Understand the Top Traits of a Successful Entrepreneur
There are several common features and traits that successful entrepreneurs share.
Even if you don’t have these yet, you can develop them with practice and perseverance.
More than likely though, you already have some of these traits if you are looking into becoming an entrepreneur.
Even if you need to work on some of them, you’re on the right track.
They Are Fearless –
The truth is – this is wrong.
No one is fearless, but they are able to push through boundaries and do things through the fear.
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin probably weren’t truly fearless, but they felt the fear and then had enough confidence in their convictions to work through the fear and do it anyway.
They Make Actionable Plans –
An entrepreneur makes plans to do things, but they don’t just make plans –
they make plans that are actionable.
Making plans, and setting goals – that’s just part of the process.
Doing is more important than any of that.
Without action nothing becomes reality.
At some point making plans has to become taking action to get things done.
They Understand Cash Flow –
A lot of new entrepreneurs think that income is an indicator of success,
but the truth is, without adequate cash flow a business that earns money can still fail.
Cash flow management is a critical element in running a successful business.
Your bills are due at a specific time and billables are due at a specific time,
but you know that it doesn’t always work out.
So, work hard to understand cash flow so that you can be truly successful.
They Know It’s Not About Them –
You’ve heard it before – the customer is always first.
But, it never will really hit home until you’re an entrepreneur.
You have to learn to separate your wants and desires from your customers’ wants and desires.
The customer should drive your products and services and even price point more than your passions and dreams should.
They Aren’t Afraid to Self-Promote –
As an entrepreneur, you have to let go of shyness and promote yourself.
Become the expert.
Be known as the “go-to” person in your niche and you’ll have people pounding down your door to get what you have.
You can’t get there if you are too afraid to be a self-promoter.
Tip: Create something valuable that you’re proud of and it’ll be easy to promote it.
They Take Action –
Entrepreneurs are doers, not just idea people.
They can hire an idea person, but they know how to put ideas into action.
They’re good at identifying opportunities, involving themselves in innovation and creating value and then taking action to implement the ideas.
In order to take action, you need a clear vision, and you must be willing to overcome obstacles that get in your way.
Taking action alone won’t get results, but taking smart action that has a reason will. You must know the difference.
They Understand That Change is Inevitable (and good) –
You have to realize that every business that exists today will not be here tomorrow.
Think about the technology from the past that has been killed by new technologies.
Take VHS tapes, for example.
Maybe you have never even heard of them, or maybe you watched them in your VCR as a child.
The fact is, they don’t exist now.
But, businesses that kept their eye on the future adapted and started creating other types of storage, like DVDs.
Someday DVDs will be old school too, so it will behove any company creating them to keep their eyes open for killer technologies.
They Listen –
One skill trait that an entrepreneur has that really helps them succeed is the ability to shut up and listen to what their audience is saying.
Not only their audience but the people they hire to help them, too.
Open your ears and listen to other people’s ideas, listen to their criticisms and their desires.
They Keep Learning –
Knowing how to research and evaluate the market, their customers and competitors is a very important skill that they have honed.
It will help them avoid making errors before they even start creating a new product or service.
Plus once they do, they’ll know how to best promote it.
They Network Smart –
Successful entrepreneurs don’t just go to every single meeting or get involved in every single group.
They know how to pick and choose the right events and the right way to network with the right people.
They know it’s about building relationships with the right people.
Developing an entrepreneurial mindset and building your skills can be a process that you work on as you get started in your new business venture or continue in a business you’ve already started.
Identifying where you are deficient will help you move forward and become more successful as an entrepreneur.
Building Skills to Reach Entrepreneurial Success
In order to build your entrepreneurial skills and reach success, you’ll need to push your boundaries and take action right now.
You can start slow, or you can dive right in, but these tips will help you move past your fears quickly and help you gain experience feeling success.
Organize an Event –
Whether it’s an in-person event or an online event, you should set a date and organize an event.
If you are nervous, start with a local meet-up using Meetup.com to help.
The actions of organizing and planning an event will teach you a lot about planning, negotiating, and deadline setting.
You can do the same thing with an online webinar, the only difference is you may need to learn new technology while you’re also learning to plan, negotiate and set deadlines.
Get Involved With Others
You can do this via volunteering for a cause you care about.
While you don’t want to volunteer with an objective in mind,
there is nothing wrong with choosing an event or charity to volunteer with that matches your skillset
so that there will be a lot of things for you to do that prove your worth and help you improve your skills.
Improve Your Communication Skills –
One of the most important parts of being an entrepreneur is being able to communicate.
One way to improve your communication skills is to learn to give speeches and talk to people.
You can join a local Toastmasters International club to help you get better at your communication skills.
Become the Expert –
One way to develop your entrepreneurial mindset is to become an expert in your niche.
Write blog posts, contribute guest articles, write a book, host webinars, host local events and more.
The more you do to develop your expertise, the more confidence you’ll have and the more successful you’ll become.
Learn Something New Regularly –
If you just devote one hour a day to learning something new.
Then move on to something else when you master the first thing.
You’ll be able to keep your skills top-notch and develop them even better than you can without a plan of action.
Go To Networking Events –
Don’t network with only people you’re comfortable with that are competition.
Instead, find events to attend that consist of your ideal clients/customers/audience so that you can learn more from them.
Then, network smartly and keep your ears open and listen more than you talk.
Keep Abreast of Industry News –
Take some time every day to read about industry news.
You can set up a Google Alert for terms that are important in your industry so that you can learn what is happening at all times.
Learn to Delegate –
No CEO does everything on their own and that is true of an entrepreneur, too.
Whether you have a very small home business or a larger business, you’ll likely need to learn to delegate something.
Even if it’s just letting your spouse handle childcare duties and dinner on workdays, that’s something.
Improving your skills as an entrepreneur is not an overnight task and you’ll never be finished.
Your journey as an entrepreneur is ever-evolving and changing.
You may be surprised that what you’re doing today is very different from what you’ll be doing tomorrow.
But, that’s how an entrepreneur stays successful.
They adapt to change and develop the skills they need to stay competitive.
Thoughts & Actions That Block Entrepreneurial Success