What makes a Good Entrepreneur

This article is going to focus on the top 10 traits and behaviours that make a for a good entrepreneur.

Let’s jump straight in.

1. Table of Contents

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   Discipline

This is the most important trait on the entire list. If you are not disciplined and consistent, the chances are you will not be a good entrepreneur.Focus and the strong willingness to work hard are vital components of an entrepreneur but their impact is strengthened by discipline.

The best entrepreneurs have thing engrained into their minds, hence why you will read books and hear stories about how business owners worked every day to get where they are today.

Have a clear vision of what you want to achieve and create a plan with clear objectives to obtain it. The most successful people use this technique to stay on track.

2. Flexibility

You may have the greatest idea in the world, but chances are that some aspects cannot work in the real world. Great entrepreneurs can adapt to an ever-changing environment and are flexible and open to changes.

Being rigid leaves the door wide open for opportunities to walk straight through. Do not be stubborn and refuse to consider options or suggestions. Have an open mind and want to learn new things. The only way to remain at the top of your game is to evolve as time moves forward.

Flexibility is essential to problem solving. Without it, finding unique and effective solutions becomes difficult or impossible.

3. Dealing with criticism

Successful entrepreneurs are able to accept constructive criticism and use it to implement changes that improve the business. They understand the feedback is aiming to provide the highest quality product or service possible.

Instead of reacting in a negative manner, great entrepreneurs see opportunities for growth. They will ask questions to deconstruct the feedback for more clarity and will share their opinions. This does not become a debate.

Importantly, good entrepreneurs are thankful for constructive criticism. Once they have a plan of action moving forward, they remain grateful. They may even request a follow-up meeting to process the feedback and agree on the next steps.

4. Planning

There are many ways to look at this skill. Having great planning skills enables a good entrepreneur to balance how they are going to spend their time.

Most of the time it will be on the business and building it from the ground up. Bear in mind though that the answers may not always be there straight away. Spending too much time can prevent the hardest part of entrepreneurship from happening – taking the first step being.

Aside from planning the business, entrepreneurs know how to plan other aspects of their life, including personal relationships and finding time for hobbies. This keeps the mind healthy.

5. Calculated risk taking

This follows on nicely from the point about not having all the answers straight away. Great entrepreneurs are not afraid to take risks and dive head first into the unknown. It comes back to setting checkpoints and goals. Put these in place before making the decision.

However, successful entrepreneurs have back up plans if something unexpected happens on top of the unknown. They assess the potential outcomes for taking the risk and identify what to do if the risk doesn’t pay off.

Risk taking is important to an entrepreneur, but not as important as calculated risk taking. Do lots of research, anticipate mistakes and don’t be afraid to pull the trigger.

6. Not afraid of failure

The main reason why people don’t go into entrepreneurship in the first place is because of the security a job provides and they fear things going wrong.

Entrepreneurs have a completely different outlook; they are not afraid of failure and trying something new. They understand that not all their ideas will end up working but they are never put off from coming up with another idea.

The best entrepreneurs are aware of when to call time on a project. They weren’t successful the first time but knew when to cut losses.

7. Market knowledge

Successful entrepreneurs have in depth knowledge of their product or field. They also have an astute awareness of how the market is working.Entrepreneurs know how to find the edge in the market and come up with a product or service that performs better than what’s available right now.

They welcome all suggestions for optimization or customization that may enhance their offering and satisfy client and market needs.

Market experts are also valuable assets to other businesses because it saves them time on solving problems themselves. In the eCommerce world for example, an Amazon marketing expert can boost sales exponentially.

8. Not afraid of the competition

Entrepreneurs know that competition is great for business. Where there is competition, there is profit. It doesn’t matter what you do or what you’re selling, when you really sit down and think about it, intense competition will basically tell you everything you need to know about a certain market.

They are also not afraid of the competition because entrepreneurs realise they may not be successful. Execute a plan well for a good idea and success will come, regardless of how much competition there is.

9. Creating a network of like minded people

Successful entrepreneurs are on the lookout for like minded people or those that have more experience than them in their field.

They find it important to meet and spend time with their network that have similar goals and cut out those that keep them from achieving their goals.

Mindset is key. Great entrepreneurs know that the person they are is made from the 5 people they spend their time with the most. These 5 people all have different strengths do whatever problems an entrepreneur has, at least one of them can help.

10. Passion

The final behaviour that all great entrepreneurs have is passion. It’s the thing that enables them to work the long hours, put in the extra effort and take all the risks necessary to get where they want to be.

It may not be the actual product or service that drives the passion but they all have something that keeps them motivated to achieve their goals.

If you ever feel like you have lost that passion, it may be time to switch things up and move on to something that else. It is not uncommon for entrepreneurs to create a business, sell it and go on to starting something new.