If you want to advance in your career while experiencing more freedom within your current company, you may want to adopt the goals and work ethic of an intrapreneur. To understand how to go about this, let’s start by looking at what this means and then examine ways you can use intrapreneurial traits to achieve your work-related goals:
Intrapreneurship 101
As Investopedia notes, an intrapreneur is someone who works for a company and uses some of the classic entrepreneurial skills like creativity, motivation and showing initiative to get ahead without adopting any of the risks associate with working for yourself. An example would be someone who is assigned a special project – if you are given carte blanche to create, launch and run the new idea by yourself, you are an intrapreneur.
Just like entrepreneurs who start a new company to provide a needed service or product, intrapreneurs do the same, only under the “safe” umbrella of a regular paycheck. As Eide Bailly notes, intrapreneurs also have a solid understanding of current trends and what will make a company more successful and can use this knowledge to advance in their career.
Now, let’s look at some tangible ways to become an intrapreneur:
Moonlight as an Intrapreneur
To really hone your skills as an intrapreneur, you might want to start off with a side gig or two that will allow you to give this new way of thinking and working a try. For example, in addition to your usual job, consider setting up your own business with a reputable and stable company like Amway.
Amway is a classic example of a company that values intrapreneurship because it encourages its employees to create and launch their own businesses, sell their products and make decisions, all while having an $8.8 billion global company backing them up. Practice your intrapreneurial talents by working for Amway and get used to running your own career show while being backed up by a company that believes in your potential and goals.
Stop Talking and Start Doing
While many people may wish to be an intrapreneur, they often talk themselves out of any ideas that would help them advance within a company. If you have a great idea for a project or product, don’t let a case of cold feet get in the way of talking to your boss.
Ask to meet with your boss or manager and suggest your new marketing proposal or other work-related process. You may be pleasantly surprised to get the green light to start working on your idea, or your boss may ask for more data to back you up – either way, you are showing your boss that you have initiative and drive and that you care about the company.
Become Highly Knowledgeable About your Company and its Products
In order to be selected for plum projects that will help you advance in your career, you will need to show your boss that you have the knowledge that is needed to take on the work. Get to know your company and its products inside out, going beyond your regular duties.
If you feel your boss could drastically improve the company’s shipping methods, ask to spend some time in the warehouse with the crew and observe how they do their jobs. Then, once you have a true handle on how the company works, you can approach your boss with your ideas and suggestions on how you could improve productivity.
Identity Magazine is all about guiding women to discover their powers of Self-Acceptance, Appreciation, and Personal Achievement. We ask that every contributor and expert answer the Identity 5 questions in keeping with our theme. Their answers can be random and in the moment or they can be aligned with the current article they have written. In that way, and as a team, we hope to encourage and motivate each other, thus inspiring you to Get All A’s.
1. What have you accepted within your life, physically and/or mentally? Additionally, what are you still working on accepting? Now, we’re talking about resignation, rather stepping into, embraced, and owned.
I have accepted that I might not always have a home that will qualify for a photo spread in a Martha Stewart magazine – there are toys spread around and plenty of other evidence that a family with pets lives here, but that is okay. I appreciate the fact that I’m a loving and caring mom, wife and “pet parent” who focuses more on my family’s happiness and being there for them, rather than always having a dust-free piano.
2. What have you learned to appreciate about yourself and/or within your life, physically and mentally? On the other hand OR in contrast, are there elements of who you are that you’re still working on appreciating?
I guess like many women I’m hoping to find ways to use my daily 24 hours as productively as possible; I love getting out to walk with my family and at least one dog at a time but too often I run out of time.
3. What is one of your most rewarding achievements in life? Tell us not only what makes YOU most proud but also share the goals and dreams that you still have.
One of my most rewarding achievements has been working as a freelance writer for the past 16 years; I love the fact that I work from home and can schedule my work around my family.
4. Of course, we all have imperfections, or so we think. In truth, we are all perfectly imperfect. What are your not-so-perfect ways? Likewise, what imperfections and quirks create who you are–your Identity?
My not-so-perfect way is that I sometimes forget to take care of myself because I’m so busy taking care of others.
Probably my silly sense of humor about a lot of things – my kids roll their eyes when I’m putting away groceries, spot a bunch of bananas and start talking into one of them like it’s a phone. My dependence on caffeine and love of Starbucks is also fairly well-known.
5. “I Love My…” is an outlet for you to appreciate and express all the positive traits that make you…well…YOU! In fact, sharing what you love about yourself will make you smile, feel empowered, and uplift your spirit and soul. (We assure you!) Therefore, Identity challenges you to complete the phrase “I Love My…?”
Easy. I love my family. Every day.
