6 Must-have characteristics of entrepreneurs

The most basic definition of an entrepreneur is a person who creates, bears, and enjoys most of the rewards of a business. Though commonly seen as an innovator, an entrepreneur is someone who simply takes the necessary initiative to bring goods or services into the market.

Does that mean that any business owner is an entrepreneur? Yes, every single one of them is a type of entrepreneur.  

Concept of Entrepreneurship

The word “entrepreneur” comes from the French language, which means “to undertake.” The deeper meaning is those who ‘undertake’ the risk of an enterprise, which is created by an entrepreneur. Thus, this process is referred to as “entrepreneurship.” 

The concept of entrepreneurship viewed as innovative comes from the idea that an entrepreneur is always in search of something new while accepting the risk of uncertainty when attempting to capitalize on new ideas. 

Importance of Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurs are essential for a nation’s economy. They create a better and wealthier community while bringing positive social change. New products and services created by these individuals can produce a snowball effect. Striving start-up requires support from new, thus furthering the economic development of the area where it operates. 

Types of Entrepreneurship

Experts argue about the many types of entrepreneurship. Some break down in several categories, and others into smaller ones. The most accepted theory is four. They are:

1. Small Business Entrepreneurship 

By far the most common. According to SBA, the US hosts over 30 million small businesses, which makes up for 99.9% of all companies and employs over 47% of non-government workers.  

These are the grocery stores, barbers, hairdressers, carpenters, handymen, plumbers, electricians, in short, anyone who runs their own business. 

Most of the people who go into business for themselves, start small and want to keep it that way. 

2. Scalable Startup Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurs who are willing to take enormous risks, even higher than usual, for the idea they believe in. They vision their concept as one that could change the world. To start and run a company of that sort, lots of money is required, and they turn to investors – venture capitalists – to make it possible. They create a reputable and scalable business model while seeking only the best and the brightest employees. 

They are not afraid to engage in risks that if failed, could end their lives, hopes, and dreams.

You are familiar with many of these types of entrepreneurs – Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Larry Page (Google), amid others. 

3. Large Company Entrepreneurship

Any company, regardless of its size, has risks of failure. Even a large enterprise must be innovative to continue to compete. An entrepreneur’s spirit is vital for those large and established companies to ensure long-term success. 

In this category, entrepreneurs are not necessarily the owners. They work for a large corporation, usually in high positions, or in a rank where their decisions can be impactful. They implement and give an innovative edge to older large companies.  

4. Social Entrepreneurship

These types of entrepreneurs are innovators who focus on creating products or services to address a social need or problem. They do not want to create wealth, but their primary goal is to make the world a better place. 

Characteristics of Entrepreneurship

While some characteristics and skills will give one advantage over another, entrepreneurship can be learned by studying and discipline. Many of these characteristics simply require inner development.

1. Perseverance

In my opinion, perseverance is the most critical characteristic of a successful entrepreneur. Without it, the first person who is negative towards them will them to quit. 

In a 1995 interview, Steve Jobs said,

” I’m convinced that about half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance. It is so hard, and you pour so much of your life into this thing, there are such rough moments in time that most people give up. And I don’t blame them, it’s really rough.” 

Steve Jobs

Starting and building a business is a very challenging task and will take chunks of your life with it. To be successful in this role, you must not be moved by failures and the noise around and bout you. 

2. Self-motivation

An employee has the motivation to produce; otherwise, he or she will lose the job. An entrepreneur, on the other hand, does not have to answer to anyone, except himself, which without the extra push from someone, it takes determination and self-motivation.

As an entrepreneur, you must be dedicated to your plan, even if you are not receiving a paycheck. 

3. Open-minded

Entrepreneurs are visionaries that can capitalize on ideas under any circumstances. When a group of friends had to pay a large sum of money to hire a private drive, Garret Camp came up with an idea to lower the cost of direct transportation. His concept would allow people to share the cost of transport. The idea morphed into what we know today as Uber. 

An entrepreneur sees ways to capitalize on any problem or an opportunity that no one else can see. No one could ever think about selling a rock, a plain ordinary rock. But Gary Dahl was able to sell 1.5 million of them.

4. Tenacity

Tenacity is the ability to continue on your path even when you feel like quitting. 

Albert Einstein once said that there was nothing remarkable about him except for curiosity, which summarizes into tenacity. He would stay up for days trying to solve the problems in his mind. Nothing could stop him. 

Zig Ziglar, before gained his fame, used to live in a small apartment with his wife and kid. During one of his speeches, he told the spectators that one day his wife called him at work because the utilities had been cut for non-payment. Ziglar never stopped and dogged until he was successful.

5. Resilience

Before the light bulb was invented, Thomas Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts before succeeding. He later explained that it was an invention that took 1,000 steps. 

Think about that for a second. One thousand attempts before reaching the desired outcome. That’s resilience. Like Samuel Beckett, an Irish novelist and poet said, “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail Better.”

Your idea might not be successful the first time, it might require more of you. The key is to be resilient and try again until you reach the outcome you were expecting. 

6. Passion

Passion is what entrepreneurs feel about their services or products. Passion is, in itself, a motivator, and it fuels the for successful entrepreneurship. If you are losing passion, it might be time to move on. 

Conclusion

Entrepreneurs are not always bringing cutting edge technology or an innovator in their sector. They are business owners who are willing to take the risk and go into business for themselves. Entrepreneurship is crucial for economies as it brings innovations and prosperity in the area where they operate – at times even for entire nations.

While entrepreneurship is a learned skill, many characteristics can give one advantage. The most important are perseverance, self-motivation, open-mindedness, tenacity, resilience, and passion.