How to Become an Entrepreneur: Steps, Tips, and Where to Start

Freelancers, gig workers, franchise owners, or small business owners — no matter what they call themselves, these individuals are entrepreneurs. From freelance writing services and Airbnb hosts to small grocery stores and tech startups, entrepreneurs power much of the U.S. economy and have done so for decades.

Even that lemonade stand on the corner of your block is run by an ambitious entrepreneur who is only ten years old. Some of today’s most successful businesses, such as McDonald’s, Starbucks, Amazon, and Facebook, were started by entrepreneurs.

Although there are many entrepreneurial success stories, many business ideas also fail. Any entrepreneur runs the risk of financial struggle, but there are things you can do to reduce that risk while pursuing entrepreneurship.

There is no reason your age, gender, or background should stop you from achieving your dream of being your own boss. Passion, an innovative idea, hard work, and resilience can all power a future successful business. However, there are also many other steps aspiring entrepreneurs need to take in order to become a successful business owner.

Defining an entrepreneur

What these people share in common is a desire to create a career on their own terms. They’re…