No matter how big or small your business, the ability to think like an entrepreneur is vital to success. Often people think of entrepreneurs as people who launch businesses, grow them, and then sell them or open another business and build an empire. You know, Richard Branson, Elon Musk and the like. But, that is only one kind of entrepreneur. What about the plumber or electrician who is working for a company and decides to become self-employed? They are entrepreneurs too. Then there are the people who have a sideline business making just about anything and selling it to supplement their income.

There are also entrepreneurial employees; those people who think outside of the box, or at least their job description, who are always looking to help make the company they work for bigger, better, and more profitable.

What all these people have in common is that they are most likely very successful. Having an entrepreneurial mindset means you are always thinking about how to do things better, and more to the point make more money.

Never before has it been as important to think in this way, whether you are employed, self-employed, or running a small business. Why? Because the world is changing at an incredibly rapid pace. Our parents lived their whole lives and enjoyed secure careers without a whole lot happening to change things. Discounting the two world wars, things moved on at a sedate pace.

Fast forward to the past 20 years and everything has changed. We went from renting videos at Blockbuster to streaming Netflix. PVR’s made watching commercials on cable a thing of the past, or at least a choice. Cell phones went, from well, phones, to mobile computers, still and video cameras, voice recorders, and more. Texting became the communication method of choice for a large percentage of the population. The internet entered every aspect of our lives and social media’s voice replaced sound journalism, leaving the door open to fake news.

Today, people can compare what you sell to your competitors’ offerings in seconds, even while in your store or talking to you on the phone. All of these things changed the way companies do business and the way you sell and market what you produce. Some people and companies have prospered by taking advantage of the changes that are happening; take Amazon which now dominates the retail world. Those lacking an entrepreneurial mindset were late to the party when it came to selling online, some never even saw the need to have a website until relatively recently. Others saw their products and services become extinct. Anyone want to purchase some CDs?

Since then we’ve seen a pandemic change the way we live completely, and exponentially fast-forward online retail all but destroying bricks and mortar stores. The winners were those who thought entrepreneurially. Do you wish you had started a local courier service in 2018?

Looking back, the technological, social, and cultural changes that occurred since Y2K are nothing compared with what will happen in the next ten, twenty, thirty years. If you are employed, consider branching out on your own. If you run your own show, be prepared to reinvent yourself frequently - there’s a bullet train headed your way.

Here are just a few things to make you think. If you are under 40 today you can expect to live well beyond 100 years and enjoy a healthier life - assuming you look after your body in between. You will retire much later and be retired for longer, have more careers, and reinvent your business several times over during the next thirty years. If you think the internet and technology will slow down or level out, think again; the 40% of the world’s population that don’t currently have access will be online soon, very soon. And, 5G is here! Brain to Computer Interface (BCI) is a reality and already being used in healthcare - simply think and Google will do as you ask/think.

If all of this has you shaking your head, then you would be wise to start researching and reading about what the near future is going to look like. Once you do, then you can let your entrepreneurial mind loose on the incredible opportunities that will be open to those who can recognize the links between what they currently sell, what they could sell, their talents, and the new world.

To help you get started, check out authors Peter Diamandis, Stephen Kotler, and Ray Kurzweil; they are currently the most respected soothsayers of our future.