What is an entrepreneur?
The term entrepreneur refers to a person whom, having spotted a gap in the market, invests their own money into the venture and goes it alone. An entrepreneur differs from an employee due to their ability to see an opportunity which others may have missed, thereby embarking on this often-temperamental career path to make a financial profit.
The necessary characteristics of a successful entrepreneur.
Whilst almost anyone can call themselves an entrepreneur, there are several characteristics and traits that are vital if one is to become a successful entrepreneur.
Without doubt, an entrepreneur must be a natural hard worker. The ideology of nine till five, Monday through to Friday, is not in an entrepreneur’s vocabulary, particularly in the early days. Long hours are standard in this role and motivation is essential. An entrepreneur will take on numerous roles such as Director, Salesperson, HR, Driver and so on. With no-one else to delegate to; early starts, late finishes, unsociable hours and a lack of holidays are the harsh but simple realities of a successful entrepreneur’s life.
An entrepreneur should automatically be a self-starter. In such ventures, there is generally no support system for the entrepreneur. Whilst the idea of being your own boss may sound great in conversation, the reality is that there is no safety net available in the shape of an employer. To the successful entrepreneur though, this lack of authority offers a creative licence for them to do their own thing, whilst setting their own goals and pacing. Many successful entrepreneurs indeed thrive on such independence because it forces them to confront and overcome their fears, thus rising to any challenges required of them.
A successful entrepreneur will be committed, with the sheer perseverance to see a plan through to completion. When things get tough, as in business they always do, an entrepreneur needs an added resilience to continue with their venture of their own accord. Staying power is a must to make it through the more challenging times, whilst keeping the end goal firmly in sight. An entrepreneur needs to be prepared to work harder than most; to go out of their way to make contacts and connections and keep on at them, building up a reputation even when it becomes harder to do so. Such commitment will see the successful ones through crucial times.
The most successful entrepreneurs understand that the markets continually change and, at the same time, as do taste and preferences; one only need study CMC Markets to observe this. By learning to spot such changes and adapt to them, whilst implementing them in their ventures, successful entrepreneurs make this change a part of their business and use it to their advantage, learning valuable lessons as they proceed. By readily accepting such change, successful entrepreneurs become self-sufficient and knowledgeable as they move along in their career.
Confidence is crucial for any potential entrepreneur. The confidence to believe, not only in your abilities but more so in what you are offering to the market is compulsory if that initial vision is to become a success. This applies heavily to the financial aspect. Almost all entrepreneurs have to invest their own hard-earned cash into their ventures and the risk is therefore hugely immense. If the venture fails, it comes at a personal loss. Such risk is often higher with a unique idea that hasn’t been attempted before and therefore has an unknown success rate. However, a confident entrepreneur will take into consideration all risks and possible eventualities beforehand, whilst working to prevent their occurrence.
Only the strongest will survive
Becoming an entrepreneur isn’t for everyone. It takes courage and strength galore to go it alone and step outside of one’s comfort zone. However, there’s no doubt that, coupled with the right characteristics, a successful entrepreneur is a risk-taker with the utmost self-belief that they alone can successfully fulfil that current gap in the market and benefit financially from. However, for many people, with the right mind-set, this really is the ultimate career with rewards far beyond financial.
Conrad Armer