When we hear the word entrepreneur, two of the prominent personalities that come in your mind are ‘Bill Gates’ and ‘Steve Jobs’. Every modern-day entrepreneur looks up to these two for inspiration. Bill Gates, who created an empire named Microsoft and on the other hand, Steve Jobs left us all with a company that promotes immense creative ideas called Apple. India has one of the youngest populations in the world with many aspiring young entrepreneurs. These entrepreneurs not only have the vision but are also known for their unique business ideas. Flipkart is one of the prominent examples.
Entrepreneur
According to the definition, an entrepreneur is a person who organizes and operates a business or business, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so.
Solopreneur
A Solopreneur is a mixture of two terms, Solo and Entrepreneur. A solopreneur handles all the business by himself. The key difference between a solopreneur and an entrepreneur is that a solopreneur sets up and runs the business on their own on the other hand, an entrepreneur wants to grow the business and eventually, they might sell it off.
Characteristics of Entrepreneur
Motivation
Motivation is such a powerful tool that can be used by an entrepreneur to push himself as well as his team to work for the extra mile
“Just one small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day.” — Dalai Lama
Creativity
Creativity is not optional. The stagnation of business happens when the workforces don’t stress much about creativity. Creativity allows the entrepreneur to think beyond normal services.
creativity is contagious – pass it on. – Albert einstein
Persuasiveness
Persuasiveness will help an entrepreneur to take a proper decision. To be a successful entrepreneur you need to get people to listen to your idea and convince them. Often many investors are skeptical about the out-of-the-box ideas so being persuasive about your ideas might help to get the investors on board.
“The more informative your advertising, the more persuasive it will be.” — David Ogilvy
Vision
Having a vision is like the North Star that guides you towards achievement. Vision differentiates an entrepreneur from others; it helps him decide for his company. Entrepreneurs with a strong vision always propel in the direction of success.
“Entrepreneur is someone who has a vision for something and wants to create.” — David Karp, founder, and CEO of Tumblr
Versatility
A leader does not stick to one role and responsibility; he has to perform tasks outside his job description. This is what differentiates a successful entrepreneur from the crowd. An entrepreneur must understand all the roles and responsibilities of the company. In any given situation, an entrepreneur needs to mold himself in other roles as per the requirement.
Risk tolerance
Risk tolerance is an important feature of being a successful entrepreneur. A successful entrepreneur should be comfortable with risks and change. Always playing safe and not stepping out of the comfort zone might not lead the business anywher
Flexibility
Flexibility means being adaptable. As an entrepreneur, he must understand clearly that he needs to be adaptable to the new trends of the industry. Rigidity indicates he does not understand the situation clearly, which is affecting the overall company’s performance.
Decisiveness
Decision-making skills are something that develops over time. As an entrepreneur, he needs to be decisive under pressure. Decisiveness will allow his team members to gain trust in the leader. This also depends a lot on past experiences and instincts. On the other hand, he needs to think rationally before taking any decision.
Collaboration
According to the National Association of College and Employers Job Outlook 2017 survey, 78% of the hiring managers seek job candidates who demonstrate strong teamwork skills. A good entrepreneur needs to be a great team leader and also he needs to understand his team. Being a team player, he can not only contribute towards the success of the company but also gain respect amongst the team members.
Qualities of a Good Entrepreneur
Resolute motivation and passion
Passion and motivation go hand in hand. Motivation helps an entrepreneur to work in the long run. It is vital to keep yourself motivated throughout the journey.
Self-discipline
Self-discipline fosters self-direction. Self-discipline is impossible to achieve without a proper daily routine. As a budding entrepreneur, it is important to have a fixed schedule that allows a person to practice self-discipline.
Risk-taking ability
Risk takers are generally those who think beyond the risk. Taking calculated risks would be beneficial for the company’s growth.
Creative thinking
Creative thinking is one key quality of an entrepreneur. There are lots of ideas budding in our minds. The important part is to segregate creative ideas from others. You should always keep the creative juices flowing, as you never know when your idea gets a stage to flourish. Your wide range of creative ideas will help your business to be different than others and also, you can cover that market before anyone does. It will give you an upper hand as amongst the others.
Persistence
We all know the term ‘Persistence’ but this term needs to be practiced in day-to-day life. Being persistent is a habit and a good habit takes time to cultivate. As a good entrepreneur, one needs to learn the art of persistence.
Competitive
In general, humans are competitive in nature. There are many companies out there, an entrepreneur needs to be always on his A-game to keep his company ahead of others. This competitiveness also helps in the betterment of the company as well as the entrepreneur himself.
Determination
Success is not a destination, it’s a journey and determination is the path which one can walk to complete this beautiful journey. Being an entrepreneur is not an easy task, he has to keep himself awake all the time. Failures are just part of the journey, he needs to learn from those failures to become a successful entrepreneur.
Strong work ethic
A successful entrepreneur will always have a strong work ethic. He will always be occupied with work and also keep others motivated to work harder. He will follow all the rules and guide others to follow the rules.
Passion
There is no substitute for passion. An entrepreneur can only run a successful venture if his idea is fueled with passion.
“If you just work on stuff that you like and you’re passionate about, you don’t have to have a master plan with how things will play out.” — Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO of Facebook
Self-Starter
Entrepreneurs are known for their chosen unique paths. They are generally the starters, they believe in starting something new by themselves rather than following the same old path.
Qualities of a Successful Entrepreneur
Self-Motivation
A journey of an entrepreneur is full of ups and downs. What differs a successful entrepreneur from others is his self-motivation skills. Self-motivation helps a person to think positively and work in the long run.
“My biggest motivation? Just to keep challenging myself. I see life almost like one long University education that I never had — every day I’m learning something new.” — Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Group
Understand What You Offer
A company offering is directly related to the owner of the company. Before offering services or products to clients, an entrepreneur must understand what he really wants to offer. He must have complete knowledge about the company’s offering as well as what exactly the market is looking for.
Take Risks
Higher risk equals higher reward. Successful Entrepreneurs are the ones who take high calculated risks. Launching a new product or trying out new services in the market, making brave changes according to the market needs are some of the examples of taking a high risk. Taking higher risks will not always reward you with benefits, at times you might also learn from them.
Know-How to Network
Networking is a vital part of an entrepreneur’s journey. The process of networking is where one increases his personal contacts through various modes of communication. This helps an entrepreneur to reach out to many people and increase their business.
Basic Money Management Skills and Knowledge
Money management is one of the prime skills one should learn in today’s time. With evolving technology and the economy, it is important to understand the basics of money management.
