Developing Your Skills By Gaining Experience – the Path to Being an Entrepreneur

To allow your inner entrepreneur to emerge, first you have to identify your talents and skill-set so that you can begin to refine and focus them.    Previously, I had the opportunity to talk with Adriene Washington, a successful Washington, DC based entrepreneur who has been very successful as a real estate developer.  Knowing what he knows now, Mr. Washington suggests a path he would encourage would-be developers (or entrepreneurs generally) to take to help refine their entrepreneurial skills. 

 He suggests first going to a large, well established, first class company to train, learn best practices, and gain an understanding of what it takes to play in a large arena.  After a couple of years, having checked off a list of pre-defined experiences, move to a smaller organization that has an entrepreneurial spirit and learn how to play bigger with less resources.  Begin to make a name for yourself and establish key relationships.  After a few years at a smaller organization, set out on your own and start your own company.  Mr. Washington believes such an approach might have mitigated a key low point in his career when he was out on his own and found himself to be 'undercapitalized' and 'under experienced'.

Developing key skills before you cast your lot as an entrepreneur will go a long way in allaying concerns and fears that you may have about starting your own business.  Preparation through experience is a touchstone for any successful entrepreneur.