Cultivating an Entrepreneurial Mindset
Newswise — An entrepreneurial mindset gives individuals a different perception of the world and allows them to stand apart from others. Cultivating this mindset can mean the difference between being an employee and a CEO. Entrepreneurial student group, StartMeUp Ryerson offers these tips to help you find your inner entrepreneur this new school year: Get comfortable with being uncomfortableThere’s nothing more important for an entrepreneur than his or her ability to take a calculated risk. This means stepping outside your comfort zone. Universities and colleges have a plethora of students groups that will push you to try something new. These student groups will most likely be out on campus throughout the first week of school during orientation week, so check them out and get involved. You’ll meet new people and challenge yourself.
Learn to fail – www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0ZtPqG7t-A Everyone wants to succeed, but you rarely learn by being successful. You may have a tough start when heading back to school, especially if this is your first year of post-secondary. 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 for many of them, it started with failure.
Spot opportunitiesOpportunities to connect with entrepreneurs may not always find you, so you have to look for them. Back to school offers many potential opportunities with new classes, living in dorms or attending events and celebrations around campus. With the wealth of resources you have at school, take advantage and seek out the best places for success.
Pitch everything you doPitch, pitch, pitch! 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.
Weaving a MATSome sort of 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 the school year and will give you more time to enjoy your free time throughout the school year.
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. The faster you join your school’s entrepreneurial student group – be it Students in Free Enterprise, StartMeUp, or something else – the sooner you will be able to create a lasting impact! For more information about how to get involved with SIFE (Students In Free Enterprise) visit www.sife.org. For information about StartMeUp Ryerson, visit www.startmeupryerson.ca.
For more digitally-themed back to school expert tips, visit the Back to School page at www.ryerson.ca/dmz.
Ryerson University students available for interviews:Sean PetersProject Support Coordinator at the Digital Media ZoneContact Heather Kearney (details below) to speak with Sean
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