You Have Passion
Passion is easily the most common of the entrepreneurial qualities. Whether you start off rich or poor, educated or not, every business leader must be passionate. Even if you’re starting off in an area you feel is not your calling, it is crucial you follow through with your goals with passion. Take Cameron Johnson for example, a multimillionaire entrepreneur who made his money creating websites. “I realized after the printing business, as I moved on to other businesses, that it was a real passion of mine and I knew it’d guide me in life”, he says. Embarking on being an entrepreneur in any business will involve incredible levels of competition, and passion is often a deciding factor in pulling ahead.
You Work Hard. Very Hard.
Plain and simple, hard work is another completely pivotal ingredient to true success. While some breakthroughs might require timing or well informed decisions, nearly every challenge you face as an entrepreneur will require hard work. Don’t be afraid to truly immerse yourself in your goals, and get your hands dirty.
You Are Confident
Along the way to success, you are undoubtedly going to run into naysayers. Regardless of how intellectual or persistent your detractors are, an entrepreneur keeps going. Even if there are bumps along the road, confidence in an idea is among the crucial entrepreneurial qualities.
You Persevere
Hand in hand with confidence is perseverance. Another indispensable entrepreneurial quality, an entrepreneur must persevere under all conditions. Challenges are sure to arise on your way to success, but the ability to overcome them will set you apart from the rest. Entrepreneur Jan Koum, for example, is best known as the creator of WhatsApp, which was acquired by Facebook for $19 billion. Jan created the app at age 33, but first had to overcome a childhood of scarcity in the Ukraine. Additionally, after going to university, Jan was rejected from working for Facebook, shortly before creating WhatsApp. This is proof that working through difficult circumstances often comes immediately before success.
You Keep Your Mind Open
If you are looking to cultivate entrepreneurial qualities, another necessary one is open-mindedness. Often times, entrepreneurs’ most successful ventures come from unexpected sources. As an entrepreneur, you need to be willing to look outside the box.
You Have Courage
Sometime the challenges entrepreneurs face are downright terrifying. In order to succeed in an uneven, ever-changing atmosphere, entrepreneurs must be able to pursue good ideas and decisions, even when their gut screams no. Being able to overcome fear is a sometimes daily skill an entrepreneur must use.
You Are A Forward Thinker
Much like keeping your mind open, another crucial entrepreneurial quality is forward thinking. To be successful as a leader, one must pursue ideas that bring them into the future. Once a need is obvious, other businesses will be eager to fill it. By thinking into the future, entrepreneurs identify opportunities before others. Self-made mogul Jessica Huie, for example, felt typical card companies ignored racial diversity. She created a card company to fill the gap, and quickly found success. By identifying a need others didn’t see, Jessica moved forward. In pursuing opportunities first, an entrepreneur can start a step ahead of competitors.
You Ask For What You Want
Whether it’s an improved contract or a start up investment, entrepreneurs eagerly go after what they want. Don’t wait around for others to show interest in your ventures, entrepreneurs go after what they need. An entrepreneur must know what will drive their business forward, and actively pursue it. As an entrepreneur, by simply asking for what you want, you will be more likely to find it.
Vision
Along with being forward thinking, entrepreneurs tend to have a strong vision. By knowing what you want, from beginning to end, you will be better able to break your venture down into achievable steps. Having a strong vision will also help inspire the people who partner with you and work for you. Just as crucial to a business’s success as a leader who knows where they’re going, are employees who eagerly pursue the dream too. Vision, and committing to your vision, are important entrepreneurial qualities.
You Are Flexible
Flexibility is another crucial entrepreneurial quality. As anyone knows, things don’t always go as planned. This is especially true in business, as leaders and entrepreneurs must be able to adapt. When something unexpected throws a wrench in your venture, an entrepreneur is responsible for getting things back on track. If you are willing to compromise and quickly adapt to new situations, you will be more likely to keep small bumps in the road small, instead of growing them into failures.
You Can Throw Out the Rule Book
While learning the rules is often the first step in becoming an expert, a successful entrepreneur knows when to break them too. A healthy disregard for the rules can sometimes make the difference between success and failure. Colin Thornton, a South African entrepreneur, started his successful company after dropping out of post-secondary school. Colin didn’t let leaving school hold him down however, and is now worth around $10 million. By ignoring the right rules when the time comes, you may be in a more advantageous position.
You Are An Expert At Money Management
No business or venture can be successful if more money is spent than earned. It’s absolutely necessary then, that an entrepreneur can manage money well. Especially if an entrepreneur is starting out with little funding, it’s likely a professional accountant will be too expensive. If you’re trying to improve your entrepreneurial skills, money management is a necessary key.
You Study
It doesn’t matter if you are formally educated or not, an entrepreneur never stops learning. The better a person is informed, the better their ability to make strategic decisions. Whether you feel knowledgeable about your venture or not, new developments happen every day. Keeping utterly up-to-date on new techniques and competition is often the difference between moving forward and falling behind. Studying is another one of the crucial entrepreneurial qualities.
You Immerse Yourself in New Technology
Oftentimes, the best entrepreneurial opportunities lie in emerging markets, where there is less competition. Pulling ahead of the pack is often best achieved by concerning yourself with new technology. No matter the industry an entrepreneur pursues, there is undoubtedly new ways of doing things. Experiment with new technologies to deliver your business to your customers if you want to gain an edge.
You Are Ambitious
Ambition is another essential entrepreneurial quality. Not only will ambition bring you new opportunities, ambition is crucial for overcoming challenges. If you don’t have established goals as an entrepreneur, you are more likely to grow comfortable and settle for surviving, instead of thriving. Ambition is an entrepreneurial quality that provides momentum to your ideas and passion. Let your drive move you forward, and there’s no telling what you can achieve. Featured photo credit: Philippe Put via flickr.com
