped.An executive who can motive their team to accomplish a goal will go far in the company. Not only do they get things done, but people get excited around them. They are born leaders that people listen to. An entrepreneur motivates by being involved. They spend time with their employees, interact with them and see them doing their job and try to understand their work and personal challenges. They also know that in order to motivate they can’t take all the credit for the success of their business and acknowledge the contribution of others. An executive is hungry to climb the ladder. They want to climb as far as they can and challenge themselves to go even further. The same can be said about an entrepreneur. They don’t go into business to fail. They have a clear vision and know exactly where they want to go and how to get there. This includes having perseverance, meaning they don’t quit until they get what they want.Seeing the big pictureMotivatorHunger to achieveIn most cases an executive gets to their rung of the ladder by believing in themselves. They know that a lack of condence reects poorly on them and is seen as a sign of weakness. They know their skills are what got them where they are, and they aren’t afraid to demonstrate them. They don’t mind experimenting, because they know that even if they fail they will learn something. They know that starting a business is risky, but they have the courage to do it. An entrepreneur that doesn’t have self-assurance should stay out of the game.Self-assuranceFranchise Grade | White Paper
Let’s face it, our world is constantly changing, and sometimes it moves fast and in unexpected directions. Good executives need to be exible and come up with creative ways to solve any number of problems that suddenly pop up. If they can’t adapt, they will not succeed. For the same reasons, an entrepreneur needs to have the same skill. It’s almost more important for an entrepreneur to be creative, because they are building the entire business from the ground up and that takes a creative vision.Not only does a good executive make sure their skills and knowledge are up to date, but they also learn from their mistakes. They know that improving themselves leads to a better future. In some cases an entrepreneur learns on the y. They like to jump into the deep end and gure things out along the way. They know the value of learning new things and broadening their minds and encourage their employees to think outside the box and tackle multiple challenges as well.Making decisions isn’t just about being decisive, and a good executive knows that. They know it’s more important to make the right decision. They know that in order to make the right decision they need to probe, listen, reason and trust their instincts. This skill is very useful for executives transitioning to the role of entrepreneur. In that case, it’s even more important because they will be the ones making the nal decision.A great executive can help people come around to their way of thinking. They can show them why they hold their position and get them to believe the same things they do. For an entrepreneur, this skill is even more important, helping with investors, lenders, clients, employees and more. To be able to persuade means you can move your business in the direction you envision. It doesn’t hurt to be honest as well. Honesty helps win the trust and respect of the people an entrepreneur deals with and makes it easier to persuade them.Creative ThinkingLearningDecision makingPersuasivenessExecutive Transition
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