Five Ways to Think Like an Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurship is a mindset that anyone can acquire, a member of the founding team at Priceline.com told students on April 20, 2017, at an event hosted by the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. “Entrepreneurship is a way of thinking and solving problems,” speaker Jeff Hoffman said. “When you get called crazy, you know you’re on the right path.” He shared five tips for thinking like an entrepreneur.

Look for a Problem: Hoffman said the key to entrepreneurship is solving real problems. “Some people create a solution and then they have to find a problem for it,” he said. As a result, they often end up with interesting inventions that no one needs. Successful entrepreneurs work the other way around. They take ownership of real problems and create solutions that add value to people’s lives.

Dare to Dream: Entrepreneurs dream big and then take action. Hoffman said the first step is to write the dream down. Many people have ideas and make resolutions, but don’t accomplish them because they don’t remind themselves of the vision. “Write the goal down and stick it in the bathroom or somewhere you will see it every day,” Hoffman said. The next step is to form a plan. Some dreamers get stuck here because they don’t know the right steps forward. Hoffman recommends starting from the mountain and looking down. “Pretend you have reached the goal and work backward,” he said. “What would you have had to do the day before, week before, month before to have attained the goal?”

Do One Thing Well: Don’t be the jack of all trades, master of none. “Win a gold medal at one thing at a time,” Hoffman said. Find one thing and become the very best at it before moving on to anything else. Winning a gold medal is already so hard that you can’t do it in everything. No Olympic athlete wins a gold medal by competing in a different sport every day. People often have multiple good ideas and want to develop them all at the same time. When selecting the right idea to pursue, pick something you have an unfair advantage in. Having the right contacts or expertise required for a particular idea will give you the upper hand against fast-following competitors.

Don’t Chase Money: Those who use entrepreneurship as a means to chase money will find it difficult to survive. “Startups won’t always pay,” Hoffman said. “You will quit if you just want money.” Being an entrepreneur can make you rich, he said, but you should focus on making an impact. “Chase excellence,” Hoffman said, “and money follows.” To achieve excellence, you must go the extra mile and focus on learning all you can. “Evander Holyfield once told me, ‘The difference between 299 and 300 is the difference between a world heavyweight champion and every other boxer,’” Hoffman said.

Harvest Ideas: Most people seek information relevant to their industry or career and ignore everything else. Hoffman said the result is tunnel vision that cuts off avenues for inspiration. Creativity stems from looking beyond the usual line of thinking. “Assemble the pieces of the puzzle,” Hoffman said. “Everything you learn is a puzzle piece.” Entrepreneurs should strive to learn one new thing outside their field each day. School teaches you how to learn, Hoffman said. Use the critical thinking, structural thinking and research skills learned in school to soak up information from all around. Applying ideas from other industries can revolutionize your business and give it a competitive edge.

Smith School student Philip Peker provides a longer summary of the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship's Speaker Series Event with Hoffman.

— Mamayaa Opoku, Smith School communications writer