It should come as no surprise that not everyone is suitable for a life as an entrepreneur. For some, however, it seems to be their destiny in life. But what are the characteristics of a true entrepreneurial personality? Here are 7 characteristics that good entrepreneurs have in common.
Vision
Every entrepreneur needs a business idea. And not just any idea: ideally it should be something new, innovative: something that creates and opens up completely new markets. Successful entrepreneurs are able to see fresh business opportunities, ideas and applications where most simply pass by. They pick up the idea, develop it further, become convinced of it.
In his head an entrepreneur can already imagine his product, the people who need and will buy it and what needs it will satisfy. Not only that: he manages to communicate this idea to the outside world in such a way that others are captivated. This is called a vision, and it is essential in entrepreneurial life.
A knack for practical things
To work out a vision, you have to be a bit dreamy. Entrepreneurs are unusual people in that they combine this fantasy with hardcore pragmatism. They know exactly what they have to do in order to realise their ideas.
From drawing up the budget to marketing activities; from adjusting the strategy to ordering office supplies; the entrepreneur has a knack for all of this, because he has both feet on the ground.
Discipline
Do you know a successful entrepreneur who strolls to his desk every day at 10 am after a long sleep – only to stop again 4 hours later? Or who surfs the internet for hours every day and wastes his time? I think not.
Entrepreneurship is hard work and usually means long working days, the occasional working weekend – sometimes even cancelled plans. But that doesn’t bother true entrepreneurs. Even in difficult times or with boring tasks, you watch them simply move on, one step at a time. They have goals, they believe in what they are doing and they know that only iron discipline will lead to the realisation of these goals.
Motivation
The entrepreneurs I know are not the kind of entrepreneurs who suffer months of depression or who just lie around on their lazy backs. No – they have far too much to do for that! Now and then they have a bad day like everyone else in the world – a bad week even. Afterwards, things always pick up quickly, because these are optimistic and driven people.
For entrepreneurs, their business is their life – private and professional have long since become one. They are constantly thinking about how they can move their business forward, reach a new target group (and thus increase their market share). The strong identification with what they are doing quickly lifts them out of any slack.
Resilience
There are times when everything goes wrong in business. A project fails, a financial loss occurs, the best employee quits and goes to the competition. These setbacks are part of business life.
If you are more the type to brood for months over your own mistakes, the business life will be a rude awakening for you. Good entrepreneurs may need a few days after a business failure to work through what happened and learn the necessary lessons. After that, it’s “back to business! They are resilient and come back after every setback – perhaps even stronger than ever before.
A small consolation on the side: the more defeats you have to take in your (professional) life, the fitter you become in it. You look back at your previous breakdowns and notice: the world will never end – only go on.
Risk taking
By definition, entrepreneurship is a risky venture. You leave the safe environment of a permanent job to realise your dreams. In doing so, you are putting your savings from many years at risk – without any guarantee that you will ever be able to make a living from self-employment.
If this leaves you sleepless in bed night after night with worries – life as an entrepreneur will be quite exhausting. Successful entrepreneurs think about risk, of course – but they focus their thoughts mainly on their big goals and do not let themselves be beaten. No risk, no fun!
Self-confidence
Some entrepreneurs simply do not seem to be afraid. Or they handle their fears so confidently that their nerves look intact from the outside. Projects in a new field, unexpected events… Entrepreneurs are always confronted with the unknown.
But where most people prefer to avoid a potential overload, entrepreneurs say “yes” to it…For them, the new task is not a threat, but an exciting new opportunity to develop themselves further – and perhaps to earn good money. They are open-minded people, they start from the basic assumption that they can do everything and will always find a way. With such a healthy self-confidence you can move mountains.
