Characteristics Of An Entrepreneur - Entrepreneurial Qualities

Entrepreneurs are the backbone to nation's progress. They not only provide new g
oods and services to the people by combining the factors of production but also
creates employment opportunities. As government cannot fund and manage every ind
ustries, a good entrepreneurial class will help in developing small scale and la
rge scale industries.Entrepreneurship is not everyone's cup of tea. You need to
have certain set of qualities which you may have naturally or you may need to ac
quire. Now let us look at the qualities of an entrepreneur.
Characteristics Of An Ideal Entrepreneur
1-Creativity:
Creativity means the ability of bringing something new into existence. An entrep
reneur has to be highly creative. A creative entrepreneur is highly innovative a
nd aims at giving new goods and services to the people.
2-Innovation:
Innovation is important in any field but it becomes a lot more important if you
want to be an entrepreneur. An innovative entrepreneur creates a resource. He is
not contended and satisfied with the existing resource but combines the existin
g resource in a new and more productive configuration.
3-Dynamism:
An entrepreneur should be dynamic. A dynamic entrepreneur is always pragmatic an
d approach problems to solve them rather than run away from them. He finds solut
ion to the problems systematically and solves them in the interest of his enterp
rise. A dynamic entrepreneur always believes in a win-win situation.
4-Leadership:
Leadership is the basic quality of entrepreneurs. An entrepreneur leads and this
keeps him forward in any field. A quality of a person's leadership is clear fro
m how he handles a problem and generating resources. An enterprise with a good l
eadership is always prominent in the market.
5-Team Building:
An entrepreneur is known by his ability to build a team. An entrepreneur knows t
hat he cannot do everything alone. So, an entrepreneur gathers a group of indivi
duals with a common purpose, focuses them and align them with the goals of the e
nterprise.
6-Risk Taking And Decision Making Ability:
This is what separates an entrepreneur from common people. An entrepreneur takes
decision in an environment of uncertainty and is therefore willing to bear risk
. An entrepreneur start with a completely new activity so it may either succeed
or it may fail. So an entrepreneur has to take calculated risk.Risk Taken Person
ality is a very important characteristic of an entrepreneur. The ability and wil
lingness to make decisions in the absence of solid data, and a generally risk-ta
king personality Entrepreneurs have historically been known as risk takers seeki
ng to make their fortunes. An entrepreneur should know how to handle the risk by
predict measure and calculate of whatever risk anticipated along the way to ach
ieve their objective. If you're not willing to take any risk, then you will not
succeed as a businessperson.
7-Commitment:
An ideal entrepreneur should always be committed. he should have strong dedicati
on and will power. He has to be patient as a business unit will take some time t
o reach a natural stage of takeoff.
8-Business Secrecy:
I know this is a world of open information. But successful businesses never give
their secrets to their competitors. An entrepreneur should guard his business s
ecrets so that his competitors does not exploit his niche.
9-Clear Objectives:
An entrepreneur should have clear objectives as to the exact nature of the busin
ess. He should clearly lay down his objectives and also his approach to achieve
them.
10-Communication Ability:
An entrepreneur should be an effective communicator. An entrepreneur will be mor
e likely to succeed if he can communicate effectively to his audience.
11-Long Term Involvement:
An ideal entrepreneur always knows that success does not come within a short spa
n. It will come over a period of time and till then he must be involved with the
project. He should not expect ninety days wonder.
12-High Energy Level:
An entrepreneur physical and mental fitness plays an important role. He should h
ave the ability to put in long hours of work.
13-Motivator:
An ideal entrepreneur is always a good motivator. he gives his employees individ
ual growth and always keeps them motivated.
14-Self-Confidence:
An entrepreneur should always believe in himself, no matter what happens. He sho
uld always keep his self confidence high.
15-Technical Knowledge:
Last but not the least, an entrepreneur should have technical knowledge pertaini
ng to the industry in which he wish to operate. All the above qualities combined
with technical knowledge would stand a much better chance of success.
16-An eye for opportunity:
Many entrepreneurs start by finding a need and quickly satisfying it.
17-Independence:
Even though most entrepreneurs know how to work within the framework for the sak
e of profits, they enjoy being their own boss.
18-An appetite for hard work:
Most entrepreneurs start out working long, hard hours with little pay.
19-Self-confidence:
Entrepreneurs must demonstrate extreme self-confidence in order to cope with all
the risks of operating their own business.
20-Discipline:
Successful entrepreneurs resist the temptation to do what is unimportant or the
easiest but have the ability to think through to what is the most essential. Bei
ng discipline is perhaps the most important characteristic of an entrepreneur. W
illing to do whatever it takes to reach to the finish line. His drive must alway
s be at its highest level for being an entrepreneur would make you work overtime
.
21-Judgment:
Successful entrepreneurs have the ability to think quickly and make a wise decis
ion.
22-Ability to accept change:
Change occurs frequently when you own your own business, the entrepreneur thrive
s on changes and their businesses grow.
23-Make stress work for them:
On the roller coaster to business success the entrepreneur often copes by focusi
ng on the end result and not the process of getting there.
24-Need to achieve:
Although they keep an "eye" on profits, this is often secondary to the drive tow
ard personal success.
25-Focus on profits:
Successful entrepreneurs always have the profit margin in sight and know that th
eir business success is measured by profits. Is this your profile or would you r
ather do your job, pick up your paycheck and leave the headaches to someone else
? Most of us, quite easily, choose the later.
26- Smart -
being smart is another characteristic of an entrepreneur. You could also say tha
t those who are most likely to succeed are not only willing to work hard, but th
ey also know how to work smart. Once achieve a coal, they quickly replace it wit
h a greater goal. Working smarter, not harder, separates successful entrepreneur
s from those who can't quite get over the success hurdle.
27- Leadership -
is a characteristic that is often hard to find among individuals. Not many indiv
iduals have the nerve to take the lead, you must be a leader. Some say that this
is a born characteristic while others say that if you don't possess it, leaders
hip can be learned.
You're quite lucky if you're a born leader because you only have to develop your
 other qualities and use them when you choose to become an entrepreneur. As a le
ader, you should be able to guide, influence, and direct people. During these di
fficult times, leadership skills, which include communications and patience, bec
ome critical.
28- Inner passion for business -
another important characteristic is having the right passion for business. You h
ave to maintain your enthusiasm and interest in the business. As long as you hav
e the right drive and passion, you can run the business for a long time. An entr
epreneur must really love what he/she is doing in such a way that it does not ap
pear to be hard work, but rather something they enjoy and want to do.
29- Honest and trustworthy -
some say that eighty percent of an entrepreneur's time is dedicated to pooling a
nd attracting customers. This may be true because without the customers, the bus
iness will not exist. You have to be honest and trustworthy so that you can deve
lop good will.
30- Determination -
Anyone can call himself an entrepreneur, or start his own business, but success
requires knowledge, hard work, and determination. He or she must be willing to a
ccommodate the desire goal by dedicating him/herself to hard work. The personali
ty of an entrepreneur expresses an intense desire to achieve