CONNECT with Sheila Botelho Podcast

Are You Cut Out for Entrepreneurship? | Ep 422

September 04, 2024 • Sheila Botelho

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In this episode, we explore whether entrepreneurship is truly the right path for you, or if another approach might better suit your strengths and lifestyle. It’s not just about having a great idea; it's about understanding what kind of work-life balance you want, how you handle responsibility, and whether you thrive on being fully immersed in your business or prefer a more structured separation between work and personal life.


I break down the key indicators of an entrepreneurial mindset versus an intrapreneurial one, sharing insights from my own journey and the experiences of my clients. Whether you're dreaming of starting your own venture or looking to support someone else's vision, this episode will help you consider your options and find the path that aligns with your goals and desires.


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https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/connect-with-sheila-botelho/id1527363160 I would really appreciate it. Thanks!


Sheila:

Your vision is yours. It was put in your heart for a reason, and there's more than one way to get there. It can be you on your own or you can be partnering with someone else to make it happen. Is entrepreneurship truly for you? I'm Sheila Botelo. I'm a self-care strategist, creator of the Season Self-Care app, and I'm committed to helping you reconnect to your purpose, elevate your well-being and build your version of a happy, successful life.

Sheila:

In some recent conversations with clients of mine, we've had this conversation come up. We have often these ideas that come into our mind about how could we maximize our own earning potential. Maybe you are in a career already and you have an idea for something that you want to bring out into the world. Perhaps it's a course, perhaps it's a book, perhaps it's a talk, maybe it's a product and you think, well, I don't know like, is this something that I could really do? And first I want to say yes, yes, you can. If the idea is there, I really invite you to explore that do. And first I want to say yes, yes, you can. If the idea is there. I really invite you to explore that. And next comes the other piece of it Are you cut out for entrepreneurship. Truly, one never knows until they enter into that space, and I've been on both sides of it. I've worked corporately through my life and I've spent a lot of time in the entrepreneurial spaces taking my ideas and running with them.

Sheila:

And there's a few key things to consider as you're making this consideration for yourself. And the first thing is what are the ideas and what is your game plan long-term? How do you want your life to look long-term? Let's break it down even more. How do you want just your work to look your work life? Do you want to work like Monday to Friday, nine to five, be able to shut it right down and not have any kind of work ideas on your mind through your weekends or holidays or vacations? That, if that's what you want, it may be really difficult to be working in an entrepreneurial space and to be able to have your own business.

Sheila:

Because, even if you have a beautiful team doing incredible things, doing a lot of the things that are not on your plate, which is highly recommended, delegating a team is a great way to get going right from the get-go or, if not possible immediately, that should be one of the first things that you do when you're able to invest in that, and even if you have a great team working with you, there's still going to be things that you're going to be needing to deal with when you may be traveling, when you may be on vacation things that need to be dealt with, that you need to sign off on, that you need to somehow be involved in Now. It doesn't need to be in a huge capacity, but usually at first, when you're building your business, it is the case because this is yours. No one's going to be able to fully get your vision off the ground without you right, unless like the alternative here I'll give you an alternative Unless you are investing in a company and you're like a silent partner that shows up for board meetings and provides information and consulting, that's a different story. That is another strategy for you, but we're talking about your own business right now. So if you don't want to be doing those extra things and having those things as potential kind of interruptions to your personal and private time, that's something to consider and I think it's a good idea to consider it before you put a whole lot of effort and time into the work that you do and the business idea.

Sheila:

The other thing is, even if you're not needed for anything. If you are an idea machine and if you are really loving on your business and caring about where it goes, you will have ideas come up that need to be captured during those times when you're on vacation, et cetera. And guess what? You probably, if you really are an entrepreneur at heart, you won't look at that as work. You'll look at that as an outer expression of the idea that you're breathing life into, and so you're gonna capture those moments and you're not gonna vilify them. You're gonna be so jazzed that you have ways to innovate. That's one indication if you may be an entrepreneurial person is if those ideas come and you're not like sitting saying, no, I only do these things during these set hours. Some people operate that way Not many, not many of the creative entrepreneurs that I speak with.

Sheila:

Anyway, this is something that can be built in later. I'm just want to give you some hope for the future. If you have these entrepreneurial leanings and you're like, oh, I really do want to be able to shut things off, these are skills you can learn, just so you know. However, this is one of the things Can you learn. Do you need a complete, utter separation between work and personal life. That's something that you know you get to determine, but that's an indication of letting you know what kind of work you are maybe best suited to.

Sheila:

The second thing to consider is are you someone who needs to do absolutely every task yourself, to do absolutely every task yourself, and you don't trust anybody ever to do anything that is related to the brand that you are building? Now, this is something that can be cultivated, so this isn't a make or break whether you're entrepreneurial or not. This is holding your idea really, really precious and knowing that it is important to have other voices, whether they're mentors or masterminds or people who can kind of speak life into you but also have a different angle as to what's happening in your business, what you want to have happen, people who have gone before you, who've paved the path. This is really important. You wanna surround yourself with people like this, and if you feel like you only can be successful doing it all on your own and not trusting anyone for input, this also may be an indication that perhaps entrepreneurship is not the path for you, and if you do pursue it, it could be very exhausting and you would lead to burnout.

Sheila:

I know this because these are the type of people that I've worked with over the years. They're understanding why and how they get the outcomes they get and why burnout tends to be the option. They want a different way, and one of the first things that we talk about is how to not do it all by yourself, and I come by this honestly, because I started out thinking that I had to do it all on my own because otherwise it wouldn't really be mine and how would I really know if this business is going to go unless I put everything into it. Now, there's a distinction between doing it all yourself and having an understanding of every piece of your business. That is a sign of a really powerful entrepreneur, someone who wants to be a part in every element, at least for a time, to understand how it works. Some of the founders that I work with will actually take on different roles in their businesses just to kind of see, well, what's the flavor, what's the tone, talking to clients in a different way than maybe they would be used to for a while, so they can really have an understanding and keep their heartbeat, keep their thumb on the heartbeat of their business. That is cutting edge, and so that's something I really invite people to do is to dive into their businesses and actually spend time in the different areas and not just relying on someone to tell them how it's going, but to actually witness it themselves. It's kind of like an audit experience that you can do in your own business.

Sheila:

So if you want to hold on to everything yourself, it maybe is an indication that it might burn you out completely and maybe the letting go and the surrender is too much, and maybe it's just in this season of your life. I'm not saying never, say never. We do have our energetic imprints and our areas of genius in our life and our areas of expertise that we can lean into, and I always invite you to look at what are those things before you really decide what it is that you want to do next. Perhaps and this is kind of a side note perhaps you're someone who is amazing at taking someone else's idea and investing yourself in it and really committing to basically helping fulfill that vision and diving in. Maybe, instead of there's kind of a few terms for this instead of like the entrepreneurial visionary, maybe you're the entrepreneurial integrator. Maybe you're somebody who is best working as the person who is not necessarily even behind the scenes, but someone who's acting in an execution role, somebody who's actually integrating those things that need to happen and managing the teams and the structures and the systems. Maybe that's you, maybe you live for that, and even then that doesn't necessarily mean you can just shut it all down and not be reachable after hours. Maybe you live for that, and even then that doesn't necessarily mean you can just shut it all down and not be reachable after hours. If you're fully committed to being an intrapreneur, maybe you are doing some of those things and being kind of aware of the heartbeat of the business while you are out and about. You can still turn on your out of office Like, yes, I really recommend doing that. Certainly, we do have to have this structure, this delineation. However, you may still be lying on a beach somewhere and coming up with a wonderful idea of how the business can grow, or a system that just pops into your mind. That may be an indication that you are an entrepreneur, integrator.

Sheila:

And now the third piece to consider is what do you want your legacy to be? This is a big question. It really, really is. But think about it. What is the thing that you most want to build at this season of your life? Is it a business? Is it life balance? Is it a passion project? Maybe this idea you have is something that is like really mission focused and maybe it's more of like a philanthropic experience and it's less of a business and more of something that you want to give away. Another piece of this is how do you feel about money, like? How do you feel about money? Like, how do you feel about investing in growing your business and also making a certain amount of money? Do you wanna be giving things away for free? Are you so mission-focused that you don't want to ask for the sale? These are things you need to get really comfy with.

Sheila:

If you're wanting to build a business, you need to be able to get in front of the people, have the conversations and truly be committed to what outcomes you have for them, for their good and the growth of your business, because owning a business is about creating a profit, having revenue streams, and if you're really concerned about keeping things really low cost for everyone, then you have to think about there's so much more to it when it comes to the bottom line of your business. So these are kind of like broad strokes things I want you to consider. If you're in this place where you're trying to bring your business to life and you feel like you just keep hitting up against a brick wall and you're amazing at doing all of the tasks but really the big picture, thinking of how to take it to the next level is super challenging for you and you don't want to get help for it or you feel too maybe self-conscious about doing that. Well, you can shift it, but first ask yourself is this entrepreneurial journey the thing that I really really want, or do I just want to be part of something bigger than myself and helping bring that to life and help it expand? You can do it by either, yes, bringing the business to life yourself and leading it, or by supporting another leader in building their business and having a really nice share of the activity involved with bringing it to life.

Sheila:

Or you can do two things. You can, like I said earlier, become a consultant, sit on a board of directors, give some ideas and put some skin in the game, put some money in there and get some equity of that business. These are different ways. There's many more things you can do, but this is like super basic for today. Think about these things which one feels the most resonant for you, and if you are feeling tired because you've been on this journey for a while, that's not necessarily an indication of whether this business idea, this entrepreneurial journey, is right for you. It's more that perhaps there's a way for it to be a little easier.

Sheila:

And one of the ways it can feel easier for you is if you're not doing it alone yes, if you're delegating, and also if you're getting mentorship and being inside a group of other business owners who are founders, who are visionaries and who are actually putting all they have into their business and wanting a little bit more freedom and flexibility in their life, with self-care as the foundation. That's where I come in and that's where my membership and my mastermind comes in. So stay tuned I'm going to be opening doors to the wait list for my mastermind that will be starting for next year, and there will be openings to the membership as well, where you get to be in a collective of other founders, female founders and visionaries and everybody who is involved with wanting to bring their entrepreneurial vision to life in a whole wide range of businesses, from the SaaS world to the publishing world, to the course creation world to the product and service world. Your vision is yours. It was put in your heart for a reason and there's more than one way to get there. It can be you on your own or you can be partnering with someone else to make it happen.

Sheila:

So I'm wishing you all the best and, as we are in this time in the world, especially North America, where we're really ramping up to end this year strong, make sure that you are in alignment with what you truly want. I'm so thankful that you're here. Thanks for listening. Please tag, share, do all the things Go, rate, review this podcast in the Apple Store and like and share on YouTube. I wish you all the best and I'm looking forward to seeing you shine in all of your brilliance in the way that you are meant to, and it feels good. Thanks for listening. Big blessings, thank you.