Do You Carry These Successful Entrepreneur Characteristics?

by Rafi Chowdhury

April 5, 2016

by Rafi Chowdhury

April 5, 2016

Do You Carry These Successful Entrepreneur Characteristics?

Being an entrepreneur is not easy. They’ve to go through the challenging phase of life where most of the people quit but those who don’t live the life of Entrepreneur.

When you look at the successful startups those who actually made it big in the industry, you’re most of likely to find the similarities between all of them like passion, approach, timing; team.

Some people look with excitement as they try to get their subsidiary office setup but, no one can deny the fact that those all startup owners struggled in their initial days, they failed, they got criticized; most of the times the financial problem. But, anyhow they managed to survive it that’s why they are ruling the market with their services/products.

Though there is no “one size, fits all” theory for entrepreneurship, but a few Entrepreneur Characteristics‘ guidelines may benefit those with a good idea to become successful entrepreneurs. You may even find that you prefer to work solo, meaning solopreneur courses might be a big help to you. The following insights can help you to improve your entrepreneur skills by teaching you what entrepreneur characters you require for making it BIG in your life.

Contents

1. Entrepreneurs are The Decision Makers & Executers

The Entrepreneurial Decision-Making process is the foundation of a successful startup and is natural, logical approach entrepreneurs possess to reach an informed decision and achieve their goals & success.

The decision-making process is the most important process and stands FIRST in the list of entrepreneur characteristics. There could be a different process for everyone to make the decision and execute in a long way but all have the same approach: a decision that will help the business to stand out in the market and crowd.

These are the following steps that involve during the decision-making process.

Discover the problem – First of all. You need to discover the problem that will come in your way while executing the plans.
Analyze the problem. After you find the possible problems that will become a stone in your path, you’ve to prepare a solution that will get you rid out of that problem.
Find possible solutions. This is the step when you’ve to begin brainstorming all potential solutions for a given problem, or problem you want to solve with that solution.
Select the best solution for the Application. Now that you have got a list of solutions, you’ve to pick up the best solution from your blueprint that will solve the problem for all possible problems.
Executing the Plan. You can’t talk about the decision-making process without the executing sub-process within it. The job is not completed until you don’t execute what you have decided.

As you can see, it’s not an easy process. Therefore, it’s important for you to make the right decisions concerning the employment of the required resources for the business. You must also make decisions on systems and processes to be applied in the production process.

This way you will be able to make a decision because you’ll have a list of ideas to understand what you’ve to do on your entrepreneurial journey, if you’re stuck on what to do, you could always have a look into the various products to sell on Shopify or on eBay. This is an idea to get you thinking of the next money-making business! Moreover, it will give you a crystal clear picture of what you’ve to focus on to make a buzz around your industry. So, learn to make a decision and find out how to execute them.

Also read: Do You Carry These Successful Entrepreneur Characteristics?

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2. No Business Without Blueprint

Business Blueprint is a vital component of starting and growing a successful business. One can’t just start a business without a blueprint. If you want your company to rise in the industry then, a business blueprint is a must have thing.

Although time is a concern for making a strategic plan for your business, however, the time you spend building a proper business blueprint helps you in the long run and helps you to reach your goals faster.

So, create this habit and make it permanent in your entrepreneur characteristics diary. The key ingredients every entrepreneur must contain are:

Expectation: You need to understand what customers are expecting from you. You just can’t think to launch your startup until & unless you’ve something useful for your customers. Living up to the expectations is the best way to leverage the growth hacks.

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Even if you’re going to provide the services/products that already exist at a cheap rate still people will not attract towards you. You’ve to come up with service that has something that can help people to resolve their problems.

Risk/Rewards: Let’s be honest, entrepreneurship is all about taking risks; if you don’t, you might won’t be able to become a successful entrepreneur. So, it’s necessary for you to take things practically and look forward to risk and rewards, both sides of the coin.

Let’s put it this way, Apple’s owner Steve Jobs came up with a touch screen mobile. It was literally impossible to believe that we could do all the stuff just by touching the screen but at the same time, it could be a great failure because it was a pretty unfamiliar concept in the beginning.

People had doubts that, it will be hard to keep this touch phone safe; it will be hard to operate it but with the time everything changed and as of now iPhone is among the top brands in the word.

Here is a quote by Steve Jobs that will motivate you if you’re also willing to do something new & change the things forever.

“People with passion can change the world for the better.”

Engagement: For some people engaging with others come natural and easy. For you, it might be harder. Using a model can make it easier and more effective when engaging with others whether customers, colleges, suppliers or other stakeholders.

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The most effective model is the one that works for you. I have looked at business engagement models and summarized some core elements that lead to effective engagement for mutual benefit. Here is a descriptive quote from bestpracticehub

Be clear what purpose you have. Be IT, let your behaviour communicate IT
Listen to all there is to hear, be accepting
Consider the wider environment, what filters does it bring?
Probe with empathy, respect and curiosity to validate your understanding
Wait until asked, then share your views
Learn first – Be curious, what is their purpose?

Smart hiring: smart hiring is a part of a business blueprint. Use a hiring assessment tool such as ones developed by Myers-Briggs, Business DNA, or Hogan. And, ask candidates do a small project to prove their skills. A financial consulting firm requires candidates to present a business valuation before offering them a position.

So, evaluate your hiring process. Consider what you need to make it more efficient & hire passionate candidates only. You may even benefit from incorporating procedures, similar to these Mississippi background checks, into your hiring process as well. Even though you should probably do it anyway, knowing everything there is to know about potential candidates before hiring them can help you to narrow down the field of applicants further. So the bottom line is, you don’t just hire people with self-confidence, you hire people who are smart, passionate, and who have passed all of your other requirements, like the background checks.

3. Entrepreneurs are Passionate about Their Work

Passion is an essential ingredient in an entrepreneur’s journey. One can’t simply build a company worth millions without passion. We all know entrepreneurs have to work late at night for success, to understand their market, the only thing that keeps them going is passion, at that time.

Can you imagine a person starting a business without passion and interest? No, you can’t. You’ll face many obstacles; you’ll fail but the only thing that will keep you going will be PASSION. So, make sure to possess this character in your entrepreneur characteristics.

How Passion Helps?

Entrepreneurs who convey passion are more persuasive, motivated, have larger social networks and more social capital. As a result, they have more income, sales revenue, and growth in sales and earnings compared with entrepreneurs who are less passionate. Therefore, passion is critical to an entrepreneur’s success.

If you have passion, you will be very dedicated to success, and you will discover your way to success with diligence, determination, hard work, and insight-driven by your passion. Passion will lead to superiority, which will result in success.

4. Adaptability in The Blood

All entrepreneurs need adaptability character for the long run of business. A person with high adaptability always manages to find a way that can lead his/her business to the next level.

If you’ve low adaptability & not flexible enough then, you’ll not survive in the long run. Someone will crush your business because it’s a fast & ever-changing world, so you’ve to keep your eyes open and keep working on your services/products from time to time.

It’s not about what you think about your products, it’s about what your customers think. You may be #1 in your business but if you’re not upgrading your services/products time to time then, your business will be kicked out.

Okay, do you want a really good example?

Okay, you’re looking pretty interested. So, let me share a scene that tells why adaptability is very important.

In September 2013, NOKIA announced that Microsoft had acquired them in a deal valued at $7.17 billion. At the time, Nokia’s CEO Stephen Elop ended his speech with the following words.

We didn’t do anything wrong, but somehow, we lost.

In a Linkedin blog post by Ziyad Jawabra, he pointed that while Nokia technically did nothing wrong, it was their refusal to change and learn new things that ultimately lead to their demise. Jabra wrote:

“They missed out on learning, they missed out on changing, and thus they lost the opportunity at hand to make it big. Not only did they miss the opportunity to earn big money, but they also lost their chance of survival.”

So, What The Intake?

You’ve to be adaptable. You need to keep an eye on your competitors and always stand first among them otherwise, it won’t take much to get pulled out from the industry.

5. Expert at Promoting & Selling

Product promotion is one of the constraints for getting your brand in front of the public and attracting new customers. There are infinite ways to promote a product or service. Some companies use more than one method while others may use different methods for different marketing purposes. Despite your company’s product or service, a strong set of promotional tactics can help position your business in a favorable light with not only current customers but new ones as well.

So, if you want to be an entrepreneur you need to work on your marketing skills and need to get involved in stuff that teaches how to promote and sell your product/service convincingly. Every Entrepreneur goes through the following questions, so does you.

How are your competitors positioning themselves?
What specific attributes does your product have that your competitors don’t?
What customer needs does your product fulfill?
Is there anything unique about the place of origin?

6. Financial Planning & Management

Entrepreneurs know the benefits of personal financial planning and know-how to manage their personal finances. Successful entrepreneurs realize this obligatory money management requirement and plan for present and future financial obligations.

Even after the millions of profits, entrepreneurs keep a complete handle on cash since it’s the most important aspect of business and entrepreneur characteristics.

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Learn Financial Planning and Strategy

Financial planning and strategy vary depending on the type of company you’re starting, but the necessary tools are relatively similar.

Before developing an economic plan, entrepreneurs need to ask the right questions.

How much money is needed for the business, both now and in the future?
Where will the cash come from – sales, investor financing, crowdfunding?
What goals will you achieve raising money?

So, if you’re going to start with a new venture, then you’ve to keep these points in consideration. Don’t ignore financial management otherwise, your business will get messed up. Set up your goals and investing goals too so that you can see the net profit in your business.

7. Entrepreneurs Learn From Their 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.”

Entrepreneurs understand that failure is the part of life. How you can learn all the aspects of business without trying them out, few will work out and many don’t. However, you’ll understand what is best for your business.

Failure will also teach you that everybody’s definition of success is different and will evolve over the course of our careers. Here is a great quote from great Thomas Edison which will motivate you if you have got a fear of getting failed.

8. Understand Their Customer’s Behavior

It’s vital to understand what consumers want from your products/services. To understand what consumers want, you need to keep in touch and get involved in the world of mouth marketing.

The companies must understand customer’s behavior in order to generate products that will be embraced and purchased. For companies who dedicate millions in currency to invest in goods and services, knowing about consumer behavior takes a great deal.

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enotes has discussed why understanding the consumer’s behavior is crucial. Here are the few points that elaborate this process briefly

1. Consumer or buyer behavior is the process by which individuals decide what, when, from whom and how much to buy.

2. Consumer behavior studies make to understand the physical, psychological, and social behavior of consumers.

3. Psychological factors profoundly influence consumer behavior.

4. Marketers cannot change the behavior of the consumers although can manufacture or design products to satisfy the consumers.

5. The consumer behavior changes according to the type of product, for example, the buyer behavior of consumers towards cars highly differs from the purchase behavior of cleaning products at home.

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The home business owner (also known as a solopreneur) can actually reply to phone calls, get to know consumers, provide personal attention and win over repeat business by doing so. It’s a researched fact that maximum business (80 percent) will come from repeat customers rather than new clients. Therefore, along with trying to draw newcomers, the more you can do to woo your regular customers, the better off you will be in the long run and personalized listening is very much appreciated and cherished in the modern high tech world.

So bear in your mind, always give priority to your potential customers be it existing ones or an upcoming one. This entrepreneur characteristic is the key ingredient to building a successful company.

9. Entrepreneurs are Risk Takers

We all know that entrepreneurs are well-known for taking calculated risks. In fact, they are crazy; they can take any risk to stand up their business. Even when you Google what is Entrepreneur is, you’ll see this characteristic is pretty much highlighted.

Entrepreneurship is the willingness to take risks and develop, organize and manage a business venture in a competitive global marketplace that is constantly evolving. Entrepreneurs are pioneers, innovators, leaders and inventors

As you can see, Risk-taking is nearly synonymous with entrepreneurship. To begin and establish your own business, you’ll have to put your career, personal finances, and even your mental health at stake.

Here are the three points that always come as a risk factor in an entrepreneur’s journey.

Sacrificing personal resources

Few entrepreneurs are able to originate their ventures relying entirely on external funding. That normally means a collection of angel investor contributions, government grants and loans, and results from crowdfunding campaigns. But many entrepreneurs also have to dive into their own bank accounts and personal savings to get things started.

You may not need to liquidate your nest egg completely, but you will have to front at least some personal money, and that means ditching, or, at least, diminishing your safety net.

Trusting The Employee

When you first begin a business, you will not have a full team of employees working for you. Rather, you’ll apparently have a small, tight-knit group of people working tirelessly together in an attempt to get things up and running.

You’ll have to put an unbelievable amount of trust in them, especially if they have extraordinary skills that are troublesome to find and are willing to start work at a lower salary than the industry standard.

For example, if you hire a single, experienced lead developer to work on your product over the course of a few months, you’ll need to have absolute trust in their ability to get the job done on time.

Relying on cash flow

Even if you have a line of credit, securing a regular cash flow is challenging and stressful. You can locate yourself for a productive year but still struggle with the day-to-day requirement if your revenue doesn’t match or exceed your costs in a timely manner.

Bills can add up quickly, and if you don’t have sufficient revenue to maintain your outgoing cash flow, you could run short of money for paychecks or be forced to dip into emergency funds. Be prepared to address it daily, or at least, weekly.

10. Entrepreneurs are Good at Building Relationships

Building a relationship with everyone is an important task be it for business purposes then. Entrepreneurs are often good at building the relationship because it helps them to market their services/products.

You need to learn how to build a relationship with your co-workers & also with influencers in your industry because you represent your business and the better to picturise yourself the better it will be for your business.

Why is Building Relationship Important?

We know people often tend to be busy, make sure you always have a reason to meet. If you don’t, you can still stay in touch remotely. Ask a quick question over email. People will feel honor that you’re viewing them as a specialist and will be delighted to provide advice.

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You can also interact with people on social networks or comment on their blogs. You can keep in touch with your customers through various social medias like Facebook & Twitter. You will get to see what your customers want from you. Moreover, you’ll get complaints that will help you to make your products/services better.