By Eric Burns and Maggie McMullen
Entrepreneurship has been romanticized by the business-themed media. Today, there is no shortage of entrepreneurial-focused information available from books, magazines, and television shows such as Shark Tank. As a professional working in pharmaceutical science, you likely have aptitude within this space that you could and should realize and apply to your field!
It’s tempting to believe that all you need a is product that “will sell its self.” But we believe that, as a scientist, you have the unseen skills and traits entrepreneurs need to see innovations come to fruition.
Succeeding as a scientist, like an entrepreneur, requires hard work, patience, and a willingness to try new things. Business, like scientific research, is not magic. It is rooted in knowledge, skill, and collaboration and ultimately follows a similar pattern for success. Do you have the potential to be an entrepreneur? Ask yourself if you have these traits:
- Are you passionate about what you do? While not the only factor that matters, consider this one. Do you love the research you are conducting or have a passion for the disease state you seek to impact? If you don’t love what you do, it’s hard to be successful!
- Got grit? Grit is the ability to strive for success even when faced with daunting challenges. Scientists and entrepreneurs share this recognizable trait due to their ability to adapt to failure and challenges.
- Can you accept feedback? How do you take criticism? As a scientist, feedback is part of your daily routine. Again, this is something you share with the world’s best innovators! The feedback you receive plays a direct role in establishing process, collaborative relationships, and a vision of success.
- Do you have a passion for lifelong learning? Learning a significant key in driving entrepreneurial-minded people to success. Where others see challenges, entrepreneurs seek to understand why.
- What is your sense of self? What is your level of confidence? Strong confidence? Overconfident? No confidence at all? Entrepreneurs and scientists can list multiple reason not to do something. You’ve heard about lack of funding, lack of lab space, limited skills, and a dozen other reasons. However, your sense of self—your ability to hold a healthy view of your skills, experience, and knowledge—is key. A 2014 Kaufmann Foundation study suggests that the vast majority of entrepreneurs’ projects will be more successful within 12 months—if those entrepreneurs can just believe in themselves a little longer and take their backers a little further.
Being an entrepreneur may seem like the next logical step in your career, but there are some additional questions to consider. When you work for yourself, you must have a strong understanding of the market you are serving. Ask yourself: “Have I considered all the legal aspects? Have I done a market scan and determined what price my market will bear?” For example, smart consultants establish their rates and overall models of compensation. They know what it costs to stay afloat, and set their rates accordingly. They can turn down an exciting project that is a resource-drain in disguise. These basics will go a long way in helping you better establish a strong foundation.
Are you willing to put in the extraordinary hours, while always being “on call”? Working for yourself means that nobody will care for your business more than you do (see trait #1 above), and this may stress those around you. Limited time with family and friends and missed life events and gatherings—is your network ready and accepting of this potential reality? If you’re not sure, a serious conversation is recommended.
If being an entrepreneur, or more specifically a consultant, is of interest to you, try taking the self-assessment below.
Entrepreneurial Self-Assessment
Rate yourself on this scale from 1 to 5, where 1 means the trait is weak for you, and 5 is strong.
Adapted from Christensen AK. Entrepreneurial Self-Assessment Tool. Accessed November 3, 2017.
If you score is higher than 60, you likely have a strong skill-set of a model entrepreneur. A score lower than 60 suggests some professional development may be in order.