To be an entrepreneur, you must be…? How do you think that sentence should end? “Brave”? “Determined”? “Innovative”?
Truthfully an entrepreneur must be many things; more adjectives than five are required in order to call yourself a true and successful entrepreneur. However, we’ve selected five of the most common and essential traits required to either become or sustain yourself as an entrepreneur.
Risk-Taking
We often think of risk as a dirty word — in fact, isn’t it better to avoid risk altogether? This might be true in some areas of life, but in others the phrase “go big or go home” is one hundred percent true. Just like in gambling, sometimes a big risk results in a massive loss. Other times it means you get a big payday.
Without that risk, no matter the outcome, there would be no chance for that huge success. The risk doesn’t have to be monetary, either. Sometimes taking a chance on the little things can pay off in a big way.
Hungry
No, not in the way that means you want to go out to lunch. This kind of hunger is for success, knowledge and for recognition — maybe you’d prefer to call it “drive.”
A good entrepreneur knows that they have to keep learning, but a great entrepreneur is one that truly wants to. This kind of hunger is one that drives them to better themselves and take those risks.
Adaptable
Not everything will go your way all the time, and that’s not just a lesson for entrepreneurs to learn. However, it might be a lesson that entrepreneurs benefit from more than most. Sometimes plans fall through and an entrepreneur has to adapt to the sudden changes. Not every scheme will be executed perfectly, not every vision will be clearly seen and sometimes a completely foreign scenario works its way into the mix.
A great entrepreneur doesn’t give in to this uncertainty — they embrace it.
Responsible
Gone are the days of laying around on the couch and brainstorming about your big business idea — you’re going to be an entrepreneur, which means your life is going to drastically change if you want to make all of your visions realities.
Even though you’ll be your own boss, you’ll still have all the responsibilities that come with that position. It also means you’ll have to handle money, and hopefully lots of it, in a fiscally responsible way.
Gregarious
Sure there are ways to become a great entrepreneur as an introvert, but the more outgoing and personable you are? The better you’ll be at networking and selling your brand. Creating relationships among your peers and in the business community will be vital to getting your business recognized, and you can’t do that on a concept alone.
Businesspeople are usually outspoken, self-assured, and promoting. They know how to charm and talk to people in a convincing yet personable way. This kind of attitude also lends itself to sales — without being gregarious, the sales funnel becomes a lot more narrow.
It takes a lot to become an entrepreneur. How many of these attributes do you have yourself?
