“Entrepreneurs are those morons who are willing to work 80 hours a week for themselves to avoid working 40 hours a week for others.” — Lori Greiner
Being your own boss and having flexibility in the working environment is something that encourages people to walk on the trending path of entrepreneurship. However, no matter how awesome it sounds, entrepreneurship is not for everyone.
While the pros of being an entrepreneur are having the freedom to follow your passion and build something helpful for yourself and others, the downs are stretched hours of stresses, handling tons of uncertainties and moreover sleepless nights.
In this post, going to discuss six keys which can define whether you are an entrepreneur or not.
The 6 key traits of an Entrepreneur.
1. Self-starter
Being an entrepreneur means that you should take initiatives.
Entrepreneurs have a strong self-starting mindset and they treat their failures as just another learning. They apply unconventional tools and approaches to solving the existing challenges. Besides, entrepreneurs are curious people who are always open to new ideas.
2. ‘Get it done’ attitude
Are you ready to take no as an answer? If NO, then you might fulfill one of the most critical traits of an entrepreneur.
During your entrepreneurship journey, there will be times when you might see a dead-end ahead or don’t have any motivation to keep moving. However, Entrepreneurs are not the people who stop when they are tired. They stop when the work is done.
The entrepreneurs need to have this ‘Get it done’ attitude to driving their dreams, no matter what the circumstances.
3. Adaptable to change
Entrepreneurs embrace the change and learn from it. Moreover, they don’t only accept the changes, they expect it.
They prepare for and react quickly to obstacles, setbacks and new pieces of information. Entrepreneurs are the ones who learn to weigh and access risk and make themselves comfortable with the changes.
Also read: Why Nobody is Waiting for Your Startup?
4. Smelling opportunities
“Finding Opportunity is a matter of believing it’s there.” — Barbara Corcoran
No matter how many people say that entrepreneurship is not about making money, the truth is that — Money matters. Everyone wants to make money and if you can’t convert an opportunity into the money making a startup, then you are not an entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurs see and seek out opportunities. They are the one who sees ways to make things better for everyone and make a big fortune for solving those problems.
5. Communication
“Success takes communication, collaboration and, sometimes, failure.”
— Jessica Alba, The Honest Company
Communication is an essential key in your entrepreneurial journey.
Entrepreneurs are good at communicating. They share their ideas clearly and passionately.
6. Selling dreams
Entrepreneurs are sellers. They are ones who sell products, ideas, companies and sometimes even themselves. The ability to sell dreams is the last key to become an entrepreneur.
Quick Note: You do not always need to sell your dreams to the public only. If you are not comfortable selling to the public, sell it your co-founders first. And they can do the rest for you.
Also read: Why Do Big Companies Fail? The Tale of Disruptive Innovation.
Closing Thoughts
Although all the six points mentioned above are important, however, there is one more key which defines whether you an entrepreneur or not. And this is — Are you a hard worker?
Startups are not an overnight success and you need to work hard for many months and probably years. And if you are not ready to work hard, maybe the entrepreneurial journey is not right for you.
“I am a great believer in luck. And I find that the harder I work, the more I have of it.” — Thomas Jefferson
The last point, entrepreneurs have fun. Although being visionary is good, you also need to enjoy the present.
That’s all for this post. By the way, how many keys did you get correctly? And below in the comment box and don’t worry- even if you didn’t match as much as you hoped to. You can always learn these skills with time and experience. After all, entrepreneurship is a journey. Cheers!!
