Entrepreneurship is considered by many to be the most rewarding career, lifestyle and identity to have. Achieving success in this aspect of life requires great discipline, determination, and confidence in yourself. But it wouldn’t be fair to say that only certain people are capable of running their own business.
Through practice and learning, humans can accomplish nearly anything. We’re constantly pushing the boundaries of what is considered “humanly possible” and the same concept applies to entrepreneurship. It’s a skill that can be learned and mastered with enough time and the right resources – no matter who you are.
In this post, we’ll take a look at the six qualities of a successful entrepreneur.
Contents
Persistence
When billionaire, philanthropist, and entrepreneur Michael Bloomberg initially presented his idea to the world, nobody believed it would work. He had to make a plan, something that would propel his idea towards reality – and so he did. Bloomberg set his eyes on Merrill Lynch, his target market.
He would walk the hallways of their downtown building with cups of coffee. Day after day, he’d offer a cup to his potential customers in exchange for a conversation. Merrill Lynch went on to buy 20 terminals from Bloomberg, becoming their first customer.
What quality can we owe this success to? Persistence is a pretty fitting answer. Sure, you could say luck played a part, but there’s something to be said about creating your own luck through hard work. After all, unless Bloomberg went out every day and started conversations with his potential customers, such luck wouldn’t have occurred.
Passion
If you don’t love what you do, you probably shouldn’t be doing it. Being an entrepreneur involves plenty of long, stress-inducing hours. But surviving them won’t feel like a drag if you’re passionate about your work. Passion gives you the drive and motivation you need to persist, to put in that extra hour and make the most of it.
Knowledge
Having a constant motivation to expand your mind and learn more about your work is key to your success. No matter how book-smart you are, there’s still a ton of information out there on business and the many topics it encapsulates for you to discover. Learning more about your industry also gives you the upper hand over your competitors.
An ideal way to expand your knowledge at a rapid pace and on topics that are relevant to your line of work would be to take a tertiary course on a topic such as business intelligence. You’ll gain an understanding of communication and presentation skills and proficiency in a variety of software and data analysis, among others.
Optimism
A lack of optimism will prevent you from seeing challenges as opportunities instead of problems. Challenges in business are necessary to keep you in the right mindset. If there were no challenges standing in your way, whether it’s dwindling profits or stronger competition, your business wouldn’t be as great as its potential.
Creativity
A key aspect of entrepreneurship is keeping an open mind towards new ways of doing things. Being creative and looking for solutions to everyday problems in business can help you earn more profit, grow your audience and gain a positive reputation for being an innovator.
Richard Branson owes his creativity to personal frustration about the way things have been done by other people. This is an impressive and powerful mindset to have. Wherever you see room for improvement in your business or industry, don’t hesitate to take advantage of your creative abilities, because if you don’t, someone else will and take all the glory.
Flexibility
You have to be able to take on the roles of many different people within a business, especially when you’re still starting off and are unable to afford support staff. While the idea of being “boss” is perhaps more enticing, you need to be able to also be bookkeeper, secretary, marketer, accountant and so on.
Getting this right is a simple as being able to adapt to unfamiliar situations. Don’t spend money outsourcing or wait until someone else enters the business in order to complete a task that you know you’re capable of doing yourself. Whether it’s sending an invoice, setting up your website or even cleaning the office, a great entrepreneur can do it themselves.
Conclusion
If you don’t believe that you possess these qualities just yet, don’t worry. Persistence, passion, knowledge, optimism, creativity, and flexibility sometimes come with experience. No matter how far you are in realizing the dream of running your own business, maintain a grasp of these qualities and let them carry you towards success.