Seven Key Qualities of Successful Entrepreneurs

A recent poll conducted by Forbes magazine shows that majority

of its readers would prefer to become a billionaire rather than

a Nobel peace prize winner, a great scientist or a famous athlete.

There is no secret that most of the average people dream about

getting rich albeit very few makes any real effort to become one.

According to statistics, more than 100 thousand people become

millionaires each year in the United States alone! Overwhelming

majority out of them is self-made and owners of business. This

means, if you would like to pursue your goal of becoming rich,

you have to start your own venture.

Becoming an entrepreneur is not an easy task! There are certain

qualities that are absolutely necessary if you would like to

become successful in your business ventures. Some of these

qualities are built-in parts of your inherent personality, and

some of them get developed over time. Knowing these

characteristics and identifying your weak ones – those, which

need strengthening – will, eventually, help you become a

successful entrepreneur.

1. Common Sense

Studies show that most successful businessmen consider common

sense as the foundation of their success. Common sense is defined

as an ability to make sound judgments on the issues, which you

encounter in everyday situations.

Good judgment depends on acquired knowledge and past experience.

The combination of these two creates necessary prerequisites in

developing common sense in a person. Common sense allows you to

understand complex issues in simpler terms and get into the core

of a problem.

2. Specialized Knowledge of your field

It is easier to start a successful business, if you have deep

knowledge of the business field that you decide to pursue. About

half of all home-based start-ups are launched by people who decide

to use the knowledge, which they gained from their previous work

experience of a particular niche area.

Philip Green, a billionaire, who made his fortune in garments

retailing, claims that corner stone of his success is his knowledge

of rag trade. He, presumably, can price a fabric simply by rubbing

it between his fingers. Just by looking at a rack of coats he can

predict which ones won’t sell next season. That’s the kind of

knowledge required in order to become successful in

entrepreneurship.

Around 45 percent of all start-ups fail to survive more than two

years. One of the main reasons is many entrepreneurs do not

accumulate needed industry knowledge before jumping into business

world.

3. Self-confidence

Self confidence is a key entrepreneurial skill for success. It is

easy to become demoralized, frustrated and resentful if you lack

self-confidence.

Self-confidence is concerned with how a person feels about his

ability. A successful entrepreneur believes in his abilities. He is

not scared to explore un-chartered territories, take risk and take

difficult decisions.

Self-confidence, however, is not a personal trait that either you

have or you don’t. A person can have high self-confidence in one

situation and totally lack in another. This is one of those skills

that can be developed by training.

4. Ability to get things done

Successful entrepreneurs are persistent and hardworking. They

master self-discipline to such extent that if a work is important

and related to their goals, they will, eventually, complete it.

Getting things done is the vital link between motivations and their

outcome. At times, entrepreneurs force themselves to choose work

over fun, a boring job against a pleasant one, working on tax

papers rather than reading a glamour magazine. This requires a

self-control that many people simply fail to develop in them.

5. Creativity

Creativity is the ability to use your insights and come up with

new solutions to old problems, get things done in a different way

or find a totally different approach for conventional things to

work together. Entrepreneurs need creative thinking ability

virtually in everything. Each new product, each new marketing

method, each business decision – all these are fertile ground

for creative thinking.

Often, entrepreneurs become immensely successful thanks to one

single creative idea!

6. Ability to lead

Successful entrepreneurs are capable of leading people and get

work done by them. They use a combination of various methods –

effective motivation, planning, coaching and evaluation – to

lead people. They are concerned about the wellbeing of others

and easily get along with people.

7. Self reliance

Successful entrepreneurs try to take full responsibility for

their actions. They know that what they are today, and what

they are going to be tomorrow, depend solely on themselves,

as it is the outcome of their own choices and decisions.

They are proactive people, who set goals, walk an extra mile

to achieve them and rely, primarily, on their own resources

and abilities.

If you would like to check out if your personality fits the

typical entrepreneurial profile, the following site has

questionnaire that will help you asses your entrepreneurial

skills:

[http://www.rateyourself.com/subject.cfm/Subject_ID/2]

If, even, you have all these great qualities and you feel

quite confident about yourself, you will never know how good

an entrepreneur you are, unless you give it a try! So, the

best way to prove your abilities, is to jump start a new

venture!

Source by Nowshade Kabir