7 Core Values of Entrepreneurship

Yes! There are so many great articles on Entrepreneurship so what am I doing writing another one. Well, I just believe that everyone has a different perspective on what it takes to be one. I can’t tell you the countless times I was told by my former bosses…. you are not an Entrepreneur. Honestly, I think they were just jealous… that I was smart and determined enough to be an Entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs come in all forms, shapes and sizes. And I know I am one of them. I love learning about new companies and figuring out how they work and how to make them better. It makes me happy and fulfilled. It’s my Nike swoosh when I accomplish an achievement that makes things better or I fix a problem. So, does that make me an Entrepreneur…well I think I qualify by meeting these Core Values below.

1. Courage – def. the ability to act on one's beliefs despite danger or disapproval. 

So how can you be courageous and what does that mean in context of being an entrepreneur?  It means being daring and taking a chance and doing it again and again no matter what anyone says and doing that action with good cheer and a strong heart.  Yes, sometimes I stepped over the line and took the chance and I have to say… it is probably what my bosses didn’t like about me and loved about me. You must have the courage to go forward and not be stuck in analysis paralysis. 

The word "courage" had roots in old French: coeur ("heart"), from the Latin word for heart, cor. So, therefore, to have courage means moving from your heart in the face of being afraid, with an endless stream of purposeful and courageous actions. Courage is the necessary force ensuring advancement rather than withdrawal. Courage is like a muscle that needs cultivation, discipline, and plenty of opportunities for practice.  It takes time to develop the bravado! 

2. Ideality – def. existence only in idea and not in reality. Another word for this is the very overused “Vision”.  We will discuss in context of vision, but I wanted to give you another word. 

So, what is ideality/vision.  Well, we all know it is something that doesn’t exist yet.  Visionaries or idealists see something no one else has yet seen.  The dream, the goal, the target of an entrepreneur for his/her company is considered the vision. Vision is basically a goal which an entrepreneur aspires to achieve and at the same time, it is what differentiates it from others. As an entrepreneur, you must be very transparent about your goals, you should be able to envision your company’s goal and future in your head. The company goals must be achievable targets and must match with the business world. You must make sure that your vision is different from others and more efficient. It must resonate with your dreams and the realities of business world. In order to remain relevant, the vision of the company must be restructured according to latest trends and public demand, otherwise, it becomes void. So, all I can say is Be the Change!  I have always strived to be the change in every organization I have been in and I do believe I have succeeded in doing so. Communicate your vision to inspire others to believe in you. Take small steps to implementing your vision every day. Believe in the viability of your vision before expecting others to. People may have plenty of doubts and negativity to throw at you, especially when your enterprise is just an idea. From your role as a leader going into a possible future that you intend to create; you’ll see opportunities and solutions that others miss. Getting started alone pursuing those opportunities and solutions will help you eventually find and attract support.

3. Self – Respect – def.  to think highly of oneself.

To have faith in oneself, how people treat us is how we have trained them to treat us. It took me a long time to learn this one.  Yes – at some point, I think a lot of people thrive on playing the victim…. without even knowing it. 

So, what does this have to do with being an entrepreneur?  Entrepreneurs don’t allow others to “steal their thunder”. I can’t tell you how liberating it was to get out from under this cloud of self-doubt and lack of respect for myself.  Being able to allow yourself to see what you can change was so liberating.  There is a difference between self-esteem and self-respect. I didn’t know that until doing the coaching work to understand that difference. It is very possible experience great self-esteem while having very little self-respect. To me, self-respect is a deeper, inner feeling we have about ourselves.  I had to do an exercise daily in which I sent my coach 3 things I love about myself every day for 30 days.  It’s not until we truly love and respect ourselves, that we can begin to believe that we are worthy of another person’s love and respect. Being self-respecting means that you believe at a core level that you’re worthy of being treated fairly and with courtesy. Without self-respect, we are susceptible to being used, abused, and mistreated by other people. Those who lack self-respect are often targets of unsavory types of people like narcissists and egomaniacs who enjoy using self-neglecting people as their lackeys. And who in their right mind would want to end up as fodder for those ratbags lurking in the dark corners of society? Ultimately, self-respect is vital because it impacts every area of your life. An Entrepreneur cannot survive in this world without self-respect.

4. Fortitude –def. Persistence, toughness of spirit, firmness of purpose, resilience, spirit, backbone

So, I have always been told I am one persistent individual…I have to say my younger son inherited this quality from me.   When he was a little boy, if he wanted something, he was relentless. Entrepreneurs don’t give up; they just find another way.  Obstacles are meant to be climbed over, tunneled through, dug under or gone around. They just don’t stop…check out Elon Musk, Thomas Edison, Oprah Winfrey, Martha Stewart, just to name a few – you know who they are.  As an entrepreneur, you must have the fortitude or the “guts” to keep on keeping on. You have heard the saying, “If there’s a will, there’s a way.” It is crucial as an entrepreneur – not to give up – keep on going – don’t stop no matter what.  

5. Integrity – def. the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.

Know and do what is right. Be true with your word.  It means doing what you say you are going to do. Above all things, authentic people create honesty, openness, transparency and above all accountability.  An entrepreneur lives in the guiding principle of service to others. Coherence between one’s values while being true to one’s self is another core value. Unless you're a dishonest, immoral scoundrel, there is a personal quality of fairness that we all aspire to. Integrity is a personality trait that we all admire since it means a person has a moral compass that doesn't waver.  Because it demands truthfulness and honesty, it is perhaps the most important principle of leadership. Respect for leadership comes from telling the truth even if the truth is ugly. Better to be honest than to delude others, because then you are probably just deluding yourself. Cheating is just not in the repertoire of a good leader. Leaders keep their promises. They give promises carefully, even reluctantly, but once they have given that promise, they follow through on that promise without fail.  Jack Welch calls it “candor.” He believes that if you are afraid of candor then you don’t have the guts to be an effective leader. If you surround yourself with “yes” people who will say what you want to hear instead of saying the truth, you are just deluding yourself and cannot be an effective leader. Many companies and organizations fail because they don’t follow the reality principle. 

6. Empowerment – def. to give power or authority to

Empowerment is not a static "event", but rather a dynamic evolutionary process in which the manager, employee and team are all involved. I was originally going to name the business strategy event an Empowerment workshop. However, because each person that is attending is taking the initiative to learn how to run their businesses effectively – empowerment is the next natural step toward becoming the leader your company needs.  Sharing rewards, information and ultimately power with employees so they can make decisions to improve performance and service and solve problems will bring your company to a new level of success. The idea of giving employees resources, skills, opportunity, motivation as well as holding them accountable and responsible for their actions will contribute to their satisfaction and competence. A true leader cultivates the best in people and wants to see them succeed.  These leaders possess an innate ability to see in others what they cannot see in themselves. The concept of empowerment should be in context of the following questions. "Have you ever felt powerful?" Was it at someone's expense? Was it with someone else? These are the questions a true leader will ask their team and ensure that they are empowered to act in the best interest of the business.

7. Innovation (Not Imitation) def. the introduction of something new, a revolution, upheaval, transformation 

Applying your creativity to come up with a unique idea or solution is innovation.  It must satisfy a specific need; an idea must be replicable at an economical cost. Initiative and imagination that can be converted into useful, unique products. The results of innovation are applied by a company in order to further satisfy the needs and expectations of the customers.  By contrast, entrepreneurship is applying that innovation to bring the ideas to life. Implementation of new ideas, creation of dynamic products or improvement of existing services are examples of innovation. The likelihood of your business succeeding increases when the company continues to innovate. Peter Drucker said “Innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship… the act that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth. 

In closing, I trust that this article will continue to inspire you to be the entrepreneur you know you are.  These are just a few more tools to help you understand important qualities that are necessary to bring success and abundance to your company, your team and your life.

Learn more about how to bring these qualities to life inside the Women's Business Strategy Network.