12 POWERFUL CAPABILITIES OF THE SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR

Most people who have ever been employed by someone else have entertained thoughts of starting and owning their own business. They may see successful entrepreneurs and business owners living the ‘good life’ and wonder, “Why can’t that be me?” The potential rewards of business ownership are many, but so are the challenges. Entrepreneurship is not for everyone, and is definitely not for the faint of heart.

An intense desire to succeed is not enough to ensure success, and there is no such thing as a fail-safe business concept. Even so, aspiring entrepreneurs who possess the characteristics increase their chances of achieving long-term success.

Successful entrepreneurs are normally the individuals who think outside the box. They are the people who stand out in the crowd space of normalcy and push themselves on riding out ideas that others have not, or that others have not done successfully. As much as these individuals are unique in most ways – there are common traits of successful entrepreneurs that show there is a recipe for success in the big scheme of things. The traits of an entrepreneur include twelve powerful capabilities that place them above those who try and fail without aligning more deeply with what creates success.

12. Unafraid of risk or success
Entrepreneurs are not immune to fear. But they prioritize their approach to life so that the fears of failure, frustration, boredom, drudgery, and dissatisfaction, or even success, don’t become debilitating or predictable.

11. Leadership
Entrepreneurs not only lead themselves, but they are also skilled at leading others. They know the importance of teamwork, and they understand the need to appreciate others, support them, and reward them accordingly.

10. Resilience
No matter how successful your business, there will be bumps along the road. A successful entrepreneur is resilient and can bounce back from a setback. They use setbacks as an opportunity to learn and grow. They understand that failure is part of the game.

9. Willing to ask for and accept help
An entrepreneur needs to be a jack of all trades but the most successful entrepreneurs know their limitations, realize they can’t do everything and are willing to delegate to others. They are willing to ask for help. They seek out and pay for expert advice when needed.

8. Prudent with moneyWe often think of successful entrepreneurs as “big picture” people who don’t worry so much about managing the day to day. And it’s true that you might have an accountant or other team members to help you manage the business. However, if you want to be successful, you should still have basic money management skills and knowledge. Understand how money works so that you know where you stand, and so that you run your business on sound principles.

7. Can sell
An entrepreneur must be comfortable selling. Even with a sales team, the leader must be an expert at networking and be able to promote themselves and their business to bankers, customers, suppliers and staff.

6. Flexibility
To a certain degree, you need to be flexible as an entrepreneur. Be willing to change as needed. Stay on top of your industry and be ready to adopt changes in processes and product as they are needed. Sometimes, you also need flexibility in your thinking. This is an essential part of problem-solving. You want to be able find unique and effective solutions to issues.

5. Confidence
Successful entrepreneurs have confidence in themselves and in their business. They must believe in their ability and in their idea. Every entrepreneur will face rejection along the way and successful entrepreneurs are those with the confidence to keep going and bounce back after a setback.

4. Willingness to work hard
Being an entrepreneur is harder than being an employee. To be successful, the entrepreneur must be willing to put in the time and effort required, often for little or no pay at the beginning. Successful entrepreneurs recognize the risk and necessary work that achieving their goals will entail.

3. Tenacity
Entrepreneurs remain tough when the going gets rough. They don’t give up easily. They can accept rejection and are willing to learn from their mistakes. They are willing and able to adapt and modify their plan in order to be successful the next time around.

2. Passion
Successful entrepreneurs are passionate. They feel deeply about their product or service or mission. Passion is what will help you find motivation when you are discouraged and it will drive your forward. Passion is fuel for successful entrepreneurship. If you find yourself losing your passion, that might be the clue that it’s time to move on to something else (that stokes your passion). There are many serial entrepreneurs that create successful businesses, sell them, and then create something else.

1. Vision
Successful entrepreneurs have a clear vision of what their business will be and can concisely articulate its purpose, goals and market position. They have identified (and can succinctly describe) the who, what, where, when and why of their business.

The word “entrepreneur” is derived from the French verb enterprendre, which means ‘to undertake’. This refers to those who “undertake” the risk of new enterprises. An enterprise is created by an entrepreneur. The process of creation is called “entrepreneurship”.

Entrepreneurship is a process of actions of an entrepreneur who is a person always in search of something new and exploits such ideas into gainful opportunities by accepting the risk and uncertainty with the enterprise.