Entrepreneurs are not a homogeneous group and hence attributing their success or failure to a set of characteristics might be difficult as well as open to challenges. People often have the notion that entrepreneurs are born with their natural affinity to innovation and an appetite for risk taking. Their success in businesses is simply a consequence of these inherent qualities. While one can argue that the product ideas of the likes of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Larry Page were enough to skyrocket their start-ups to hugely successful business empires; the newer breed of entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos are riding on the promise of smarter delivery and better consumer experience.
In the dynamic landscape of business, a few key traits form the fabric of their character.
Passion
An entrepreneur has to be passionate about their product or idea. Reaping the dividend of their business venture might be the ultimate motivator, but being able to live their passion everyday is what fuels them on during the initial trials and testing times.
Consumer insight
One might have an idea for a new product or service but it must be deliberated whether there exists a market for it or can it generate future consumer demand. An ability to survey the current consumer trends and forecast the projected demand for the new product or service would be invaluable.
Conviction
An entrepreneur with a strong belief in his idea and vision will be adept to sell it to various groups ranging from reluctant investors to first time customers. Conviction also endows upon you the confidence to heed only the good from the avalanche of advice mounted upon you from all quarters.
Networking
The benefits of having an amiable and extrovert personality cannot be emphasised enough. The ability to make a good impression on people goes a long way in securing the financing deal or making that first sale. A good news for introverted and shy people is that networking can now happen virtually through social media and might be quite effective for following up and keeping in touch. The success of your new endeavour weighs heavily of your network of friends and business acquaintances.
Ability to learn from failure
An entrepreneur must always be prepared to fail. If he is able to treat a setback as a lesson learnt, he will be able to move forward with better understanding and preparation.
Resourcefulness
There will be occasions when one would be expected to make the most of available resources. This attitude would help the business in the initial days of operation when resources are limited. A resourceful person is not only able to use sparse supplies sensibly but also find novel uses for them.
Other personality traits like ability to take risks, work hard, empathize, observe respectfulness, etc. are also important in the successful launch of a start-up. This article however chooses to focus only on the key qualities that help set apart the successful entrepreneurs from the crowd.
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