As more and more people start or consider starting their own business, it is important that they understand the core steps that are required to launch successful ventures. These steps include spotting, assessing, selecting and executing upon opportunities.

As more and more people start or consider starting their own business, it is important that they understand the core steps that are required to launch successful ventures. These steps include spotting, assessing, selecting and executing upon opportunities.

Spotting Opportunities:
The first step to entrepreneurship is identifying opportunities. The entrepreneur must be able to spot an unmet need. Oftentimes this need is seen through an inefficiency in the market – something that doesn’t work quite the way the entrepreneur would like it to. As a result, the entrepreneur figures out a potential solution and the opportunity is born.

Assessing Opportunities:
Many entrepreneurs keep a journal that details the myriad of opportunities they come across each day. While it takes a creative skill set to identify opportunities, it takes an analytical skill set to assess them. Each opportunity should be assessed to, among others, determine its likelihood of success and the financial and human resources required to execute upon it.

Selecting Opportunities:
One of the biggest risks in selecting the wrong opportunity is opportunity cost; that is, the cost of having to forego another opportunity that may have been wildly successful. Entrepreneurs should assess their potential opportunities and come to a firm decision regarding which one to execute upon. Once selected, the entrepreneurs cannot second-guess themselves. To do so would lessen their focus and drive towards the selected opportunity, both of which are critical in achieving success.

Executing Upon Opportunities:
Execution, or the ability to generate the most value out of an opportunity, requires a unique combination of creativity, passion, persistence, focus, responsibility, intelligence, planning and energy. The entrepreneur needs to know what tasks must be accomplished and be the main driver in seeing that these tasks are completed in an appropriate manner. Having an expertly written business plan will allow the entrepreneur to see the outline of the actions that must been taken to ensure success.

Understanding the four steps to entrepreneurship enables entrepreneurs to better understand the path that they are embarking upon. It is a path filled with potential pitfalls, but also filled with tremendous excitement, satisfaction and potential to build enormous value.