Seven Key Qualities of Successful Entrepreneurs

A recent poll conducted by Forbes magazine shows that majority
of its readers would prefer to become a billionaire rather than
a Nobel peace prize winner, a great scientist or a famous
athlete. There is no secret that most of the average people
dream about getting rich albeit very few makes any real effort
to become one.

According to statistics, more than 100 thousand people become
millionaires each year in the United States alone! Overwhelming
majority out of them is self-made and owners of business. This
means, if you would like to pursue your goal of becoming rich,
you have to start your own venture.

Becoming an entrepreneur is not an easy task! There are certain
qualities that are absolutely necessary if you would like to
become successful in your business ventures. Some of these
qualities are built-in parts of your inherent personality, and
some of them get developed over time. Knowing these
characteristics and identifying your weak ones - those, which
need strengthening - will, eventually, help you become a
successful entrepreneur.

1. Common Sense

Studies show that most successful businessmen consider common
sense as the foundation of their success. Common sense is
defined as an ability to make sound judgments on the issues,
which you encounter in everyday situations.

Good judgment depends on acquired knowledge and past experience.
The combination of these two creates necessary prerequisites in
developing common sense in a person. Common sense allows you to
understand complex issues in simpler terms and get into the core
of a problem.

2. Specialized Knowledge of your field

It is easier to start a successful business, if you have deep
knowledge of the business field that you decide to pursue. About
half of all home-based start-ups are launched by people who
decide to use the knowledge, which they gained from their
previous work experience of a particular niche area.

Philip Green, a billionaire, who made his fortune in garments
retailing, claims that corner stone of his success is his
knowledge of rag trade. He, presumably, can price a fabric
simply by rubbing it between his fingers. Just by looking at a
rack of coats he can predict which ones won't sell next season.
That's the kind of knowledge required in order to become
successful in entrepreneurship.

Around 45 percent of all start-ups fail to survive more than two
years. One of the main reasons is many entrepreneurs do not
accumulate needed industry knowledge before jumping into
business world.

3. Self-confidence

Self confidence is a key entrepreneurial skill for success. It
is easy to become demoralized, frustrated and resentful if you
lack self-confidence.

Self-confidence is concerned with how a person feels about his
ability. A successful entrepreneur believes in his abilities. He
is not scared to explore un-chartered territories, take risk and
take difficult decisions.

Self-confidence, however, is not a personal trait that either
you have or you don't. A person can have high self-confidence in
one situation and totally lack in another. This is one of those
skills that can be developed by training.

4. Ability to get things done

Successful entrepreneurs are persistent and hardworking. They
master self-discipline to such extent that if a work is
important and related to their goals, they will, eventually,
complete it.

Getting things done is the vital link between motivations and
their outcome. At times, entrepreneurs force themselves to
choose work over fun, a boring job against a pleasant one,
working on tax papers rather than reading a glamour magazine.
This requires a self-control that many people simply fail to
develop in them.

5. Creativity

Creativity is the ability to use your insights and come up with
new solutions to old problems, get things done in a different
way or find a totally different approach for conventional things
to work together. Entrepreneurs need creative thinking ability
virtually in everything. Each new product, each new marketing
method, each business decision - all these are fertile ground
for creative thinking.

Often, entrepreneurs become immensely successful thanks to one
single creative idea!

6. Ability to lead

Successful entrepreneurs are capable of leading people and get
work done by them. They use a combination of various methods -
effective motivation, planning, coaching and evaluation - to
lead people. They are concerned about the wellbeing of others
and easily get along with people.

7. Self reliance

Successful entrepreneurs try to take full responsibility for
their actions. They know that what they are today, and what they
are going to be tomorrow, depend solely on themselves, as it is
the outcome of their own choices and decisions. They are
proactive people, who set goals, walk an extra mile to achieve
them and rely, primarily, on their own resources and abilities.

If you would like to check out if your personality fits the
typical entrepreneurial profile, the following site has
questionnaire that will help you asses your entrepreneurial
skills:

http://www.rateyourself.com/subject.cfm/Subject_ID/2

If, even, you have all these great qualities and you feel quite
confident about yourself, you will never know how good an
entrepreneur you are, unless you give it a try! So, the best way
to prove your abilities, is to jump start a new venture!