Characteristics of an Entrepreneur.

Characteristics are qualities, traits or features of someone that are typical of them and easily recognized. The following characteristics of an entrepreneur are identified by Edeja (2015):

 

1.    Self-confidence: This is a character in which a person believes in his power and ability to succeed in solving problems and effectively dealing with difficult situations even when the physical manifests impossible situations.

2.    Drive: This is the zeal motivation and determination to succeed.

3.    Initiative: This is the ability of an individual to take decisions without waiting for someone to instruct him. He should be able to create new, ideas and alert to environmental opportunities.

4.    Decisiveness: This is the ability to think positively and act in the same way without being double minded. He must be firm in making decision or selecting from alternative courses of action.

5.    Ability to delegate responsibilities: An entrepreneur should be able to direct and allow others to act on his belief to achieve effectiveness since he cannot carry out all the function at a time.

6.    Integrity and sincerity: These include trustworthiness, loyalty, trustfulness and ability to maintain a reputation of one who is honest and fair in dealing with fellow human beings.

    Self-Motivation

     One of the most important traits of entrepreneurs is self-motivation. When you want to succeed, you need to be able to push yourself. You aren’t answerable to anyone else as an entrepreneur, and that sometimes means that it’s hard to get moving without anyone to make you. You need to be dedicated to your plan and keep moving forward — even if you aren’t receiving an immediate paycheck.

   Understand What You Offer

     As an entrepreneur, you need to know what you offer, and how it fits into the market. Whether it’s a product or a service, you need to know where you fit in. That means you need to know when it’s time to tweak things a little bit. This also includes knowing whether you are high end, middle of the road or bargain. Being able to position yourself and then adjust as needed is an important part of entrepreneurship.

    Take Risks

      Successful entrepreneurs know that sometimes it’s important to take risks. Playing it safe almost never leads to success as a business owner. It’s not about taking just any risk, though. Understanding calculated risks that are more likely to pay off is an important part of being an entrepreneur. You’ll need to be willing to take a few risks to succeed.

    Know How to Network

     Knowing how to network is an important part of entrepreneurship. Sometimes who you know is an important part of success. Being able to connect with others and recognize partnership opportunities can take you a long way as a business owner. Figure out where to go for networking opportunities and make it a point to learn how to be effective.

    Basic Money Management Skills and Knowledge

     We 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.

    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.

    Passion

     Finally, 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.