Embarking on the road of entrepreneurship can be frightening, uncertain and turbulent — especially at the start. On your journey, it's helpful to have a mental roadmap and to know what to expect from yourself along the way. Nobody is 100% clear and consistent from the onset and you'll naturally have fluctuating states of mind about the whole thing. Author and entrepreneur, Farshad Asl, provides such a roadmap called the "Five Levels of Entrepreneurship", which we'll summarize for you here.

Level One: Encouragement

At this stage of your entrepreneurial journey, you're just slightly over the fence and have convinced yourself to leave regular job safety behind. You're feeling a combination of fear and anticipation for what lies ahead and sometimes worry about financial security and whether your plans will work out. During this stage, it's important to clarify to yourself why you're doing this.

Develop a clear business plan, start researching and developing marketing strategies, and put the first pieces of the puzzle together. Ask yourself "Why should consumers be interested in my product?", "What value can I bring to them?".

Level Two: Engagement

During the engagement stage, you're off the fence and are fully invested in your new entrepreneurial life. However, that doesn't mean that you don't have moments of compromised confidence, but it's equally as exhilarating as it is terrifying! You're fully emerged in your future vision and are beginning to foster a growth-positive mindset. You're making developments every day and are gaining a clearer vision of the task at hand.

Level Three: Established

This is the middle stage of your entrepreneurial journey and you're about to cross the bridge between conceptual and practical. You're experiencing a lot of mental clarity and you're focusing on expanding your network and vision. The more time you spend with a mentor at this stage to soak up and valuable lessons you can, the better.

The next stage awaits you, but passing from level three to level four is the biggest transition on the whole journey. You're already making money at this stage, which is why many entrepreneurs get too comfortable at this level. Don't let your progress stop here.

Level Four: Expert

This is a hard-won level to achieve and it's also the most transformative. At this stage, you're realizing the value of delegating authority to others to free up your own time. You're helping others step into leadership roles and have developed a zest for bringing out the best in people you work with. You're focused on creating new opportunities and can easily catch the attention of investors.

Fully settled into your new life as an entrepreneur, you're helping and encouraging others to do the same. It took a great deal of maturity and flexibility to reach this stage and you're enjoying the fruits of your hard work.

Level Five: Entrepreneur

This is the highest level of your entrepreneurial journey and you've broken free from an array of limitations. You're no longer bound by financial difficulties and you'll never doubt your own abilities again. The years of hard work, late nights and the stress of uncertainty have paid off and your life is everything you dreamed it could be.

The road to entrepreneurial actualization is long and difficult. But hang in there - with enough confidence, intelligence and perseverance, you'll make it!

Looking for additional resources?  Be sure to visit our friends at The Gravity Center.