by Darpan Sachdeva
During the course of my entrepreneurship journey ,in those moments of despair when the things are not working as per your ambitions and needs ,i often wonder on what exactly is entrepreneurship and what qualities make of a successful entrepreneur.
Wikipedia defines it like this:
“An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.”
Harvard Business School Professor Howard Stevenson:
“Entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunity without regard to resources currently controlled.”
After reading and thinking about all of this, I stand by my (relatively) broad definition of an entrepreneur–namely, that anyone who takes on the risk of working for him or herself is (at least one type of) an entrepreneur.Entrepreneurship is made of certain defined qualities and traits that go in building up of a successful entrepreneur.
Down below are the 12 traits :
1.Self Confidence:
Entrepreneurs are confident in themselves and their abilities. They recognize that they don’t know everything or control all the available resources. Instead, they have a keen ability to understand what they need. Then, they go get it. They educate themselves or partner with others who have a needed skill set or experience.
2.Creativity and Innovation:
Not only do you have to be curious as an entrepreneur, you must also be creative. Isn’t that the essence of entrepreneurism? You know, to create stuff?New products. New solutions. New ways. Willing to think of all possibilities. Almost like a child.
“The ability to be creative as an entrepreneur is a must”.
Co-Founder and CEO of Elemental Technologies
3.Determination:
When you set out to become an entrepreneur it will require you to set very clear goals along the way. Growing your business, increasing sales and hiring new employees require several micro-goals within them to be executed successfully.This type of workload and challenge is enough to stop many people from pursuing the entrepreneurial career path. You have to be determined from the beginning to be successful — before you even start. If you aren’t fully determined to make it there is a good chance you will crumble under the pressure.
4.Risk Takers:
Some of the most successful entrepreneurs took major risks, and they paid off in a big way.
Your tolerance for risk has to be low. It doesn’t matter if you figure out ways to “mitigate” risk (which you should), or you spend 10 years in the planning stage of business (plan yes, 10 years – no), in the end; you have to get off your tail and take action.
Entrepreneurs take risks. They take action. Each one may have a slightly different risk meter, but when the time comes; they step out of their comfort zone and risk through taking action.
Shark Tank’s Barbara Corcoran turned a $1,000 loan into a $5 billion-dollar real estate business that she sold for $66 million back in 2001.
Many would assume it isn’t possible to start a business with very little money, but those who aren’t afraid to take risks don’t see things such as limited funding as a handicap.
5.Vision:
“Vision is the art of seeing what’s invisible to others.” – Jonathan Swift
One of the defining characteristics every real entrepreneur should have is the ability to create and deliver a vision. The trait to be curious and not settle for less push entrepreneurs forward to imagine what’s not there yet, then they strive to innovate and thus grab on the opportunity to be the pioneers in that particular field.
Elon Musk is one great example of an entrepreneur with a huge vision to transform humanity, and he brought great innovations that changed the world for better. But before he did that, he was a visionaire.
6.Persistence:
True entrepreneurs never, never, never quit. Never.
“The number one trait you find in all successful entrepreneurs is tenacity. Just the sheer will to keep going, even when things look impossible.
It’s more likely for entrepreneurs with that are mentally tough to succeed compared to those who get depressed and break down easily. It’s not just because people who are tough mentally manage their emotions better and are able to cope with more stress, mentally tough entrepreneurs simply give up way later. And perseverance is the key to success, there is no such thing as an overnight success.
“It takes 20 years to make an overnight success.” – Eddie Cantor
7.Networking and Communication:
A large collection of business cards and a huge contact list doesn’t make you an expert at networking. Building value-based relationships that are truly meaningful is what networking is all about — these are the relationships that lead to business opportunities and long-term relationships that are mutually beneficial.
The ability to communicate effectively is huge for as entrepreneurs. We must be clear; concise; easy to understand. Both in writing and verbally.
8.Integrity:
Integrity plays a huge role in the success of your entrepreneurial journey. It directly contributes to the relationship and trust you build with anyone involved in the business from investors to team members to customers. Not a single business transaction can be done without a sufficient amount of trust.But, it’s more than that…Being an entrepreneur with integrity is not just about starting a business and making a profit in the long run and serving people. Along the journey of innovating, creating, managing, selling and marketing, you will soon pick up a double-edged skill: the ability to persuade.Having the mindset of bringing value to people around you and society should be a part of your vision. When you’re able to plant an idea and create an impact in someone else’s mind and life, use that ability wisely.
9.Resourcefulness:
When asking what’s the biggest challenge to start and run a successful business, most people will give you these answers.
- Capital and fund
- Labor and manpower
- Knowledge and skills
- Connection
- Luck
- And more
But is it true? It’s true if the person who starts or run the business is not resourceful, and not flexible.
Starting a business and making a business a success are two totally different things. So you need to be very resourceful, you have to be willing to learn, improve and take advantage of all the resources that are available to you. All the information you need is out there, but you need to go out and find it. Make Google, your new best friend.
10. Deal with failures:
Richard Branson said it best: “Few first ventures work out. It is how a beginning entrepreneur deals with failure that sets that person apart. In fact, failure is one of the secrets to success, since some of the best ideas arise from the ashes of a shuttered business.”
If you understand that failure is part of being an entrepreneur, you will take those failures and use them as learning experiences. Real world experience, even failing, will teach you more than you would ever learn in a classroom.
11.Adaptable and flexible:
If entrepreneurs had the ability to see what was hiding around each turn it would make it much easier — but unfortunately that is not the case. There can be surprises around every corner, even with a well thought out plan and strategy.
Business is a survival game, you need to be adaptive. A real recent example is Blackberry, they were at the top of the the game before the iPhone came, and now they are almost out of business. Why? They were not willing to adapt to the market that was changing.
To be a real successful entrepreneur, you need to have a certain level of flexibility.
To be able to adapt, you need to be very honest with yourself when you see a problem or a mistake, tell yourself “this isn’t working” frankly and take immediate action to pivot. Always keep an open mind and willingness to learn from your mentors (if you have one), role models, competitors and most importantly your customers.
12.Money management:
It doesn’t matter if you are bootstrapping your business, using personal credit cards or have millions of dollars from investors — you must have excellent money management skills. Poor financial decisions, such as overspending or allocating funds to less important tasks can quickly ruin a business.
Have a clear financial map drawn out — what are your essential monthly expenses and obligations? How much can you allocate monthly for items that fall outside of the “essential” category? Stick to your plan and make sure all founders and shareholders are on the same page. Money problems can destroy a business the same way they can ruin a marriage.
Darpan Sachdeva is the CEO and Founder of Nobelthoughts.com. With a long time passion for Entrepreneurship, Self development & Success, Darpan started his website with the intention of educating and inspiring like minded people all over the world to always strive for success no matter what their circumstances.To keep going and never get disheartened and learn from every adversity.
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