Do You Have What It Takes to be an Entrepreneur?

Anyone can come up with a brilliant idea, but not everyone has what it takes to start a successful business. And therein lies the problem. Thousands of people fire up their entrepreneurial spirit and register a business every year. A start-up is the culmination of all their hopes and dreams, the icing on the proverbial cake. But for the vast majority, the business soon goes down the pan, and within 12 months, 90% of all start-ups have bitten the dust.

The statistics don’t lie. It’s never been so easy to start a business, but paradoxically, the economic climate is such that a great idea does not necessarily equal success. In some countries, specifically the UK, entrepreneurs are thriving, but in other countries, such as the US and New Zealand, it’s a tough old world out there. But before you start preparing your business plan and go cap in hand to a lender, let’s look at the personal qualities you need to maximize your chances of success.

It takes a very special kind of person to become a successful entrepreneur. People like Richard Branson, Elon Musk, and Sam Ovens don’t come along daily. There are plenty of rags to riches stories out there, but whilst a tale of an entrepreneur working from his parent’s garage before he hits the big time is inspirational, it doesn’t always reflect the path many entrepreneurs take.

You are Super Resilient

You need to be extremely resilient when starting a business. Success rarely comes easily, and those that say otherwise are lying. It is not uncommon for successful entrepreneurs to have suffered through the pain of business failure before they finally achieve the success they crave. Take Simon Cowell, for example. He may be a global success now, but an early foray into the record label business was not a success and the label folded. The important thing is not to let failure define you. Learn from your mistakes, pick yourself up, and start again. Resilience will carry you forward when fear of failure threatens to drag you back.

Walk the Walk

You can talk the talk, but you have to walk the walk if you want to be a successful entrepreneur. It’s good to have ideas; they don’t even need to be original. You won’t get very far without an idea, but how you execute those ideas matters. Poor execution of ideas is a fast-track route to failure. Don’t be the type of person who flits from one task to another. Focus on the job at hand and follow it through to completion. This level of focus differentiates a successful entrepreneur from an unsuccessful one.

You are Willing to Learn

You need to be open to new things when you start pursuing a career in entrepreneurship. None of us are experts. There is always room for growth, both personally and professionally. Open your mind to the possibility that you may have to learn new skills. For example, it often pays to have a good grounding in business administration if you want to start a business, so consider signing up to do a business admin course. Thanks to online learning, there is a wealth of educational opportunities for budding entrepreneurs. Embrace learning and use your newfound skills to push your business to the next level.

You are a Risk Taker

Risk-averse people rarely start businesses. They prefer the comfort of a steady job and a monthly paycheck. They are unwilling to put their livelihood on the line in pursuing business success and a dream career. There is nothing wrong with this attitude, but if you are the type of person willing to leap into the unknown, you are an entrepreneur in the making. Becoming an entrepreneur is all about risk management. You can’t eliminate risk, especially in the early stages of building a business, but you can minimize it through careful planning and risk mitigation. Ultimately, you have to be willing to take that risk. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Believe in yourself, and you can be a successful entrepreneur.