| I was asked the other
day what personality traits I thought were important to entrepreneurial
success. I immediately gave my preprogrammed reply about passion and
dedication and hard work. After taking some time later to ponder the
question a little deeper (I normally operate in shallow waters), I came
up with a more detailed checklist for entrepreneurial success. This is
by no means a definitive list, but I'd be willing to bet that if you
don't have at least a majority of these traits, your chances of
business success will be greatly diminished.
You must be self motivated.
If you don't have the wherewithal to bounce
out of bed each day without your spouse drenching you with cold water,
chances are you don't have the self motivation or discipline required
to be an entrepreneur. Business demands that you take action based
solely on your own volition. You have to do a hundred things every day
that will not get done unless you make yourself do them.
You can't be afraid of hard
work.
If you think working for someone else is
hard work, try starting your own business. You will be required to give
every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears you can muster and then some.
You will have to work long hours and be on call 24/7, at least in the
beginning. If the mere thought of hard work makes you tired, maybe you
should just keep your cushy day job.
You should have experience in
the type of business you plan to start.
If you can't locate your car's engine you
have no business buying an oil change franchise. The most successful
business owners have prior experience in the industry in which they
have set up shop. Consider working in an industry at least part time
for a year before jumping in with both feet.
You must be able to climb back
on the horse.
I always say: "If business was easy,
everybody would do it." Starting a business is hard work and the odds
for failure are against you in the first few years. If you want to ride
herd on your own business, you must be willing to fall off your horse
and get back on a few times without giving up.
You need the support of your
family.
When you start a business you may have to
spend more time away from the family than you like. The business may
also put a strain on you financially. You will have enough obstacles in
your way without having to worry if you have the support of your family
and those closest to you
You must have a thick skin.
If your feelings are easily hurt, keep your
non-threatening day job because business is not for you. Many days in
business, rejection waits around every corner and you must be able to
handle rejection without taking it personally.
You must interact well with
others.
Being an entrepreneur requires interacting
with a variety of people, from your own employees to vendors to
customers to investors. You must have the ability to effectively manage
people without offending them; the ability to accept good advice from
mentors and politely discount the bad; the ability to overlook mistakes
or quietly rectify them; and the one I have trouble with: the ability
to tolerate incompetence without losing your cool (at least not on the
outside).
The deeper your pockets the
better.
The number one cause of business failure is
a lack of money. Before you start your business you should have access
to enough capital to see you through until the business can sustain
itself.
You must be able to delegate.
Running a business requires the performance
of dozens of simultaneous tasks and it's foolish to try to handle them
all yourself. You must learn to put your trust in others. If you can't
dish out responsibility without worrying over the result, your business
growth will be limited.
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