Wickman - Entrepreneurial leap: do you have what it takes to become an entrepreneur?

Contents

Copyright 2019 by Gino Wickman

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

MyVision ClarifierTM, MyBiz MatchTM, The Entrepreneur-in-the-Making AssessmentTM, The Leap JournalTM, and The Six Essential Traits of an EntrepreneurTM are all trademarks of Gino Wickman.

EOS, The Entrepreneurial Operating System, and EOS Implementer are all registered trademarks of EOS Worldwide, LLC.

BenBella Books, Inc.

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First E-Book Edition: October 2019

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Names: Wickman, Gino, author.

Title: Entrepreneurial Leap: do you have what it takes to become an entrepreneur? / Gino Wickman.

Description: Dallas, TX : BenBella Books, Inc., [2019] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019019260 (print) | LCCN 2019022326 (ebook) | ISBN 9781948836814 (trade cloth : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781948836845 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Entrepreneurship. | New business enterprises. | Success in business.

Classification: LCC HD62.5 .W4875 2019 (print) | LCC HD62.5 (ebook) | DDC 658.1/1dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019019260

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019022326

Copyediting by Ginny Glass

Proofreading by Jenny Bridges and Amy Zarkos

Text design and composition by Katie Hollister

Graphic design by Drew Robinson Spork Design

Printed by Lake Book Manufacturing

Distributed to the trade by Two Rivers Distribution, an Ingram brand

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To all who have taken the entrepreneurial leap. This book is a tribute to you.

CONTENTS

T aking the entrepreneurial leap is like jumping out of a plane. Its scary, exciting, half-crazy, exhilarating, risky, and rewarding.

Entrepreneurs create the most jobs, are a driving force in the economy, possess a large portion of the wealth, and spearhead much of the innovation that changes the world.

The fact that youre reading this book means that you, or someone you know, thinks you might be an entrepreneur-in-the-making. If you are, this book will show you the incredible possibilities that are available, so you can live the life you were born to live.

Three decades ago, I was right where you are. As an entrepreneur-in-the-making, I was different from others. I felt lost, confused, insecure, and out of place. After I graduated high school, my friends went off to college to get their degrees; I wanted to get to work and go make money. Looking back, I would have appreciated having a book like this onefirst to help me identify that I was an entrepreneur-in-the-making and, second, to show me the path to becoming one.

In the words of National Speakers Association Hall of Fame speaker Danielle Kennedy, We teach what we needed the most. That is why this book was written, to teach you what I needed the most back before I took my leap.

I come from the futureyour future. I work with entrepreneurs who are years ahead of where you are now. You can learn a lot from their experiences as you set off on your journey.

This book is devoted to helping you understand your true skill set, your genetic code. It will give you a clear path to fully realize your entrepreneurial potential, regardless of your age. Youll read stories of people taking their leap at fifteen, twenty-five, thirty-five, and fifty-five. Youre never too old to realize your full potential.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

Entrepreneurial Leap is divided into three parts.

: Confirm will help you decide whether youre an entrepreneur-in-the-making or not. It will paint a vivid picture of the entrepreneurs unique DNA and describe the six traits essential to being an entrepreneur. Youll then take a self-assessment to confirm whether you have these traits and what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur.

: Glimpse will show you what a real entrepreneurs life looks like, as well as the unlimited potential to build whatever you want. Its meant to inspire you by showing how your life can look if you take the entrepreneurial leap. Youll see all your optionsthe types and sizes of businesses and industries available to youso you can determine which ones youre drawn to. Youll read real-life stories about people like you who went from where you are now to becoming successful entrepreneurs.

: Path will map the stages of the entrepreneurial journey, helping you to avoid mistakes that so many entrepreneurs make along the way. It will help you to expedite finding your passion, niche, product, service, industry, and type of business, while giving you the clarity of vision and confidence to take your leap. That will increase your odds of becoming a successful entrepreneur and help you do it in less time.

How do you know if youre an entrepreneur? You may have been creating opportunities and offering solutions for a long time without even knowing it. From age seven to eighteen, I sold candy and fireworks, shoveled snow, cut lawns, washed cars, had a paper route, and sold stained glass made by my brother. Not until I was thirty years old did I fully realize Id been an entrepreneur all along. I wish Id known twelve years earlier. My confidence level would have been much higher, and Id have made faster progress. The purpose of this book is to help you figure out if youre one as soon as possible.

Ive spent the past thirty years learning about entrepreneurship and then applying those lessons in growing my own businesses. I was lucky enough to have two very successful entrepreneurs as mentors: my incredible father, Floyd Wickman, who founded and built the number one real estate sales training organization in the industry; and a wonderful man named Sam Cupp, who built his companies to over $300 million in revenue. These two mentors taught me most of what I know about running a business.

Ive now taught and helped thousands of others. Ive written six books on helping entrepreneurs and their leaders run their businesses that have sold over one million copies. I created the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), which has enabled more than a hundred thousand business owners and their leaders run better businesses and organize their people and processes.

Ive successfully run and sold two businesses. One was the family business my dad founded and built. I took it over at age twenty-five, turned it around, and ran it for seven years. Then we successfully sold it. The other business, EOS Worldwide, I cofounded with my partner, Don Tinney, and after eighteen years of building it, we decided to sell.

I share this information so youll understand that Ive walked every step of the entrepreneurs path. Im going to show you that path. All of my experience and the experiences of all of my clients and mentors have been compressed into these 200 pages to help you realize your potential.