Over the last decade, entrepreneurship has arguably become a ‘trend’ in terms of a career choice for many. People have grown increasingly tired of the 9-5 and are now more willing than ever to put in the graft to create a lifestyle that works for them. The beginning of this journey starts with becoming an entrepreneur.
Arguably, there are some personality styles or people with particular interests that are more suited to the entrepreneurial lifestyle than others. This is because there is some significant crossover when it comes to certain careers. Accordingly to serial entrepreneur, Gilles Baudet, sport and entrepreneurship are inextricably linked.
Here are 8 reasons why entrepreneurship and sport are identical from Glasgow entrepreneur, Gilles Baudet:
1. Resilience
In any sport, resilience is the key to winning and the same applies to entrepreneurs. Running a long-lasting, high-yielding, successful business isn’t an overnight thing, and it’s certainly not plain sailing. As an entrepreneur, resilience is intrinsic to maintaining strength and focus in the face of adversity in order to keep moving forwards.
“I’ve failed over and over again in my life, and that is why I succeed” – Michael Jordan
2. Persistence
When running a race and you come second place, you don’t just quit. You try again, and again, and again. You change up your training schedule, you try different tactics, you work harder, and you persist – to win. The same mentality must be applied to running a business as an entrepreneur. You must persist in order to succeed.
“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard” – Tim Notke
3. Tenacity
Whether it be sport or business – if you want something bad, you’ve got to have the unbreakable determination to achieve it. This is why tenacity is so important in both sports and entrepreneurship. You need to have complete tunnel vision when focusing on your goals to remain on course to succeed.
“If you aren’t going all the way, why go at all?” – Joe Namath
4. Consistency
If you’re training to compete in a sport, your schedule must remain consistent. You’ll hear it all the time – Monday is leg day, Tuesday is glutes, Wednesday is cardio, and so on. Sportspeople stick to a consistent schedule to guarantee results, and entrepreneurship is no different. If you need to dedicate time to improving product or service, exploring alternative marketing methods, growing your business – whatever it is – you need to do it consistently in order to guarantee results.
“Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential” – Liane Cardes
5. Competition
Healthy competition is a key motivator in many fields – sports and entrepreneurship included! If you’re actively competing against another individual or another business, you never take your eye off the prize as you become totally fixated on doing everything you can to win.
“The only one who can tell you ‘you can’t win’ is you, and you don’t have to listen” – Jessica Ennis Hill
6. Motivation
When you’re competing to win – you need to be motivated in order to reach or exceed your goals. This could take the form of forwards or backwards motivation, but either way, you need a burning purpose to push you to succeed. This might be something material, or a personal motivator, or a lifestyle choice, but in any sense, it needs to exist.
“The sky has no limits and neither should you – Usain Bolt
7. Risk
As with anything, if you’re aiming for a reward, you will need to experience an element of risk. With sport, the risk might be to your physical health as the result of intense training. With entrepreneurship, the risk could take many forms and it’s important to be aware of the risks in order to address and overcome them where possible. The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward.
“You miss 100% off the shots you don’t take” – Wayne Gretsky
8. Rehabilitation
It’s no secret that when it comes to physical sports, injuries occur and when that happens, you need to stop, rest, recharge and rehabilitate in order to get back into peak physical condition and continue winning. Without rehabilitation, you either end up burned out, lacking in performance or worst case – injured to the point where you can no longer compete. In the same way, you need to take time to ‘rehabilitate’ throughout your entrepreneurial journey. Without rest days and breaks for your body and mind, you may end up running on fumes and ultimately, underperforming.
“Just believe in yourself. Even if you don’t, pretend that you do and at some point you will” – Venus Williams
ABOUT GILLES BAUDET
Gilles Baudet is a serial entrepreneur, husband and proud father of two based in Glasgow, United Kingdom. He started his main business venture a decade ago and since then, has branched out into starting up and successfully running a range of other businesses across the nation. Now, he is also a public speaker, property investor and venture capitalist. Gilles Baudet prides himself on sharing knowledge and advice with other passionate individuals looking to create their own lifestyle.
