35 Common Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs
by Tim Berry on March 19, 2009
Harrumph. I wasn’t happy to see this title on Entrepreneur.com written by anybody but me. I got a lot of page views last month on my Planning Startups Stories blog with 10 Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs. Now Entrepreneur.com lists 25? Harrumph.
But then, thinking about it, the list is pretty damn good. My compliments to James Stephenson, its author. So let’s add them together, and make it 35. Bigger numbers are good.
Let’s have some fun. I’m going to put Stephenson’s list on the left and mine on the right. And no, let’s not call it a competition, because James wins. I have taken the liberty of leaving in a bit of explanation on a few points, because they don’t all stand alone well, at least not as naked bullet points.
- Do what you enjoy.
- Take what you do seriously.
- Plan everything.
- Manage money wisely.
- Ask for the sale.
- Remember it’s all about the customer.
- Become a shameless self-promoter (without becoming obnoxious). One of the greatest myths about personal or business success is that eventually your business, personal abilities, products or services will get discovered and be embraced by the masses that will beat a path to your door to buy what you are selling. But how can this happen if no one knows who you are, what you sell and why they should be buying?
- Project a positive business image.
- Get to know your customers: Personalize your business.
- Level the playing field with technology.
- Build a top-notch business team.
- Become known as an expert.
- Create a competitive advantage.
- Invest in yourself. Top entrepreneurs buy and read business and marketing books, magazines, reports, journals, newsletters, websites and industry publications, knowing that these resources will improve their understanding of business and marketing functions and skills.
- Be accessible.
- Build a rock-solid reputation.
- Sell benefits. Pushing product features is for inexperienced or wannabe entrepreneurs. Sell the benefits.
- Get involved.
- Grab attention. Small-business owners cannot waste time, money and energy on promotional activities aimed at building awareness solely through long-term, repeated exposure.
- Master the art of negotiations.
- Design your workspace for success.
- Get and stay organized.
- Take time off.
- Limit the number of hats you wear.
- Follow up constantly.
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- Planning.
- Empathy, as in understanding how other people think and feel about things.
- A sense of fairness. For dealing with vendors, customers and employees.
- Transferable values. This is closely related to the sense of fairness. I just don’t see people building businesses without believing in what they’re doing.
- Willingness to work hard.
- Knowing what they don’t know.
- Listening carefully.
- Vision for what they can build. Imagining a happy future. Dreaming.
- Making mistakes.
- Jumping viewpoints, like from short- to long-term in an instant, mixing those viewpoints together.
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No need for competition. If it helps, it helps.
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entrepreneurship,
traits of entrepreneurs
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Great post. So many great tips. Positive attitude is a must.
The follow up constantly might trip people up. Trying to handle your business without seeming desperate or obnoxious is a tough call sometimes.
Dr. Wright
The Wright Place TV Show
http://wrightplacetv.com/stimulus
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“Level the playing field with technology.” – This is a great characteristic to adopt, particularly in the current economy. The use of technology can help businesses of all sizes and industries to take on more customers, be more efficient, cut costs, and more!