Common Characteristics of an Entrepreneur

You are and always will be the cornerstone of your business, so it’s important to analyze your aptitude and abilities as objectively as possible. Many studies have been conducted in recent years to assess the characteristics of business owners or, in other words, what makes an entrepreneur an entrepreneur. The studies we’re about to discuss researched both successful and unsuccessful entrepreneurs and looked for the similarities and differences between them.

Let’s look at the characteristics that tend to pop up most often in entrepreneurs:

• Everyone’s Favorite Pal. Okay, maybe not exactly, but having strong interpersonal skills is important in business. That means being social, considerate, cooperative, and tactful. It also means you are cheerful and emotionally stable.
• A Maverick. Entrepreneurs do not enjoy more traditional employment. They prefer not to work under someone and may also feel restless in other authority hierarchies, such as in families, at school, or in dealing with “red tape.”
• Shooting for the Moon. Entrepreneurs feel a strong pull to move onward and upward. They desire to achieve success that is the direct result of their ingenuity and hard work. They are those people who “just don’t give up.”
• Stick-To-Itiveness. Part of your entrepreneurial success will entail showing initiative, pursuing your goals energetically, not shrinking in the face of adversity, and taking responsibility for your actions.
• Stubbornly Optimistic. Entrepreneurs tend to believe in themselves and their dreams even if no one else does. Hey, if you’re going to risk your money and time starting a business, you’d better believe in your own success!
• Think Tank for One. Being a good thinker involves your capacity for creative thought, your ability to analyze situations critically, and your knack for dreaming up ideas and then assessing them for merit.

If this sounds like you, it does not necessarily mean you will succeed as an entrepreneur, only that you are likely to start a business of your own. In fact, if you aren’t careful, some of the traits described above may actually be detrimental to your success. Opening a business requires more than just an entrepreneurial spirit; it also requires courage, lots of planning, hard work, and maybe even a pinch of luck. The more of these pieces you have in place, the more likely it is you will succeed as a business owner.

You may have noticed that “risk taker” isn’t on either list. Perhaps surprisingly, studies have shown that entrepreneurs often don’t differ from their employee counterparts in measures of risk avoidance. This may be due to the fact that entrepreneurs perceive risk differently; instead of seeing danger to be avoided, they see opportunities to be evaluated and potentially exploited.

Ronald Lorne Smith, Franchise Consultant