13 characteristics of entrepreneurship

What are the main characteristics of an entrepreneur?

Most often, entrepreneurs have the rare privilege of pioneering new innovations, opening up new grounds, and driving the world towards innovative developments. 

Truthfully, not everyone has the charisma or temperament to get the job done as an entrepreneur. It is however possible to learn how-to. We have put together some important characteristics of entrepreneurs that you can work at developing for yourself such that the idea that is brewing in your mind can become a full-fledged and working project.

Do you want to know the different attributes of entrepreneurs? Here, the 13 most important:

1. Leadership – this attribute is perhaps the most important. An entrepreneur must be able to give good leadership to his employees, no matter their status in the company. Leadership by example is still the best way to go in this regard. This is because it is easier for people to follow a leader who takes initiatives and is not afraid to undertake any task even if it seems to be beneath his status. It is a good motivation any time, any day.
    
2. Creativity – Great entrepreneurs are very creative in nature. They birth ideas and find creative ways to make the ideas materialize. It is important to know that creativity is not just about getting new pacesetting ideas. Looking at new ways to make already existing ideas better and enterprising is also part of creativity. Take Facebook for example. It was not the first online messaging site or app but it came with a better idea of connecting people from all over the world, not just in a restricted geographical area.
    
3. A visionary – Entrepreneurs have to be great visionaries. They must be able to picture the future of their business and device ways by which they get there. Good vision is not just about having the mental picture but being able to work towards that agenda. The vision must also be innovative and relevant.
    
4. Highly Motivated – Entrepreneurs who want to see their business ideas come to fruition must be highly self-motivated. A highly motivated person will not be afraid to venture into new territories where his business is concerned. 
   The saying that winners never quit is a thing with successful entrepreneurs. This is because things do not always go smoothly. Rather, there are ups and downs, times when it looks like the dream will not materialize. It, therefore, takes someone who is self-motivating and who can motivate others to get the job done. This is a key attribute or characteristic of entrepreneurs.
    
5. Resourceful – Being resourceful is very key for entrepreneurship to be successful. There are times when available resources may not be enough to achieve a vision. Hence, an entrepreneur must be able to think outside the box and work with available resources, no matter how minimal they may be. This perhaps one of the things that ensures success for new entrepreneurs or startups.
    
6. Professionalism – No business thrives with the unprofessional attitude of its leaders. Professionalism starts when there are laid down rules and regulations with the right team-building spirit. All duties must be properly assigned with timelines and penalties should be in place for slackers. Everything has to be done in order and timely.
    
7. Risk taking – There will always be the need to take risks in business. Whether it pans out or not rests on the ability of the entrepreneur in question to determine the risk’s potential. Being a patient and keen observer is key for this ability to be effective. Successful entrepreneurs take risks based on calculations. They are not afraid of taking necessary risks especially when the expected outcome will outweigh the fallout in the end. Note that the keyword here is ‘necessary’.
   Some risks may be daunting but you should not be afraid to take them after you must have done due diligence to anticipate the expected outcome. Just because it is good to take risks does not suggest being frivolous or careless while doing it either. Not all risks are to be taken. You must be able to weigh the pros and cons and decide which way to lean.
    
8. Passionate – As an entrepreneur, you must decidedly be passionate about your business. Whether you are working alone or in a group, passion is important. It is your passion that fuels your actions and propels you forward even when things seem not to be good or in slow motion. Be ready to defend your cause to anyone who cares to listen and do everything you can to sell your ideas to the right people.
    
9. Flexibility and Dynamism – Being flexible and dynamic is an important attribute of successful entrepreneurs, most especially a leader. You must be flexible to ideas from other people, be willing to make changes when and where necessary, and flow with changing scenarios. Being rigid and dogmatic is not a good look on an entrepreneur who wants to be successful, especially if the ideas you are being rigid about are not working or outdated.
    
10. Sociable – A great entrepreneur must have excellent social skills. The ability of an entrepreneur to have a good interpersonal relationship with people is not an indispensable skill. This is because people work best when their interests are taken into consideration. This is also the reason why many large and small companies employ HR teams to help manage their staff. You must be able to build team spirit and encourage your workers and suppliers. Not everyone has inherent social capacity but everyone can learn to be a little bit sociable. Organize social events that build good rapport amongst staff of different hierarchical levels. You cannot afford to enrage your employees against you. So, while trying to maintain professionalism, ensure that it is done with adequate human management. Being sociable also encourages the staff to be able to share their opinions on how they think the company can move forward. Nobody is a sole reservoir of ideas.
     
11. Empathy – Closely related to being sociable is also the ability for empathy. Nobody wants to work for a boss who cannot relate to their personal issues or share their burdens on occasions. Whether you want to accept it or not, people’s personal lives affect their productivity at work. Therefore, a good entrepreneur should be able to effectively empathize with his employees and seek ways to make them effective under every reasonable circumstance.
     
12. Open-mindedness – Being an open-minded person goes without saying when pioneering a new business idea. This attribute goes hand-in-hand with flexibility and dynamism. Be open to suggestions and new ideas. While the big picture of the business is all yours, other people may have ideas that will make the idea even better. Be open to that. This is one of the reasons why large corporations have departments dedicated to suggesting new ideas frequently. You cannot be an island when planning successful entrepreneurship.
     
13. Curiosity – Curiosity, they say, is the backbone of any innovation. To be able to develop new ideas, you must have a curious mind. New ideas only come when you are actively searching out knowledge; wanting to know why things are the way they are and what to do to make them better.

Conclusion

If you have come this far in the article, you will realize that being in the entrepreneurship business is not exactly an easy task. However, it is highly rewarding and fulfilling when done right. 

The attributes listed in this article are not exhaustive; you can be more.