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Key Attributes of an Entrepreneur & What to Do If You Have an Area That’s Lacking?

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by Startacus Admin

entrepreneur attributes

When you’re thinking about being an entrepreneur and you’re wondering who you need to be to find success, there are some key attributes that are useful. Some are things you should learn before you start whereas others you can grow into over some time. Certainly, being a good communicator and being more assertive help to get your point across well and to speak up where necessary.

Let’s now look at a few of the attributes that are helpful as an entrepreneur and what to do if you know that you’re coming up short with some of them.

Being a Positive Thinker

A lot is made of the concept of positive thinking. Self-help guru, Tony Robbins, used to be heralded as the guy to see for help in thinking more positively or to get motivated, but these days, he prefers to be thought of as a business coach. Similarly, author Norman Vincent Peale’s The Power of Positive Thinking continues to be a big seller because it’s an attractive idea.

When working to build a business or even to take the first steps in starting one, there’s a need to think positively about the potential outcome. Despite a entrepreneur attributesbusiness plan and copious amounts of research, no founder knows for sure that a business idea will find success. At best, it’s an educated shot-in-the-dark when we’re being honest. Therefore, thinking positively about the potential outcome creates sufficient belief to overcome the doubts about the business concept long enough to push forward.

When lacking in positive thinking, understand that there are few business owners who felt negatively about an idea and got anywhere with it. When always thinking negatively, potentially highly profitable ideas get shot down repeatedly due to finding fault. While being overly optimistic is something to avoid, it’s necessary to adopt a positive outlook to both start a business and persevere with it when times are tough.

Being Assertive

Being confident enough to be assertive with people is a necessary trait to instruct managers and to lead them. Taking the initiative and not being afraid to speak up to get a better deal with a supplier or claim a discount that’s been overlooked keeps important financial resources within the company in the early days when money is usually tight.

If you find that you have trouble being upfront about what you need or speaking on behalf of the company, then you might consider taking some assertiveness training to help you.  The idea with this type of training course is to provide practical techniques you can run through, which makes it easier to speak up while reducing the fear that is often associated with taking action.

There are many confidence and assertiveness training courses that can help with this issue. It can really make your life better both in and out of the office when you’re better able to represent your own wishes, those of a partner, or your business. You can locate assertiveness training options online which fit into your busy schedule and are not too far away to travel to.

Being Organized

The sheer number of projects, tasks, and sub-tasks that you’ll be responsible for as an entrepreneur is enough to make anyone want to give up and run away! But never fear. The trick to managing the myriad of active projects and a long list of tasks is to stay highly organized. When you’re meticulous with entrepreneur attributesyour level of organization, you are more efficient. You’re not wasting time trying to locate an important email or a signed contract because you didn’t file it away once it was received.

If you’re not a naturally organized person, then it’ll be a bit of an uphill battle. You may need to adopt new practices and perform a sweep of your activities every evening to clean up after yourself. When you’re naturally disorganized, you may think that you thrive in that chaos but that’s not the case at all. And when you’re dealing with 20 times the number of tasks and potential issues as the founder, operating in a disorganized fashion will only hurt your new venture.

Being Financially Knowledgeable

Every business requires financial backing. Unless you’re going into it with considerable funds of your own, you’ll need to accept investment capital or lending facilities. Angel investors, venture capitalists and private investors all have different expectations and requirements, but all will want to see the financial books. Not having these current and correct will present a significant obstacle to securing partners or backers.

Understanding the differences and implications of exchanging equity for funding by selling a stake in the company requires a financially knowledgeable owner. Similarly, choosing between a business line of credit, a business loan or other types of financing requires a financially sophisticated owner who canentrepreneur attributes determine what is going to be the most suitable financial option that won’t burden the company months or years down the line. If you’re not good with numbers, there are plenty of books and courses to help you become smarter on the subject.

Being Energetic

Business owners tend to work 10+ hours a day, and often into the weekends too. The days of counting the hours until you can clock off are long behind you. The long hours, few weekends off and draining nature of dealing with so many different issues at once takes its toll mentally and physically.

Being energetic enough to handle busy days with many demands on your time is important. If you’re older, then being fit and lighter on your feet helps. Most successful CEOs tend to make time for a robust fitness routine because they know they need all the stamina they can get.

Being Patient

Patience isn’t a quality that everyone naturally possesses. Certainly, it can be learned, but it is also a personality trait that grows as you get older. The reason patience is required is that not every business transaction or new initiative gets completed quickly. An overnight success and instant gratification are de jour presently, but the reality is most businesses take months or years to become overnight success stories. Owners must be patient enough to doggedly keep pursuing their goals even if they’re a long distance away. The worthier the goal, the longer it will usually take to achieve.

Being Able to Rebound Strongly

Sometimes, an entrepreneur will get things wrong and the business idea will turn sour. For fast-moving owners who adopt the motto of “fail fast and fail often,” they take it as a given that some ideas won’t work. Their goal is to move quickly on to the next idea and not dwell on failed initiatives or business plans that went awry. It happens. They accept it and pivot to the next idea.

Many of the key attributes covered in this article are easily learnable with a little effort. Some require a change in thinking or approach. Others, like patience, may involve sitting on feelings of irritation as events unfold slower than you’d like. When letting things play out to their natural conclusion, sometimes the outcome will surprise you! When there’s an important attribute that is missing or misaligned, work to resolve that or take a course to educate yourself on the topic. This way, you’re better prepared with your current or next venture and won’t be held back by lacking in important areas.


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Published on: 2nd July 2018

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