Thousands of people start their own enterprises but only few succeed. Why? Because of the ability and qualities of the entrepreneur behind the enterprise. Some of the key characteristics that differentiate a successful entrepreneur from other are –
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Self-Starter
Though this sounds more like an obvious quality but an entrepreneur can definitely not sit idly and wait for permissions or orders to complete tasks. They must act as self-starters and must possess the ability to take actions on the various ideas generated instead of dreaming of the same being completed by themselves.
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Discipline
Discipline is a necessity for any entrepreneur as there are no bosses or managers to overlook the work. This may prove to be a tricky thing at times as the people who often come up with great ideas may lack the discipline to work upon the same.
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Confidence
Any buyer or stakeholder would not like to buy or invest in a person or his work, if the individual is not confident enough about his/her own ability to deliver results. Entrepreneurs must demonstrate unchallengeable confidence even if the situation is more like ‘fake it till you make it’. Though complete confidence at all times is not the key to success for any entrepreneur, it sure plays a major role.
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Creativity
Creative problem solving is the need for any business to flourish, especially during the early days when it needs to be nourished to stability. If you don’t have the money for any idea, say A, B or C; simply find a creative yet less expensive solution! Creating something new or adding value to existing products or services is what can make any business successful. What do we need for that? Creativity, indeed!
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Risk-taker
Beginning a new business journey is a risk in itself. There are financial risks, future risks and even stability risks. At the same time there is a fine line of difference between plain risky behaviour and planned, incremental, measure, rational risk taking. Calculated risk taking is what entrepreneurs need.
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Relationship building
Good people skills are necessary as at least during the beginning of the business, all departments are bundled up into one, be it customer service, PR, HR, sales or marketing, even finance. New opportunities may pop up if you have the ability to foster and facilitate relationships.
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Money-wise
While we can come up with numerous examples of entrepreneurs who messed up their financials, the most successful ones have always had a strong hold over the money they spend. To be profitable it is necessary to plan ahead for the big expenses which are not yet visible.
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Natural Sellers
Selling yourself and your service or product is a necessity at every stage. Pitching for funding, loans or to customers for purchasing the product or service definitely requires the ability to sell ideas and products.
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Lifelong learner
Learning and knowledge are a high priority for successful entrepreneurs. They do not shy away from challenges. Instead, they learn and move ahead.