There’s a certain flair to the word “entrepreneur.” Picture a Shakespearean actor answering the question, “And what do you do for a living?”
“I …” he shouts, with an overly dramatic hand gesture, “… am an entrepreneur!”
That’s overstating it a bit, but there is a definite boldness — big ideas, big ambitions, big risks — to starting a small business. Here’s a look at five traits of successful entrepreneurs.
1. Vision: A name likely to pop up when pondering the vision of an entrepreneur is the late Steve Jobs. But telling a prospective small-business owner to be like the Apple trailblazer is like telling a Little League player to be like Derek Jeter — a little unrealistic, at least from the start. So instead of chasing an icon, take a long look at what you want your business to be. As Dave Lavinsky notes on smallbiztrends.com, “If you don’t have a crystal clear vision of the company you are trying to create, you can’t possibly create it. Figure out exactly the type of company you are trying to build. For example, in five years how many customers will you have? How many employees? What will your revenues be?”
2. Passion: Starting a small business requires so many things, from the basic skills involved to the financial means to get it rolling. But it all won’t mean much if your heart isn’t in it. Adriana Lopez explored this in a story for Forbes. Seeking out the “next big idea” isn’t always the key, she says: “The path to success starts with the passion that lives within you. It’s what gives you drive to succeed in your mission and inspire others to help you fulfill it. It gives you confidence to grow and sincerity to remember where you started. It makes you want to work harder than you’ve ever worked before, and never give up. And, if you do it correctly, that passion leads to profit.”
3. Expertise: A startup likely won’t get far if its founders don’t know the ins and outs of its primary function. Additional training, whether through job experience or college courses, may be necessary before stepping out into the marketplace. As James Stephenson writes for entrepreneur.com, people naturally seek out experts to solve their problems. “The more you become known for your expertise in your business, the more people will seek you out to tap into your expertise, creating more selling and referral opportunities,” he says. “In effect, becoming known as an expert is another style of prospecting for new business, just in reverse. Instead of finding new and qualified people to sell to, these people seek you out for your expertise.”
4. Flexibility: If the path to success was easy, everyone would do it. Twists and turns are inevitable for any new business. The ability to shift your way of thinking and embrace that change can be a huge benefit. Matt Peters, co-founder of Boston marketing company Pandemic Labs, describes it this way on inc.com: “Leaders of startups need to be flexible and be able to alter (or even throw out) plans as their business rolls forward. And they need to be able to do it without getting angry, stressed or insulted. Emotions like that from a leader crush company morale.”
5. Risk-taking: This goes with the territory in creating a new business. If you’re hesitant or scared to go out on that limb, and what the results might be, then your big idea may be doomed to fail. Jason Bowser explores this in a story for the Minority Business Development Agency: “If you’ve heard the old adage ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained,’ that’s exactly what it’s saying: Do not be afraid to fail, put it out there and give it your best shot. … There’s not one successful entrepreneur out there sitting on his couch asking, ‘What if?’”
