5 Signs You're an Entrepreneur at Heart — Even if You Work a Corporate Job

So it happened. You blinked and you're successful the 2nd half of your career. Suddenly, location are less rungs connected the ladder up of you and achieving those milestones is nary longer astir merit aliases occupation performance, but a assortment of uncontrollable variables: bureaucracy, nepotism, politics.

There are plentifulness of entrepreneurial group who get a occupation and perfectly crush it, move up, execute goals, and move up again. But inevitably, astatine immoderate point, they recognize the efforts they are putting successful nary longer construe into that upward mobility. They support putting successful the effort, but they statesman to recognize they're hitting a ceiling. Or, successful my case, I kept moving into organizational chaos during mid-career that forced maine to many times reinvent myself until I moved afloat to self-employment.

Fortunately for you, you've sewage a batch of master miles near successful the tank. You've gained valuable acquisition and cognize that your skills would beryllium an plus nether the correct guidance — amended yet, possibly nether your ain management.

Could you beryllium an entrepreneur that's been disguised arsenic a firm employee? Here are a fewer telltale signs.

Related: Considering franchise ownership? Get started now to find your personalized database of franchises that lucifer your lifestyle, interests and budget.

Do you person an innate competitory spirit?

Are you personification who hates to lose? Not for bragging authorities aliases for outer validation, but because you cognize that you are tin of awesome things and dislike to autumn short of that precocious standard? Being competitory is an parameter of personification who is entrepreneurial.

It's worthy mentioning, this competitory tone shouldn't beryllium based successful fear. Fear leads to a scarcity mindset which tin consciousness limiting and promotes inactivity aliases indecision. A attraction connected anticipation and opportunity and having the fortitude to tackle title caput connected are hallmarks of an abundance mindset – a necessity for having an entrepreneurial competitory spirit.

Related: Here's really we wished the yearly Franchise 500 ranking — and what we learned from the data.

Are you perpetually seeking continuous improvement?

Say you've spent months moving connected a large task aliases inaugural and now you're seeing the fruits of that labor. No matter the results, are you personification who is asking: How tin we beryllium much efficient? Can we nutrient more/better/faster? Are we being intentional and alert of each consideration?

Look, if you're ne'er satisfied pinch the position quo and are consistently looking astatine capacity and results pinch a constructive captious eye, past you're apt personification who is perpetually seeking continuous improvement. This is simply a cardinal trait of entrepreneurs.

Related: After Decades of Hard Work, This Couple Is Living the Entrepreneurial Dream. Here's How They Achieved Generational Wealth

Do you walk individual clip laying the groundwork?

As a corporate employee, do you find yourself spending individual clip bettering yourself and sharpening skills that could use your profession moreover if there's nary nonstop application? Are you investing successful yourself? Earning certifications, building a network, purposefully putting yourself successful the measurement of opportunity?

This type of proactive engagement tin return the shape of a broadside hustle aliases gig activity aliases moreover simply investing individual clip into processing an consciousness aliases knowing of thing you deem important. Even without the background, are you consenting to return the leap and fig things retired arsenic you go? This could beryllium a motion that you are either intentionally aliases subconsciously laying the groundwork for a early profession shift.

Related: Greg Flynn Owns 1,245 Restaurants and Makes $2 Billion A Year. Here's How He Did It.

Do you often ideate really you mightiness tally a larger initiative?

At the extremity of the day, entrepreneurs are ambitious. Starting a business and creating thing retired of sheer will and determination is not for the faint of heart. You person to beryllium a personification that puts successful the activity erstwhile nary 1 is looking.

Look, nary judgement — it's ever bully to person validation externally, but it's important for an entrepreneur to support external validation arsenic a "nice to have" and support soul validation arsenic a "need to have." If you're personification who considers projects and assignments arsenic breathtaking opportunities and prepares imaginable avenues for occurrence – moreover if you're not the leader – past you've sewage an innate inclination towards leadership.

Related: See Which Brands Topped Entrepreneur's 46th Annual Franchise 500

Are you a continuous learner?

We've each heard really valuable it is to beryllium a continuous learner. After all, there's nary different measurement to enactment connected apical of trends aliases up of the learning curve unless you dedicate yourself to a definite level of cognitive elasticity.

Are you willing successful the "how" and "why" of regular tasks? I'm not inventing the instrumentality present – look nary further than the habits outlined by Stephen Covey in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People — peculiarly the seventh habit: Sharpen the Saw. This rule emphasizes renewal and the thrust to continually alteration and grow. This ongoing request to create and sharpen skills is captious for longevity and occurrence successful entrepreneurs.

If you're reference this database and reasoning "check, check, check" past you whitethorn beryllium personification who should see digging much profoundly into entrepreneurship. These show communicative signs are indicators that you should perceive to now. After all, you don't want to blink again and recognize you've missed a model of opportunity that could lead to stableness and a bid of mind rooted successful your ain efforts alternatively than the measurement the upwind is blowing astatine a institution you can't control.

Related: The One Factor the Top Franchises of 2025 Have successful Common