What is one characteristic that most entrepreneurs have in common?
To help you identify the characteristics that are common to most entrepreneurs, we asked experienced entrepreneurs and business leaders this question for their best insights. From balancing multiple tasks to being problem solvers to willingness to try new things, there are several characteristics that define most entrepreneurs and tend to set them apart in their achievements.
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Here are 18 characteristics these and most entrepreneurs have in common:
- Balancing Multiple Tasks
- Having Grit
- Using Failure to Improve Themselves
- Having Self-Awareness
- Being Courageous
- Choosing to be Productive With Their Free Time
- Exhibiting Individualism
- Being More Able to Deal With High Risk
- Building Excellent Teams
- Good at Problem-Solving
- Being Very Resourceful
- Showing Consistency
- Possessing a Drive for Innovation
- Having Insatiable Curiosity
- Being Confident
- Possessing the Ability to See the Big Picture
- Willing to Try New Things
- Embracing Change and Adapting Easily
Balancing Multiple Tasks
I started my company 15 years ago and with being a business owner there are always a million different tasks that need to be completed. To be a successful entrepreneur you need to be able to manage multiple projects at the same time. You need to evaluate everything that needs to be done and figure out what can wait and what needs to be fixed immediately. You need to be able to make sure the projects that can wait don’t fall through the cracks and never get done as well. If you don’t master the skill of balancing tasks it’s going to be very difficult to be a successful entrepreneur. This same skill of balancing tasks needs to be done in work and personal life. You need time for yourself and your family or your job can come crashing down.
Evan McCarthy, SportingSmiles
Having Grit
Having solid grit is one of the most important traits for an entrepreneur. Grit is defined as having passion and perseverance for long-term goals. without grit, it is difficult to have the mindset required for an entrepreneur. This is because starting a business takes a lot of hard work and dedication. There will be many times where you will be faced with obstacles and you will have to overcome them in order to succeed. When you have grit, you will be able to push through these difficult times and reach your goals. This is because you will be motivated by your passion and you will persevere through the challenges.
Antreas Koutis, Financer
Using Failure to Improve Themselves
Most entrepreneurs use failure as a tool to improve themselves and their businesses. The most successful entrepreneurs are the ones who have the ability to take calculated risks, learn from their mistakes, and continue to push forward. Inevitably, entrepreneurs will make mistakes along the way, sometimes very painful mistakes, but these are the ones that can teach them the most. They realize that these are learning opportunities rather than roadblocks, and they use these experiences to continue to improve their approach to entrepreneurship.
Howard Marks, the esteemed value investor, says that “experience is what you got when you didn’t get what you wanted.” And entrepreneurs, better than many people, will make the most of that experience.
Matthew Ramirez, Paraphrase Tool
Having Self-Awareness
Entrepreneurs have many of the qualities we expect such as inventiveness and discipline but the truly successful ones usually have one characteristic in common, and that is self-awareness. Entrepreneurs tend to be confident, but the wise ones are not blindly so, and it is in this knowing of their strengths and weaknesses that they are able to flourish.
Successful entrepreneurs are honest about their creativity skills, their people management abilities, their fundraising talents, and their operational prowess. In having these honest self-assessment abilities, they are able to focus on what they do best, and bring on the talent they need to assist them in the areas they lack in. By having self-awareness, successful entrepreneurs are always able to ensure that their business will have all the advantages they can provide to ensure its long term prosperity.
Matt Miller, Embroker
Being Courageous
One characteristic that most entrepreneurs share is courage. You have to be courageous to take a chance and put yourself and your ideas out there in the sink-or-swim world of business. It’s not enough just to be talented and smart, because you’ll encounter obstacles that would make even the most talented person give up if they don’t also have a significant helping of courage. Remember, courage isn’t about never being afraid, it’s about how you respond in the face of fear and adversity. The truly courageous press on even harder, and that’s what you need to be an entrepreneur.
Marcus Hutsen, Patriot Coolers
Choosing to be Productive With Their Free Time
Most successful entrepreneurs use their “free time” in a more productive way than your average person. While many folks will spend a couple hours a night watching TV or browsing social media, a driven entrepreneur may spend that free time acquiring skills and knowledge that will help them with their business, such as reading a book on marketing or listening to a podcast from an industry leader. This doesn’t mean that they never let themselves unwind and take a break from thinking about their business, but they realize that down time can still be an opportunity to foster success.
Anthony Martin, Choice Mutual
Exhibiting Individualism
Individualism. Personally, I think that most entrepreneurs have a strong sense of individualism – that’s how and why they are able to be successful creators and leaders. For instance, the more boldly unique, authentic, and original an entrepreneur is, the more they will shine – and that comes from embracing their individualism. Entrepreneurs feel that they have something unique to offer the world and it’s that characteristic, that individual self-worth, that they all share.
Karim Hachem, Sunshine79
Being More Able to Deal With High Risk
Nobody likes to lose, but entrepreneurs are more emotionally equipped to deal with high risks without falling apart – some even enjoy the thrill. On the other hand, if you feel anxious or stressed when things are unsure, you’ll quickly crumble when faced with the daily barrage of challenges that comes with business ownership. Great entrepreneurs see risk and don’t ignore it – they work to minimize it without limiting their progress. A new product line, for example, is a considerable risk, but great entrepreneurs use that risk to motivate them to research the market until they feel confident the risk is worth taking. Of course, nothing is ever guaranteed with business, but some professionals prefer a role that feels more secure rather than the uncertainty (and substantial potential payoff) of entrepreneurialism.
Fernando Lopez, Circuit
Building Excellent Teams
Being a successful entrepreneur means getting clear on both your strengths and your weaknesses. Entrepreneurs are the first to admit that they’re not perfect. They can’t do everything alone, but the good news is that they don’t need to. The surest way to succeed is by filling talent gaps with those who offer a complement to your abilities. If you don’t know how to sell your service, hire an excellent salesperson. If you don’t know the first thing about managing your budget, bring a financial officer on board.
Rather than struggling to fulfill these processes alone, leaving it to the experts gives you more time and energy to put towards generating revenue. And with each team member striving to accomplish a common goal, your long-term vision inches closer towards reality. As the old saying goes, when you’re the least talented in the room, you’re in the right room. So fill your room with the best and brightest that you can find, and rest assured that good things will follow.
Andrew Gonzales, BusinessLoans.com
Good at Problem-Solving
One of the most common personality traits found in entrepreneurs is their ability to think fast on their feet and solve problems. As an entrepreneur, you’re most likely eager to solve existing problems with a new product/service and have the ability to tackle obstacles that stand in your way with your problem solving abilities. An entrepreneurial mindset includes being open to change, having an open mind and being able to solve problems even if its in an unconventional way to be able to become a successful entrepreneur and keep the business running.
Jenna Nye, On the Strip
Being Very Resourceful
Entrepreneurs set themselves apart from others with their keen sense of awareness and resourcefulness. These professionals are proficient at observing other successful leaders to add to their perspectives and business acumen. They gather as much insight as they can to improve their skills and strategies. They ask the right questions to find answers to pressing questions, and find ways to educate themselves on areas they’re not proficient in. Most entrepreneurs are eager to learn, listen to advice, and are ambitious, tenacious, and extremely resourceful.
Natalia Morozova, Cohen, Tucker & Ades P.C.
Showing Consistency
I think consistency is one of the most important factors that most entrepreneurs have in common. It shapes you as a person and also provides you with extraordinary exposure, which eventually helps you enhance your personality. To become a successful entrepreneur, one must work with maximum potential and hard work on a daily basis, as this will eventually increase the productivity of their respective enterprise. Normal people frequently lose their initiative after a certain period of time due to a sudden loss of motivation, but successful entrepreneurs never do that.
Steve Sacona, Top10lawyers
Possessing a Drive for Innovation
Every entrepreneur is curious and ready to challenge the status quo to detect resources. They endeavor to identify new and innovative things that can be undertaken. And for this, they are accommodating to taking off for structured experimentation. There are lots of visionary ideas but they need to discern which one is worth pursuing and can go for comprehensive research. And they do so by executing a thorough market analysis and carrying out various tests, campaigns, surveys, etc. to substantiate and verify ideas and gauge their potential. Only then, they are inclined to capitalize a large number of their funds and manpower on a particular project.
Brian Clark, United Medical Education
Having Insatiable Curiosity
Entrepreneurs have many qualities in common but the one that leads them to success is curiosity. It allows an entrepreneur to think in a different way to overcome challenges with a creative perspective. This characteristic leads to discoveries and encourages them to take risks. Curious person is always looking forward to challenges and it makes them adaptable which is important in entrepreneurship as there are always chances of failure. So curiosity does not let you step back and pushes you to try again. It seeks new opportunities in today’s world of competition. New startups are always at a high risk of failure but a curious person knows how to overcome the obstacles and stick to their goals.
Jason Vishnefske, Santa Barbara Chocolate Company
Being Confident
One common characteristic that all entrepreneurs share is “Confidence.” Entrepreneurs are confident people. They believe in themselves, they believe in their ideas and they believe in their products or services. They know that they can make things happen, even when others doubt. This confidence is what drives them to take action and persevere through tough times. Sometimes, they may not know exactly how they will do it, but they have confidence that they will figure it out. I think it’s their faith, belief, and confidence in themselves and their abilities that they don’t let doubt or fear hold them back, which allows them to take risks and succeed.
Amy Gilmore, Learn Financial Strategy
Possessing the Ability to See the Big Picture
One characteristic that most entrepreneurs have outside of their hard work ethic is their ability to see the big picture. Many times an entrepreneur is able to see how all the pieces fit together on the board to create a company. The ability to implement smaller actionable directives in order to achieve a larger goal is key in an entrepreneur. Outside of a hard work ethic, being able to plan ahead and see the overall vision is the most important characteristic a successful entrepreneur can have.
Ian Heyman, MDP
Willing to Try New Things
In my opinion, an entrepreneur must be willing to try new things and take calculated risks. Accept the possibility of failure when trying something new. Every setback is a chance to refine and enhance your approach. However, make sure your experiments are well thought out so you can gain insight quickly. Show your product to a small, trusted group of people, check out some market research to see if there’s enough interest, and read up on what’s happening in your field. If you use these methods, you may ensure that the risks you incur are reasonable.
Tiffany Payne, iFlooded Restoration
Embracing Change and Adapting Easily
Most great entrepreneurs possess the ability to modify their plans at any moment to solve a problem. They can embrace change, be flexible, and adapt quickly. This is crucial in business when advancements in technology create an environment that is constantly in flux. Leading by example, they give life to others’ ideas and aren’t afraid of change. Solid leaders understand their role and are selfless in identifying the causes for success and failure. They are willing to try new things that can yield great rewards in the long term.
Haley Wood, The Look