Numerous elements contribute to the success of a startup, including a compelling idea, a clear vision, a talented team, and early seed capital to fuel business growth. Perhaps the most critical component is the person of the startup founder, who is responsible for transforming her vision into a fully-running and fast-growing enterprise. Starting a company requires a great deal of effort, time, and commitment.
Anyone who says otherwise is either dishonest or has never started and run a company before. The schedules are often long, the sacrifices are significant, and you are constantly confronted with new challenges and obstacles. If you lack the fortitude to withstand these storms, your firm can disintegrate quicker than it began. Entrepreneurship, clearly, is not for everyone. So, how do you know whether it’s the right path for you?
Many people succeed in business through their robust work ethic, deep passion, self-motivation, and eagerness to learn. Anyone can thrive as an entrepreneur if they have good ideas, open-mindedness, investment sense, or foresight. Nevertheless, there are some critical personality characteristics that almost all successful entrepreneurs must have. Let’s explore them in more detail!
1. Deep Passion
Passion drives a startup to success. Entrepreneurs are effective in business because they pursue their passions. Have you ever been so invested in a school assignment that you earned an A? That sense of accomplishment is priceless. That is how entrepreneurs think and feel when they see positive results coming from their efforts.
Professionalism and passion are inextricably linked. It needs a strong work ethic to sustain a successful firm, and it takes enthusiasm to lead and motivate oneself and others to keep a positive work ethic. Passion, I feel, is by far the most important personality trait that every successful startup founder must have to excel in business.
Simply stated, when you feel passionate about your idea, you do not give up easily. Founders are able to fight their way out of creative ruts and periods of lack of inspiration, and still keep their companies afloat. This begins with understanding what motivates them to keep pushing and finding inspiration at times of low motivation.
2. Creativity
Entrepreneurs do not think in the same manner as the rest of society. They have a unique perspective on the world and think beyond the box. Businesses are based on bold ideas, and those bold ideas must originate from a position of originality, from a perspective that is distinct from everyone else’s.
Entrepreneurs are always on the lookout for new ways to do things and offer innovative solutions to age-old problems. They are dissatisfied with the current state of affairs. They look for market gaps to fill and emerging opportunities in the marketplace. Entrepreneurs develop concepts that affect the world as a result of their creativity. While creativity is often connected with creative production, it is a necessary characteristic for all startup owners.
The term “creativity” does not refer only to the aesthetic components of business or branding. Entrepreneurs who are able to think creatively and challenge the status quo when confronted with daily obstacles are able to pivot fast and execute essential solutions that result in business success.
Startup ventures that succeed are often the result of their founders’ unrestrained imagination. With today’s fierce competition, entrepreneurs are pressed to develop unique concepts that set their business ideas apart. Creativity may also refer to the development of novel commercial concepts. It may also be used to establish a connection between two unconnected objects in order to solve a problem or issue. Entrepreneurs with imagination explore the potential that the conventional answer is inadequate.
3. Resourcefulness
Today’s enterprises are confronted with challenges and obstacles they have never encountered before. As an entrepreneur, one must be able to efficiently pull from all resources at their disposal, regardless of whether it is human resources, networking connections, supply chain partnerships, community partners, etc.
When entrepreneurs are resourceful and quick with solutions, they can efficiently solve problems and scale their business even when they lack the necessary answers or information to make timely decisions. Being resourceful demands a can-do attitude and a willingness to think on your feet. You must be imaginative and ingenious at the same time to be able to operate a business venture, with or without quick access to necessary resources.
As a resourceful leader, entrepreneurs are able to come up with creative and unique solutions in challenging situations, make do with what is available, and achieve business goals and mission.
4. Process-Oriented
A successful entrepreneur must have proper systems in place to achieve the results they desire. These processes and activities may be used to achieve multiple objectives of the organization, including sales targets, new employee onboarding, quality manufacturing, and timely product delivery.
Being process-oriented ties in closely with being resourceful. Having a results-oriented mindset allows you to take efficient routes to attain your goals across the board with the minimum amount of resources. A process-based management style provides you with a clear vision of your business enterprise, as well as of its internal and external relationships (customers, employees, investors, community, etc.).
5. Flexibility and Willingness to Learn
It is impossible to understand or even know every variable affecting a business and its decisions. Due to a lack of funding and support, a startup business often does not have enough resources and employees who can lend a hand with so much going on.
During the initial period, entrepreneurs must manage everything on their own – from HR to Accountancy to Marketing. Being able to flexibly switch roles within the company is a distinguishing trait of a successful entrepreneur. Being flexible goes hand in hand with a willingness to learn and adapt.
Additionally, startup owners are open to adjusting their existing plans in response to new data and changing market conditions. Be it improving a brand or modifying a company plan to compete effectively, business owners or managers who are too inflexible and fearful of change will fall behind and risk losing their entire business. When an entrepreneur adopts a flexible strategy, they are able to seize new and better opportunities as they arise, which also repays itself in the long could haul.
The Bottom Line
An entrepreneur brings new ideas and solutions to the table, challenges the status quo, and creates her own rules. They are often fearless individuals who are comfortable taking calculated risks and capitalizing on filling market gaps or meeting unfulfilled needs. In order to launch a new business or run a startup venture, she must be creative, resourceful, process-oriented, and flexible.
Entrepreneurs – whether they run global businesses or roadside food joints – have some traits in common. No matter what industry you work in or where you are based, you may achieve success by inculcating these traits within your personality. As humans, we are malleable but wiring ourselves for success is a great starting point. While developing these personality qualities will benefit you in the long term, if you want to pursue a career as an entrepreneur, that’s probably because you may already possess them, and only need to unleash them.
Most of these topics are discussed in my two books:
Being A Visionary: Going After Your Vision
Being A Visionary: Going After Your Vision Workbook
