15 Key Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs

7/23/2019 15 Key Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs

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15 Key Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs

By Craig Wagener D.Optom, Ph.D., MBA, MCNE

When studying successful people it ecomes apparent that they do share certain

identi!ale s"ills sets, talents and characteristics. #hese together enale them tosucceed in usiness and in life.

$ome of these traits you may already possess. #hese are the things you do %ell and

%ithout e&ort. #hese are your strengths. 'f you !nd that you do not ha(e a certain

s"ill or talent you can al%ays see" out indi(iduals %ho do ha(e them. Endea(or to

learn from them to complement your e)isting s"ills and talents. $ome s"ills can e

learned and de(eloped.

*et+ s ta"e a loo" at %hat research re(eals to e the common s"ills, talents and

characteristics found in successful entrepreneurs

1. Passionate about what they do.

#hey are dri(en y a clear sense of purpose and passion. #hey often ha(e a dream

%ith a de!nite goal or end point in mind. #hey are focused on achie(ing their goals

and are not easily detracted y opinions of others. #his strong emotion rings ig

results. Passion is %hat dri(es these indi(iduals to do things that others say can+t e

done.

2. Possess a Spirit of Determination.

Entrepreneurs %ho %ant to uild a startup %ill need to e determined to succeed.

#hey may get "noc"ed do%n repeatedly ut need to e determined to learn fromtheir mista"es and get up, dust themsel(es o&, and mo(e for%ard %ith rene%ed

moti(ation. *istening to constructi(e criticism and ma"ing the changes that are

necessary, in order to mo(e for%ard, is also part of this spirit of determination.

3. Have Ambition.

-a(ing amition %ill dri(e the successful person to accomplish their goals.

$uccessful people produce results and don+t ma"e e)cuses for their mista"es and

failures. 't may only ta"e one sound idea to achie(e their goals and ma"e them

successful. #his attriute contriutes to the indi(idual ha(ing enthusiasm, %illpo%er,

and long term commitment in seeing things through to a successful outcome.

4. Have self-disipline.

$uccessful people ha(e selfdiscipline %hich they use to their ad(antage in %or"ing

hard and eing %illing to go the e)tra mile. #hey ha(e a urning desire to succeed

%hich dri(es them to e selfdisciplined and do %hate(er it ta"es to get the /o done



%ell. #hey are focused on their primary goals and o/ecti(es and don+t easily stray

from them.

!. "earless.

$uccessful people tend to e some%hat of a ris"ta"er. #his does not mean that they

are careless or rec"less ut ta"e calculated ris"s, "eeping their goals in mind.

$uccessful entrepreneurs use their intuition to mitigate startup usiness ris". When

they see opportunities they mo(e for%ard after carefully assessing the ris"s

in(ol(ed. #hey ha(e de(eloped a comfort le(el %ith uncertainty and ase decisions

on the current data a(ailale, e(en if they don+t ha(e all the information. #heir

theory is, if they %ait for all the information and do all the assessment and

analy0ing, they %ill ne(er get to mo(ing for%ard, or the opportunity %ill ha(e

passed them y.

#. Have Spei$ %nowled&e.

$uccessful people ha(e a speci!c "no%ho% of %hat they are trying to do. 'f they

don+t ha(e all the "no%ledge s"ills and talents re1uired to reach their goals, they

%ill !nd someone else %ho does. #hey recogni0e that certain s"ills and talents are

re1uired to ma"e them successful. #hey don+t /ust 2y y the seat of their pants, ut

diligently see" to add this "no%ledge to their portfolio of s"ills.

'. Possess the (oura&e to Admit )hey Have *ade a *ista+e.

#his may e one of the most essential s"ill sets to ha(e. D%elling on your mista"es

may paraly0e you in mo(ing for%ard or ma"ing appropriate directional changes. $othe est course of action is to admit that you ha(e made a mista"e, !) the mista"e,

and mo(e eyond it as 1uic"ly as you can. #his is %hat successful entrepreneurs do.

,. Are "leible.

$uccessful people possess this s"illset %hich ser(es them %ell in ad/usting tochanging circumstances.Nothing in life pans out /ust the %ay %e en(ision it to. Often times initial goals anddreams may need to e modi!ed and ad/usted to meet a changing need orcircumstance. Being 2e)ile helps the successful person achie(e this.

. Have the Ability to Promote.

Whate(er your temperament or le(el of e)tro(ertism, as a successful leader you %ill

need to !nd e&ecti(e %ays to 3sell+ yourself. 4ou %ill need to 3sell+ your idea, (ision,

dream, and or product to prospecti(e partners, employees, customers, and an"ers.

-a(ing this aility to promote yourself and your dreams to others in an e&ecti(e

%ay,%ill go far in achie(ing ultimate success.



1/. "ind Solutions.

$uccessful entrepreneurs %ill al%ays see" to !nd solutions to their prolems. #hey

don+t ta"e no for an ans%er and %ill al%ays loo" eyond the prolem. #hey see

challenges as opportunities and mo(e for%ard to ta"e ad(antage of those

opportunities. 3#here is al%ays a sil(er lining to each dar" cloud+ is ho% they thin". #hey are optimistic aout !nding solutions and don+t let immediate challenges get

them o& trac".

11. )a+e 0esponsibility for )heir Ations.

$uccessful people reali0e that the uc" stops %ith them. #hey ta"e personal

responsiility for all their actions. #hey don+t ma"e e)cuses or lame others for a

poor outcome. #hey loo" for%ard and not ac"%ards, and you %on+t !nd them

complaining or %hining aout their situation. #hey are positi(e and con!dent,

"no%ing that they %ill achie(e future success.

12. (o-perate with thers.

$uccessful people ha(e learned that achie(ing success, is not /ust up to them

personally. 't in(ol(es other people as %ell. 'n order to ma)imi0e their e&orts,

successful entrepreneurs "no% that they need to %or" %ell %ith others. Co

operation and collaoration is %hat %ill mo(e them for%ard to success.

13. Are alaned

Maintaining a strong sense of perspecti(e is essential to sur(i(e as an entrepreneur.

Balancing usiness %ith personal needs re1uires a simple clear focus. 't in(ol(es

eing at peace %ith yourself and others and learning from failures. 5nderstandingthat not all attles are %orth %inning, and there may e times %hen you need to

simply %al" a%ay from certain situations.

14. (an Shift )heir "ous.

-a(ing passion and amition is not al%ays enough. $uccessful people ha(e learnedho% to shift focus.

#hey ha(e mastered the s"illset of macro and micro management. 't is compellingto e a (isionary and see, from a macro point of (ie%, the ig picture. 4et it is alsoe)tremely important to e ale to see the details or micro point of (ie% as %ell. #heone cannot e)ist %ithout the other. Attending to the minutia carefully and %ith

diligence %ill ring success and the macro or dream %ill e reali0ed. $uccessfulentrepreneurs ha(e learned to shift focus et%een these t%o opposing (ie%points toachie(e their ultimate success.

1!. 0esilient and foused.

Entrepreneurs %ho are successful are resilient and ounce ac" after eingstretched, diminished, or compressed y others %ho don+t share their (ision. #hese



indi(iduals %ill stay focused on their goals and dreams. #hey ha(e learned to feedo& others negati(ity and actually gain strength and determination from it. #hey areselfreliant and don+t get o& course y allo%ing others to detract from their goals.

$o, %hat does it ta"e to e a successful entrepreneur and ho% can one identify the

successful from the unsuccessful6 #he successful indi(iduals share the common 78traits.

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15 Key Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs