Ideally, an Entrepreneur is someone who establishes his or her own business. The person does all the spadework. He sets up everything from scratch along with the dealing and glitches along the way.
There is no denying the fact that behind every successful company there is an entrepreneur. The one who started with a heart filled with hope to make it big one day.
Not everyone is able to succeed but that should not deter anyone who wishes to try running a business.
Right from a person running a grocery store to someone owning a tech startup, everyone falls under the ‘entrepreneur’ category. The end motive is to gain profit and keep the cash flowing.
Now, that you have an idea of what an entrepreneur is, let’s delve deeper and find out the traits you must have to be successful.
Characteristics of a Successful Entrepreneur
Being an entrepreneur, you have to work hard and take risks in order to grow and learn. These are roughly the basic requirements to be an entrepreneur; there is a lot more to the picture.
You can easily figure out if entrepreneurship is your cup of tea or not. It requires certain characteristics and if you have them, you are good to go!
Love for independence
Entrepreneurs love to be the masters of their own free will. They like to chalk out their plans and do not like to be bossed over by someone.
However, this does not mean that they have nobody to answer. There are clients to attend and they can be quite demanding at times. In short, entrepreneurs don’t want anyone’s interference in their work especially that of a boss.
Ability to handle risk
The ride of setting up and running your business is by no means going to be a smooth one! You will have to face a lot of ups and downs. There can be cash crunches and problems.
For example, you may struggle with finding clients for your products or services. If such situations sound scary, entrepreneurship is simply not for you.
There is always a certain amount of risk involved when you are running a business. You have to be a risk-taker and learn to save money for emergencies.
You cannot be extravagant or have a lavish lifestyle. There might arise a need to be able to live on minimal earnings when the tide is against you. (This is the mistake I made when I initially started and made good income).
Giving preference to the clients
A business thrives only when it has clients. It is quite evident that when you are not able to get more clients, you can’t make a profit.
You must understand this fact and give preference to your clients because they are ones that are going to ring your cash counters.
If you avoid paying attention to the customer’s problem, you might lose the business and suffer a loss.
Being decisive
An entrepreneur knows that every decision made by him will have its own implications, either positive or negative. Therefore, the long-term effect of every decision is gauged before going ahead with it.
In order to be successful in your business, you have to be pretty careful. Understand your business purpose and goals prior to making a decision.
Ability to be adventurous
You have to be adventurous when you want to reach somewhere nobody else has. To be successful, it is important that you find your own path.
This characteristic of moving away from the mainstream can take an entrepreneur to new heights. If you dare to be different, you will be rewarded well.
Willingness to learn
A man is a student for life as he keeps learning new things every now and then. However, some people are not willing to learn and that kind of nature is not suitable for an entrepreneur.
To be successful in your business, you should always be willing to learn. This will help improve the products you sell or the services you provide.
This will give you an edge over your competitors and keep you ahead in the race.
Ability to evolve over time
The needs of people changes over a period of time and in order to run a business successfully, one has to be in sync with them.
As an entrepreneur, you have to continuously keep readjusting yourself and the business as per the requirements of consumers at large.
Great selling capabilities
Though in my opinion, it is not that important, but it can be an added advantage. Being able to convince the customer into buying your product or hiring your service is something that not everyone can do.
If you have this trait, you can make it large in life as far as your business is concerned.
Why Do People Become Entrepreneurs?
Now after understanding what characteristics make a successful entrepreneur, there arises the million-dollar question – ‘Why people become entrepreneurs’?
There are plenty of reasons why some people don’t opt for the traditional route of becoming employees. Some of them are the following:
1. They have a creative mindset that is not for the corporate world
You need not be a rebel but your creativity simply does not let you conform to the monotony of a 9 to 5 job. Working under someone might not be a part of your temperament.
This is one main reason why you are inclined towards building something of your own even if it requires you to choose the road less traveled.
2. They are inclined to do something constructive
You would want to put forth your skills and build a product or service that makes the world a better place. As an entrepreneur, you can do this really well.
It is all about finding meaning in the things you do and working hard to give the world something better. A lot of people set up a business for this reason and have been quite successful throughout their journey.
It is all about exploring new avenues and satisfying your thirst for doing something constructive.
3. They want financial freedom
This is one genuine motive that leads most people to entrepreneurship. You would want to build an empire and earn lots of wealth so that you can retire like a king.
It may not be easy as it requires plenty of hard work over a period of time. However, when done the right way it is definitely possible.
4. They lack the qualification for conventional employment
Another solid reason that makes people opt for a business is the lack of academic qualifications to fit into a corporate job.
They step out to search for an opportunity for a decent livelihood and that takes them to entrepreneurship.
The fact is that each one of us has a special talent in us and if it is put to the best use, one can achieve a lot in life. Starting a business based on that talent will cover up your lack of qualifications in other areas.
You might have heard many entrepreneurs saying “turn your passion into profits”, didn’t you?
5. They want to be recognized
As an entrepreneur, if you are able to build a huge castle of success, people will want to follow your footsteps. They will look up to you and want their children to be like you.
If that is the kind of recognition and importance you want, entrepreneurship is the best thing for you.
6. They love to learn
The love for learning is a characteristic of an entrepreneur as discussed above. As an entrepreneur, you have a lot of scopes to learn new things every now and then.
People take this route in order to be able to sharpen their skills and knowledge periodically. You might as well discover something exciting while carrying on with your day to day tasks.
7. They have out-of-the-box ideas
One reason why people turn into entrepreneurs is that they have crazy ideas that can really be path-breaking. Entrepreneurship is like an opportunity to turn them into reality.
History has witnessed so many out-of-the-ordinary experiments turn into never-seen-before developments that have changed the world.
How to Become an Entrepreneur?
To become an entrepreneur there are certain things that you need to do. These are:
1. Choose your business idea
The first step is to always choose the right business idea. In order to be successful, your business idea has to be a good one but it need not be unique.
All these years, people have come up with many interesting ideas that were not thought by anyone else before.
It is okay to pick yours from the existing list. Many people do that and there is nothing wrong with it. However, you have to add your own creativity to make it a little different so that you can shine in the competition.
2. Do your research
The idea you have chosen can be set up only after you have done a sufficient amount of research. You have to analyze various factors before you jump to a conclusion.
A proper feasibility study needs to be carried out before you go ahead with the project. Your research should cover all the aspects of the potential business plan and give you an idea of how things will turn out to be.
Study your target audience and find out what their likes and dislikes are. Get to know the details about their buying power and status.
Find whether they are willing to shell out money for the product you are about to sell or the service you are going to provide. You can then work more on your idea and bring better results.
3. Develop a business plan
Developing a business plan well before you swing into action is a great thing to do. It will help you in the long run especially when you start hiring employees under you.
4. Construct a network
You would need the assistance of a lot of people when you start a business. Right from investors, bankers and lawyers to accountants and vendors, you will have to build a strong bond with all of them.
You can do so by getting in touch with them personally or by attending relevant events and joining groups.
5. Carry out a test
Before you start out with full fanfare, it is advised to go in for a test initially. This will make it easier to rectify your mistakes. Even if you are distributing free samples to consumers, simply go ahead.
It will give you a rough idea of their response to your product and perhaps even get them interested in it.
The biggest pro of carrying out a test is that you can get close to customers and win their hearts. You will be rewarded with word of mouth advertising.
6. Arrange the finance
Every business needs money and you have to arrange finance from different sources. Getting money for a budding business is difficult.
If you manage to get it now, you will be able to get it easily later when your product gets launched and starts selling well. You will have to get in touch with investors and bankers to get the financing done.
7. Get the business to new heights
Use the money that has been invested to take the business to another level so that you get the highest returns. Consider expansion so that it reaches new markets and you earn a heavy profit.
Fuel your growth by hiring more employees and probably take over other firms. This may take several years but you have to set your target high.
The Bottom Line
In conclusion, it can be said that entrepreneurship is not for everyone as it requires certain traits and characteristics. Once you feel that you have the caliber in you, you can go for it.
You need to chalk out everything, work hard and proceed in a systematic manner. Over a period of time, you will reap the fruits of your hard work and take your business to a different level.