Basic characteristic that is necessary for a good entrepreneur?

Answer 1

I'm a small business advisor, and I've worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs. Here are some of the common qualities I see:

-- has a good idea with commercial promise

-- drive, passion, motivated to make it happen, loves his/her work

-- feels joy being in the entrepreneurial process

-- good judgment about the profit potential of a business activity

-- good at putting together the resources needed to make the endeavor work, including money, people, expertise, materials and facilities

-- good at organizing, planning, setting goals

Given these similarities, entrepreneurs come in many different types

-- Some love to sell, others hate it and just want to do the work. They can succeed if they have a strong sales person on their team.

-- Some are numbers driven, others just like to work with customers. They can succeed if they have a good numbers person on their team.

-- Some are big-picture, strategic people; others keep their nose to the grindstone. Each can succeed if they have the other on their team.

The point is, few entrepreneurs have all the qualities needed to succeed, so they've got to build a team of people who are strong where they are weak. This is true even for a one-person business, where the owner must assemble part-time advisors.

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