Name the 5 essential qualities you feel are indespensible for successful entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurs and other leaders are a breed apart. Risking their money, quitting jobs, sometimes sacrificing their health and relationships, they pursue their entrepreneurial vision.
If you are one of thos entrepreneurs, or just someone in pursuit of their own personal vision, what do you think are the 5 core, essential "necessary and sufficient" qualities for achieving your goals?
Good Answers (13)
Chad B
President at CB Software Systems, Inc. and Internet Strategist Guru
Best Answers in: Business Development (1), Sales Techniques (1), Small Business (1), Starting Up (1)
1. Strong entrepreneurship spirit which means not being afraid to fail
2. Willingness to take risk knowing that the potential outcome and success can be enormous.
3. Strong desire to work for myself and exit the "employee" mentality
4. Have complete control of decisions and my own future and destiny
5. Ability to enjoy discretionary time and life balance
Chad Barr, President, CB Software Systems, Inc.
Links:
A.Michelle B
Progressive Small Business Strategist and Personal Business Manager
Best Answers in: Career Management (1), Business Plans (1), Small Business (1), Starting Up (1)
1. You must be passionate about what you are providing to your clients.
2. You must be able to identify with your niche market.
3. Your clients must value your product or service.
4. You must be willing and able to adapt to change.
5. You must have a written plan of action and be organized, no matter how small.
Tim S
Ryan's Entrepreneur Dad
Best Answers in: Starting Up (4), Small Business (3), Education and Schools (1), Job Search (1), Public Funding (1), Business Analytics (1), Manufacturing (1)
Great questions and answers here - here is my take David for what it is worth:
1. Vision - need to see opportunities where others do not
2. Tenacity - need to have the persistence to find a way or make one
3. Mental strength - need to be able to handle 1300+ rejections along the journey
4. People - need to spot and hire the best people out there
5. Support - need to create a support mechanism of family / friends to help keep your entrepreneurial spirit alive, especially when things seem bleak.
Anoop J
Senior User Experience Designer / Researcher, Strategic Design Consultant and Contractor
Hi David,
Great question, and I see a lot of very good answers. Especially Tim's. But If I were to give you 5 topmost traits, I would put passion as the first and the most important trait
1) Passion
2) Fearlessness / Risk taking
3) Persisitence (keep coming back like the energizer bunny)
4) The right people
5) Idea (Of course you'd need one :) )
Regards,
Anoop
Eric T
Co-Founder & Director at EMPIRE PROPERTY INVESTORS
Best Answers in: Professional Networking (1), Using LinkedIn (1)
David,
I love your question!
1. STRONG MENTALITY
2. POSITIVE
3. INNER STRENGTH
4. GOOD SUPPORT/ASSOCIATION
5. COURAGE to TAKE ACTION
6. ATTITUDE OF DOING WHATEVER IT TAKES!
7. Stay away from NEGATIVE PEOPLE
8. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF/NEVER GIVE UP!
Go for it, JUST DO IT !!!!
Eric
Links:
Venkataramiah A
Consultant
Best Answers in: Mentoring (1), Internationalization and Localization (1), Writing and Editing (1), Business Plans (1), Small Business (1), Blogging (1)
1. Self-sufficiency / freedom
2. Power / control appeal
3. Perception to act upon one’s destiny
4. Tolerance towards ambiguity / Resistance to stress
5. Need for challenges / ambition
Karen D
Karen Dempster & Associates Creating Change - proactive change through human interaction, alliances & global strategies
Best Answers in: Freelancing and Contracting (2), Conference Venues (1), Organizational Development (1)
1. Honesty with self and others
2. Unquenchable vision and ideation capabilties feeding resilience
3. Get off your backside-ability
4. Excite others and see/give benefits they seek
5. Think and research, then see #1 again
Alberto M. C
Materials Scientist. Experience in materials industry, the financial sector, and entrepreneurship
Best Answers in: Starting Up (2), Professional Networking (1), Small Business (1)
Entrepreneurs:
1. Are risk takers - but evaluated/balanced risks
2. Are those that keep bootstraping techniques active all the time (reducing costs to the minimum)
3. Never give up their high desire to solve problems and set up and achieve goals
4. Keep their high level of confidence in their ability in handling the entrepreneurial process
5. Maintain their performance in the dynamic, uncertain, ambiguous, complex process of handling either a start-up or an established business.
Dr. Alberto M. Correa
Rick D
3D Web User Interface Designer / 3D artist / Graphic Designer
Best Answers in: Web Development (7), E-Commerce (2), Freelancing and Contracting (1), Graphic Design (1), Distribution (1), Blogging (1)
Well first I think there are two kinds of entrepreneurs, those who have a "head start" (parents with money, etc) who leverage this to get into their own business ventures, I can't fault these people for their head start but I am not one of those people and think that there is a difference in the way a "true" entrepreneur who starts with little or nothing thinks and acts than someone who has a nice bankroll that they didn't earn themselves.
1) Persistence
2) Different perception of the world / business world than the average person, sort of a rejection of conventional notions
3) Vision for the future, a full realization that the world is constantly changing and that by being innovative and taking advantage of the right opportunities a lot can be accomplished
4) Constantly flowing ideas, seeing potential businesses in everything - this doesn't mean you will act on most of them, but the constant generation of new ideas is important
5) Patience - things don't happen overnight
Jason Y
Founder, Yeloweb, Inc. (www.Yeloweb.com)
Best Answers in: Starting Up (3), Small Business (1)
1. Perseverance.
2. Sufficient capitalization (not a quality, but an essential.)
3. Supportive family (again, not a quality, but essential.)
4. Ambition.
5. Thick skin.
Links:
1) Tenacity
2) Believe in your vision and don't be swayed by others
3) Patience
4) EXPECT a failure now and again and have the ability to shake it off
5) Go with your gut!
As Im answering, I realize theres at least 50 or more essential qualities but those are my top 5!
Janet T
Organizational Services for Businesses and Individuals
Best Answers in: Starting Up (2), Freelancing and Contracting (1)
1. Curiousity: it is the foundation for innovation and vision.
2. Discipline: you must discipline yourself to stay focused on your objectives. As an entrepreneur, it is easy to go off strategy.
3. Vigilance: to watch your competition, employees, and the market environment and recognize when it is appropriate to intervene.
4. Resilience: when combined with vigilance, enables one to weather the storms and bumps in the road.
5. Compassion: understanding the customer with an unwavering desire to make their life better.
Sherry N
Managing Attorney at Neal & Wright LLC
Best Answers in: Small Business (3), Starting Up (2), Mentoring (1), Occupational Training (1), Organizational Development (1)
1. A good sense of humor
2. Willingness to ask people to pay you what your services are worth
3. The ability to tell a good client or customer from a bad one and to turn away the bad one even if it means turning away money
4. Good time management skills
5. Good money management skills
More Answers (3)
I think only one thing matters - being able to create value for others on your own. If you can truly create value for others, and stand behind it, everything else will fall into place.
Jaap S
Entrepreneur Start-up Consultant/Coach
Best Answers in: Starting Up (3), Business Development (1), Writing and Editing (1), Small Business (1)
We only have three in our philosophy, and practice has prove so far that everything we come across in helping people to start up all kinds of businneses, that they are good:
1. Being an entrepreneur is about being a salesman/-woman
No matter how breathgtaking good your business ideas may be, if you cannot sell it to investors and customers, you are not a good entrepreneur. Another solution by the way is to have somebody else do the sales for you...
2. Being entrepreneur is more than having 'a good idea'
A lot op start-ups only dream of their 'own store', or see that other people make a lot of money with their own business. There is a lot more to being an entrepreneur than just that dream-idea, for example you financials, bookkeepiong, marketing, IT, etc.
3. As an entrepreneur you need to have/establish a network
Hence LinedIn... but also a face-to-face network is very usefull!
- top 4 out of the above
- plus: leadership delegation (empowerment) rather than managerial martyrdom
