Characteristics often attributed to Entrepreneurs:

1. Confidence 22. Responsibility

2. Perseverance, determination 23. Foresight
3. Energy, diligence 24. Accuracy, thoroughness
4. Resourcefulness 25. Cooperativeness
5. Ability to take calculated risks 26. Profit orientation
6. Dynamism, leadership 27. Ability to learn from
mistakes
7. Optimism 28. Sense of power
8. Need to achieve 29. Pleasant personality
9. Versatility; knowledge of product, 30. Egotism
Market, machinery, and technology. 31. Courage
10. Creativity 32. Imagination
11. Ability to influence others 33. Perceptiveness
12. Ability to get along well with people 34. Toleration for
ambiguity
13. Initiative 35. Aggressiveness
14. Flexibility 36. Capacity for enjoyment
15. Intelligence 37. Efficacy
16. Orientation to clear goals 38. Commitment
17. Positive response to challenges 39. Ability to trust
workers
18. Independence 40. Sensitivity to
others
19. Responsiveness to suggestions & criticism 41. Honesty,
integrity
20. Time competence, efficiency 42. Maturity, balance
21. Ability to make decisions quickly

Entrepreneurs have personality traits that make them ideal people to

work for themselves. These same traits, while helpful as an
entrepreneur can be irritating and dangerous for normal on-the-job
relationships with bosses, managers, and supervisors.

1. Willingness to take risks. Being an entrepreneur is demanding.

Everything is a risk to someone who only depends upon themselves.
Entrepreneurs learn to take calculated risks. They can't throw
complete caution to the wind, but they are much more willing to take
a risk which seems within reason.

2. Ability to identify good business ideas. For an entrepreneur one of

the greatest abilities is that of identifying a good business idea. If a
person sees a good business idea, even if it is already being done,
just recognizing the idea validates the entrepreneur.

3. Determination and confidence. When every penny spent on an

endeavor belongs to you, you must believe in yourself. You can't half
believe in an idea, you must be determined and confident.

4. Single-mindedness. An entrepreneur must be focused. An

entrepreneur must be able to shut out distractions. Sometimes the
must pretend they are wearing blinders.

5. Willingness to put out whatever effort is needed. When you only

have yourself to depend on, you have to be willing to put forth
whatever effort is required to achieve success. If you won't work for
your success, who will?

Although in business, nothing is every 100% certain, if you have

these five attributes you might be entrepreneur material. If you have
some of these attributes, you might take the calculated risk and open
your own business. If you have none of these attributes, self-
employment would seem like the wrong career choice.

I came across a local magazine on Entrepreneurship last Saturday.

One of the articles which caught my attention was on the habits an
entrepreneur should have. To be honest, I could not remember
everything there…….so…… i’ll just merge what I am able to
remember, with my own personal opinion on the habits an
entrepreneur should have.

Creative - An entrepreneur needs to be creative and innovative.

His/her ability to create something new, or to modify something old
into something useful will be very crucial in the world of
entrepreneurship. The main point here is, be creative to provide value
to the customer.
Good leader - A successful entrepreneur needs to be a good leader.
He/she needs to know how to handle the staff as well as the
business/products. A good employment policy to retain the
company’s best people might be the entrepreneur’s only advantage
over his/her competitors.

Good communicator – The ability to deliver the right idea across in

a right way is always an important skill to have, not only to an
entrepreneur but to other people as well. Being a good communicator
will help the entrepreneur in sales/marketing, promoting teamwork,
effective discussion with the staff, etc.

Balanced life – Being an entrepreneur means leading a very busy

life. You will most probably be very occupied with your business, your
employees, your customers, etc….but you should never ever
abandon your personal life – your family and friends. Your family and
friends will always be there to support you when your business is not
in a good condition. Therefore, don’t turn away from them….neither
should you turn away from your business. Strike a balance.

Hardworking - Hardworking is the next attribute an entrepreneur

should have. An entrepreneur needs to work hard to improve
himself/herself constantly, to come out with new ideas, to try many
different things, etc.

Persistent - Persistent is the next nature of a successful

entrepreneur. An entrepreneur should always have the “never-say-
die” attitude. Failing once or twice, or even 99 times (like what
Thomas Alva Edison did) is no big deal. The main thing is to keep
carry on until you’ve succeeded.

Being an entrepreneur is nevery easy. Being a successful

entrepreneur is perhaps 10x more difficult than being a normal
entrepreneur. It might take a lot more than having the 7 attributes
above, in order to be successful in the world of entrepreneurship.

What do you think are the essential qualities or attributes of a

successful entrepreneur?

Dreamers and Doers - entrepreneurs are ultimately dreamers and

doers. They are always breaking new ground and developing new
ideas. If you have a dream or a vision it becomes so much easier to
put in the effort required to get where you want to be. I can picture in
my head right now how I want Dream fit to be in ten years' time. It
may not end up that way, but at least I have something to aim for. It
keeps me focused on looking out for opportunities and people who
may be able to help me achieve my vision.

Dedication and Commitment - entrepreneurs are dedicated and

committed to bringing their dreams to life, to turning them into reality.

Time and Support - being able to leverage your time is an important

skill to have or learn. My time was becoming a limiting factor in
Dreamfit's growth. I quickly realized that I had to get other people on
board to help me achieve my vision. You can accomplish your
dreams much faster with a team of ten people behind you rather than
trying to do it all on your own.

Inspiration and Belief - being able to inspire people is a vital quality

for achieving success. But to inspire people you need to have total
belief in what you are doing - be passionate about it, live it, breathe it,
and have lots of energy and enthusiasm. If you can get other people
half as excited as you are about your dream, you are halfway there.

Opportunity and Responsibility - it is important to give people the

opportunity to share in your vision and become a part of it. We give
the engineering students who work on our projects almost total
control over the direction of the project. They've got real
responsibilities and I place my trust in them. Even though mistakes
sometimes get made, you need to be open to that and accept that it
is part of the learning curve.

Communication and Networking - I consider having good

communication and interpersonal skills as essential qualities of a
successful entrepreneur. An integral part of running a successful
business involves networking with other people and being able to
communicate effectively with your clients, financiers and team
members.

These 12 attitude attributes can put you in the right mindset for
achieving entrepreneurial success.
Have passion for your business.
Work should be fun. Your passion will help you overcome difficult
moments and persuade people to work for you and want
to do business with you. Passion can't be taught. When it wanes, as it
surely will in difficult times, take some quiet time. Whether it be an
hour or a week, take inventory of all the reasons you started the
business and why you like being your own boss. That should renew
your passion.

1.
2. Set an example of trustworthiness.
People have confidence in trustworthy individuals and want to work
for them in a culture of integrity. The same is true for customers.

3. Be flexible, except with core values.

It's a given that your plans and strategies will change as time goes
on. This flexibility for rapid change is an inherent advantage of
small over large business. However, no matter the pressure for
immediate profits, do not compromise on core values
4. Don't let fear of failure hold you back.
Failure is an opportunity to learn. All things being equal, venture
capitalists would rather invest money in an individual who tried and
failed founding a company than in someone who never tried.

5. Make timely decisions.

It's okay to use your intuition. Planning and thought are good. But
procrastination leads to missed opportunity.

6. The major company asset is you.

Take care of yourself. Your health is more valuable than the most
expensive machinery or computer software for the company. You
don't have to choose between your family or your company, play or
work. Maintain your health for balance and energy, which will, in
turn, enhance your mental outlook.
7. Keep your ego under control.
Don't take profits and spend them on expensive toys to impress
others. Build a war chest for unexpected needs or opportunities.
This also means hearing out new ideas and suggestions no matter
how crazy they sound.

8.
 9. Believe.
You need to believe in yourself, in your company, and that you w

ill be successful. This confidence is contagious with your employees,

customers, stakeholders, suppliers and everyone you deal with.

10. Encourage and accept criticism graciously. Admit your

mistakes.
You need to constantly work on convincing your employees that
it's okay--even necessary--to state their honest opinions even it if
conflicts with the boss's opinion. Just stating it once or putting it in
a mission statement won't cut it for most people.

11. Maintain a strong work ethic.

Your employees will follow your lead. It will also help you beat your
competition by outworking them, particularly when your product or
service is very similar.

12. Rebound quickly from setbacks.

There surely will be plenty of ups and downs as you build
the business. Learn from the setbacks and move on. You can't
change the past.
13. Periodically get out of your comfort zone to pursue
something important.
Many times you will feel uncomfortable in implementing a needed
change in technology, people, mission, competing, etc. For the
company and you to grow personally, you sometimes have to step
out of your comfort zone.

Many organizational and leadership shortcomings can be overcome

or mitigated with the good attitudes described above. All can be
learned except passion, which comes from within. Take time out of
your hectic schedule to periodically reflect on these attributes. You
may be inspired to act.