Top Best Qualities of an Entrepreneur
[toc]If you are like many other people who work for someone else 40 hours each week, you probably have a difficult or stressful day every so often. Your circumstances may find you grumbling about going into business for yourself so you no longer need to work that hard for so little reward. This scenario has been the starting point for many people who find their niche in the world of business ownership, and another successful entrepreneur is born out of frustration. The next question is whether or not you are someone who has what it takes to pull that rabbit out of a hat and start your own successful small business.
Being Determine
The path to entrepreneurial success has many pitfalls, and only the very determined will prevail. If you have the discipline to focus on your goal without being distracted by the difficulties that will surely come, you will be able to take the steps necessary to achieve your dream of owning a small business. There may be times when working the long hours, and sacrificing time that could be spent with family and friends does not seem worth the effort, but the reward is sweet when your business is established enough to allow some personal time for you.
Most people who venture into the world of small business choose a product or service that they have a lot of knowledge of. If you are passionate about building your business around something you care deeply about, all the time, effort and funds you invest in the endeavor will seem more worthwhile. Some of the best qualities of an entrepreneur involve the belief that they are offering their clients the best value available to meet their needs. You can know your business is a success when your satisfied customers return again and again to your company, and you will feel even more pride when they also refer others to your establishment.
Effective Communication Skills
Most small business ventures require effective communication skills. You must have the ability to sell yourself and your product or service effectively. Even if you are not a natural salesperson type, you can project an open and inviting attitude to everyone you meet, whether you see them as a prospective customer or not. Make sure the reputation you build for yourself and your business makes you appear approachable, helpful and reliable. Charisma is among the most important qualities of an entrepreneur, whatever the type of business venture you have chosen to pursue.
“The art of communication is the language of leadership”-James Humes
Be Open to New Opportunities
Whether your business is small or large, it is essential that you as the owner and your managing team are always open to new opportunities. There is the common belief that there is no reason to fix something that is not broke. While it is sometimes wise to err on the side of caution, a successful business can easily become stagnant and get stuck in the mire of its own success. Society, people and technology are constantly changing, and if your business does not keep pace with those changes it will eventually fail. One of the most important qualities of an entrepreneur is the ability to look into the future and recognize every possibility for growth.
Being a Leader
Most small businesses begin with the dream and imagination of just one person, although sometimes it will be multiple family members or close friends who work together on the venture. If the business you own is successful and grows beyond the time and abilities of the you and any partners involved, it may become necessary to add one or more employees to the workforce. This adds a whole new dimension to the process, and open communication between you as the business owner and the employees becomes extremely important. Among the important qualities of an entrepreneur, strong people skills are near the top. Not only is it essential that you relate well to the public, but your employees must feel valued and believe the skills they are learning on the job will enhance their career and their future.
Administrate your time
When you are the owner of your own company, you are in charge of the time you choose to invest in it. There is no doubt that getting a business up and running takes an incredible amount of effort on your part if it is going to grow and be successful. When you were considering the possibility of working for yourself, you may have thought you would be able to arrange your time schedule the way you wanted it. It is much more likely that you will be burning the midnight oil and getting up with the chickens to make sure your business is progressing on schedule. The ability to stay focused on your goal and realize that the responsibility belongs to you alone is one of the more essential qualities of an entrepreneur.
Use Your Competitors as Leverage
One of the most common reasons for stress in the business world is the competitiveness of co-workers, and this fact may well have influenced your decision to work for yourself. Unfortunately, it is not possible to completely escape the competition that exists in nearly every area of our modern world. As a wise business owner, you must use competition to your advantage and allow it to inspire you to new heights of success. The difference between the competition between co-workers in the corporate world and competition from a competing business is the control you now have over the situation. A business that deals in a positive manner with competition will find new ways to expand and offer better products and services.
Be Honest
Although honesty is not mentioned much when the best qualities of an entrepreneur are considered, integrity is extremely important in building a successful business. There may be times when sacrifice is necessary to preserve your personal integrity, but the trust and respect of your customers makes it worthwhile. When you can ensure your business practices are honest and the needs of your customers are always considered first, they will purchase your products or services repeatedly and also refer others to your company. Although advertising will always be a necessity, no commercial advertising can compete with the word-of-mouth advertising of your satisfied customers.
Many businesses whether large or small have been born of someone’s frustration and the belief that they had a better idea. Although the path to successful business ownership is far from easy, if you possess some of the qualities of an entrepreneur you are likely to find success on some level. Perhaps your business will remain small enough to operate from your home, or you may eventually need to relocate to a larger building. In the end, you are the one who will make those decisions for yourself and the future of your family.
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Sources for images: Flickr
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