Most people are longing to start their own businesses. But do they know what it takes to become successful entrepreneurs? What about you? Which characteristics of successful entrepreneurs do you bring in the business you have or you intend to begin? Before going any further into the details, let me define an entrepreneur as someone, who makes money by starting businesses with some kind of financial risk-taking involved. Is that what you are?
Well, every person joins business with various reasons. These reasons usually determine the performance of the business. I have discovered that many people think that success in business depends upon being highly educated, having lots of money and a supportive family. However, the bottom line of success in your business is motivation, fuelled by the desire to achieve and the enthusiasm to do your business. A highly motivated person tends to behave in a certain way that leads to success and it’s a distinguishing factor of all successful entrepreneurs. How motivated are you?
Through this article, allow me to share with you 15 characteristics of successful entrepreneurs that are fundamental to building a successful business. If you are aiming at succeeding in your business, then it’s high time you started acquiring the following behaviors.
1. BE AN INNOVATOR. To succeed you have to be creative. All successful entrepreneurs think a lot differently from ordinary people. They see things other people have not yet mirrored and are able to introduce new things and new ways of doing things.
2. LEARN TO SOLVE PEOPLE’S PROBLEMS. Successful entrepreneurs are problem solvers. They have the ability to identify specific problems of a given customer group, which require their products or services to be solved. As they solve their customers’ problems, they end up making money. Turning people’s problems into great opportunities is one of the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs.
3. BE AN INFORMATION SEEKER. There is no successful entrepreneur who is not hungry for knowledge. You have to get new knowledge, new information and new skills for you to become successful in what you are doing.
4. PERSISTENCE WILL HELP YOU TO SUCCEED. All successful entrepreneurs keep on and on no matter how hard the going may be. They are success-conscious and believe in succeeding despite all roadblocks. They believe that riches come only to those who work hard and long. Indeed! By working hard and consistently long, riches begin to power so quickly and in such a great abundance that you even wonder where they have been hiding during all those years of toiling.
5. LEARN TO SET GOALS. This helps them to know where they are going and how to go there systematically. Without setting goals you are like someone who is blindfolded and asked to shoot the target. You will never know where the target is and you will only be gambling.
6. COMMITMENT TO WORK. How committed are you to your work? Successful entrepreneurs are able to initiate and to pursue their work contracts to the end. They are self-driven and do not need anybody to drive them, to supervise them.
7. DEMAND FOR EFFICIENCY AND QUALITY. Demanding for efficiency and quality is one of the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs. They detest mediocrity and can never settle for that. They are able to achieve the desired results without wasting their energy. They always aim at offering goods and services of the highest quality.
8. BE HARD WORKING. Successful entrepreneurs are hard working people. They spend a lot of time, energy and other resources working on their businesses to achieve the desired results. They inspect to get what they expect. They think big and strategically.
9. AIM AT ACHIEVING YOUR GOALS AND DESIRES. All successful entrepreneurs are achievers. They do not give up when faced with a temporary defeat. They do not despair because they are highly motivated people. Whatever they put their hands and their minds on, they commit themselves to achieve it. Until they achieve it, they do not stop. Even after achieving it, they look forward to strengthen their achievements.
10. BE A RISK TAKER. Taking moderate risks is another characteristic of successful entrepreneurs. They don’t fear to take risks. FEAR to take risks discourages initiative, brings about uncertainty of purpose, destroys ambition, kills enthusiasm, destroys good reasoning and stops you from taking action. Besides, there is nothing you can engage yourself in without any risks involved.
For instance, by just driving your car to go to work, you risk getting involved in an accident. But if you already know it, you take precautionary measures to avoid getting an accident other than opting not to drive. That’s how successful entrepreneurs go about their business. They anticipate the risks involved and think of how to overcome them in case they manifested.
11. DESIRE TO BE INDEPENDENT. Desiring to become independent is one of the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs. They have a strong drive to be masters of their own life, to take their own decisions and to pursue their own destiny.
12. LEARN TO CONTROL YOUR OWN DESTINY. Successful entrepreneurs control their own destiny. They don’t lose focus of what they pursue. Having a strong desire to walk their road to riches is one of the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs. The end justifies the means.
13. BE DETERMINED. Successful entrepreneurs are so strong-minded that they do not give up despite any obstacles. They are always determined to transform their desires and thoughts into their monetary equivalent at any cost.
14. HAVE SELF-CONFIDENCE. Successful entrepreneurs don’t depend on luck. They are able to visualize and they believe in the attainment of their desires at all cost. Ability to visualize and to have faith in the attainment of your desires is an important factor in building your self-confidence.
Developing a high level of self-confidence is a key element in effective business management and success. You need to be sure of yourself to tackle the tasks at hand. You need to have high expectations of achieving success. If you think you can, then you can. But if you think you can’t, the chances are that you cannot. “Yes, we can”, is the winning formula President Obama applied to become president. You, too, can follow the same principle to become a successful entrepreneur.
15. Last but not least, BE CREDIBLE. Credibility is an important element to the success of any businessperson. In my article entitled “Personal Branding, A Key To Success In Your Business”, I emphasized the importance of credibility. Let me not overemphasize the same point but it’s the absolute truth that successful entrepreneurs are credible and honesty paves the way for them to succeed. Will this information help you?