A lot of people have business ideas that will be the next big thing and will make them fortunes. It sounds great, right. Take this idea, turn it into reality, millions of dollars pour in. Well there is more to it than that. Startups normally have a very long road of ups and downs so it’s good for any entrepreneur to have some key characteristics before deciding to jump into the game. Below is a list of key entrepreneur characteristics that are needed in order to handle the stress of a new startup. I am not saying that every entrepreneur has to have these characteristics in order to be successful, but they would be helpful. So let’s see if you have them and are ready to take the entrepreneur journey yourself.
1: Optimism
Optimism is the first characteristic any entrepreneur must have. If you do not have a certain amount of hopefulness then your idea will fall short before you even get it off the ground. Having a vision about the future of your startup is so important and will keep you motivated to get up and keep going no matter what obstacles can and will stand in your way. Your optimistic personality will also rub off on your future investors and employees. Optimism can be very contagious, so when people around you see your optimism they tend to get more excited and motivated themselves. This creates more energy that then creates more drive for your startup.
2: Patience
There are so many great sayings about patience and they all ring true, especially with entrepreneurs. You have to have a certain amount of patience so you don’t go insane when building a new startup. Every industry has a checklist of regulations that have to completed before you even get going and it can take a long time to get those checklist items done. A lot of times it is not even in your hands and you have to just wait for a certain department to get to your case and it can take weeks. Obviously, while you are waiting for those departments to get back to you there are a million other things that need to be getting done and you should be doing those while waiting. And that’s just pre-startup to becoming an official business, after that it doesn’t stop. You need patience with employees, customers, manufacturers, and the list goes on and on. Patience is key throughout the whole journey.
3: Durability
The definition of durability is the ability to withstand wear, pressure, or damage. With every startup you will experience those three things. The startup will wear you down, it will pressure you to hit deadlines etc, and the stress can damage your personal health. The durability factor will keep you going when all of the world is on the line and you feel like you can’t go anymore. You will have a lot of knockdowns and feel like you are getting dragged through the mud at times. However, durability is what will be your armor and what you will depend on when times get rough.
4: Persistence
This characteristic goes with durability. However, I am referring to persistence in the sales department. Once you get your startup running and start marketing the business to customers and clients you are going to hear a lot of the word NO. You will hear this from customers, investors, manufacturers, distributors, and even family. The key is to stay persistent and do not let the word no discourage you. Keep going and come up with new marketing angles. The persistence characteristic will get you to go back to those potential clients and customers that kept saying no and will eventually get you that big YES!
A Savage Dad’s Final Thought
There are several other entrepreneur characteristics that can be in a persons toolbox to be successful. However, if you can search deep within and find these four you will be fast on your way to the start of a great idea turning into a startup business. What other key entrepreneur characteristics have you found to be helpful when starting your business?
