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There are three qualities inherent in all successful entrepreneurs. 1. AdaptabilityIn most cases, what you start out to do will not be exactly what you're doing when you are ultimately successful. As you roll out your enterprise, you'll discover that things you expected to work well don't work at all. You'll stumble into things that you didn't expect to work that will. You'll see others in your industry doing things that will work well for your organization and you'll copy them. You'll have to be able to adapt. Related: The 7 Attributes of People Who Get Things Done Even if you are one of the lucky ones and your initial ideas work flawlessly, the world will change around you. We know an entrepreneur who went into business as a residential realtor. When the market for home sales collapsed, he morphed his business into property management since the two businesses require similar skills, but are counter-cyclical. We've been forced to morph our own businesses multiple times. Polly started a business in 2002 to help small businesses remain compliant with changing employment laws. She planned to perform human-resource audits. There was a fatal flaw in her plan. Most small-business owners don't want to know that they are out of compliance. After several months, she shifted to a focus on organizational effectiveness and workforce development. When we started Whitestone Partners, we had a much broader focus. We tried to do everything. However, over the years we have narrowed our offerings, specializing in helping business manage the transitions from micro to small and from small to midsize. Being adaptable is critical. If you are going to be an entrepreneur, the only thing that will be constant is change. You will have to adapt or see your enterprise swallowed up by a rising tide of change. A close second to adaptability is persistence. Related: 5 Key Characteristics Every Entrepreneur Should Have 2. PersistenceInevitably, you will encounter bumps in the road. You'll lose big customers. Good employees will leave your company, and some may become competitors. The government will change regulations, usually making things more complex. To succeed, you will have to be willing to persist through difficult times. Nothing can take the place of persistence and you can't succeed without it. In addition to the willingness to persist, you will need the financial wherewithal to persist. You'll need a cash reserve that will see you through the lean times. When considering the launch of a business assume that everything will take twice as long and cost twice as much as you expect. If you can't afford this, delay the launch of your enterprise. Conservatism in the planning stage is often a lifesaver down the road. 3. Work ethicThe third necessary skill is the ability and the willingness to work very, very hard. Running a small business is difficult. Your days will be much longer than eight hours. If your week starts on Monday, you'll pass 40 hours on Thursday, but you won't slow down. You'll be on call 24/7. Success as an entrepreneur requires hard, hard work. Running a small business is filled with challenges, but if you are adaptable, have the willingness and the wherewithal to persist, and are willing to work very hard, you will greatly improve your odds of success. Adaptability, persistence and hard work, these are the keys to success in small business, but they are three important attributes no matter what your endeavor. Related: The 7 Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs
The road to entrepreneurship is often a treacherous one filled with unexpected detours, roadblocks and dead ends. There are lots of sleepless nights, plans that don’t work out, funding that doesn’t come through and customers that never materialize. It can be so challenging to launch a business that it may make you wonder why anyone willingly sets out on such a path. Despite those hardships, every year thousands of people embark on an entrepreneurial journey, determined to bring their vision to fruition and fill a need they see in society. They open brick-and-mortar businesses, launch tech startups, or turn an idea into a new product or service. With the right motivation, inspiration and game plan, you can be a successful entrepreneur, too. What entrepreneurs doAn entrepreneur identifies a need that no existing business addresses and determines a solution for that need. Entrepreneurial activity includes developing and starting a new business and implementing a business marketing plan, often with the end goal of selling the company to turn a profit. An entrepreneur who regularly launches new businesses, sells them and then starts new companies is a serial entrepreneur. Whether a business owner should be considered an entrepreneur often depends on whether they created the business, and other legalities. That said, any founder of a successful household-name business began as an entrepreneur. If you want to become an entrepreneur yourself but you worry you don’t have the money for it, finances don’t have to stop you from achieving your career goals. Many entrepreneurs seek financing options that bypass traditional banks, like funding from angel investors that provide entrepreneurs with capital to cover startup costs (or, later, expansion costs). If you can demonstrate a high growth potential for your business, you can also turn to a venture capitalist, who offers capital in exchange for receiving equity in your company. Examples of successful entrepreneursMany people whose names no one knew decades ago exemplify entrepreneurial success today. Here are just a few examples:
The motivations of successful entrepreneursWhat motivates entrepreneurs to venture forth when so many others would run in the opposite direction? Though each person’s inspiration is nuanced and unique, many entrepreneurs are spurred by one or more of the following motivators:
See more reasons entrepreneurs start businesses and the traits that lead to entrepreneurial success. Advice from successful entrepreneursIf you’re contemplating whether to become an entrepreneur, first identify which of the above motivators serve as your guiding forces. Then, consider if you have the specific character traits and attributes that will enable you to thrive as an entrepreneur. To help you determine if you’ve got what it takes, here’s what 25 company founders and business leaders told us about what they think makes a truly successful entrepreneur:
How to become an entrepreneurThere’s no single path to becoming a successful entrepreneur. A lot of it can come down to having the right skills, mindset and ideas at the right time to resonate with the public. However, there are a few things you can do to increase your chances of starting a thriving business.
The value of entrepreneurshipBeing a successful entrepreneur isn’t an easy path. It can often take far more hard work, ingenuity and perseverance than the typical 9-to-5 job and yet still not pan out in the long run. However, succeeding as an entrepreneur can be one of the most rewarding experiences, because you’re doing so on your own terms and affecting society at the same time. For many, those rewards are invaluable. There’s never a guarantee that an idea will succeed, but you’ll still see many people starting their own businesses anyway. After all, failure is just as uncertain. Isaiah Atkins and Paula Fernandes contributed to the writing and reporting in this article. Source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article. Which of the following has not been identified as a personal characteristic that entrepreneurs need to succeed?Thus, a follower is not a characteristic of an entrepreneur. D is the correct option.
Which of the following is not a personal characteristics of an entrepreneur?thus, follower is not a characteristic of entrepreneur.
What are 4 characteristics of entrepreneurs?4 Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. Ambition and self-confidence.. Willingness to take a leap of faith.. Ability to learn from mistakes.. Trust in and respect for the team.. What are the characteristics of a successful entrepreneur?7 Characteristics of a Successful Entrepreneur. You have a clear vision. ... . You believe in yourself and your abilities. ... . You take calculated risks and aren't afraid to fail. ... . You are relentless in your pursuit of success. ... . You focus on solutions rather than problems. ... . You have passion for your work.. |