Did you know that 69% of entrepreneurs start their businesses at home?
This goes to show that it is not the opportunities you get, but rather who you are, that determines entrepreneurial success.
Many of today’s biggest corporations started in a garage. Such as Google, Apple, Walt Disney, Virgin, Dell, and Microsoft.
But there is something else that these companies have in common. Their founders knew how to become a successful entrepreneur. They probably also shared most of the top traits that successful entrepreneurs have.
If you want to follow in the footsteps of Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, and the other entrepreneurial greats, you need to know if you have the right personality for the path.
This is why we have compiled this list of the top 10 signs that you have what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur.
Read on to find out what these are.
1. You Don’t Mind Being Alone… But You’re Great With People
When you embark on an entrepreneurial venture, chances are that you will be up at times that others are not up, and working on things that others are not working on. Being someone who does not mind your own company will help you to focus and zone in on what you are set on accomplishing.
At the same time, launching a product, growing a business and creating an empire involves people. The larger your business grows, the more people it will involve. As the founder, you need to have superb people skills to engage with all of the people that will facilitate your vision.
Another great social advantage for budding entrepreneurs is to have an open network.
An open network simply means that you interact with a diverse range of people, who are dissimilar to yourself. Rather than mixing only with others who are highly similar in age, views, race, class, culture, etc.
Research has shown that this factor is one of the biggest indicators of career success.
2. You Always Prepare for Financial Challenges
Are you someone that preps ahead for financially tough times? If so you will be happy to know that this is one of the keys to being a successful entrepreneur.
New ventures will inevitably come with their share of cash flow challenges, and being prepared for these times is invaluable to any small business or new venture.
Ryder Caroll, the inventor of the world famous bullet journal system, advises that if you want to start a company on a limited budget – you first have to wax your base income. Meaning you gotta pay those bills, make that rent and be financially savvy before you embark on birthing a business.
3. You’re Frugal
Practicing frugality is another important money management aspect when it comes to being a successful entrepreneur. When launching a business it can be tempting to splash out on smart office equipment, fancy marketing materials, and drool-worthy tech.
But these purchases – while they may look sleek and give the appearance that your business is ‘making it’ – can be the very thing that de-rails your budget and causes your brainchild to fail. According to a study done by the U.S. Bank, 82% of new businesses fail thanks to cash flow mismanagement.
So, call on your inner Scrooge and keep those profits close to your chest.
Of course, don’t go so far as to not spend on essential business expenses, because that can be just as crippling to the lifeblood of a business.
4. You Don’t Take No for an Answer
As an entrepreneur, one of the first things you will probably hear is that your vision won’t work. Successful entrepreneurs don’t let this stop them.
Walt Disney was allegedly told by a superior that ‘he lacked imagination and good ideas’. The concept of Google was thought of as fool’s talk – who in their right mind would send all their traffic to other sites?
History just goes to show that some of the best ideas will get turned down before they make it big.
If you are somebody who refuses to take no for an answer – this just might be one of the traits that lead you to become a successful entrepreneur.
5. You Were Born a Hustler
Spend any time talking to a successful entrepreneur, and you will most probably find that they were a childhood hustler.
Whether it is selling wares at school, leveraging your neighborhood’s needs (aka car washing and snow shoveling) to ‘increase revenue’, or setting up a lemonade stand – these early hustler inclinations could be a big sign that you are destined for entrepreneurial success.
Hustling doesn’t always need to be about making quick money. Hustling essentially means making something happen and jumping in where others won’t.
6. You Hack Everything
People with an entrepreneurial mindset usually value their time and feel that it is worth more than money.
If you have loads of great ideas, time tends to start feeling very precious – because it is the space in which you get to carry out these ideas. And if time is precious, you start to hack things.
If you are already using apps like IFFT, TaskRabbit, or have a ‘personal uniform’ (one of the time-haking habits of successful people), you already value time. And one of the keys to being a successful entrepreneur is conserving and guarding your time.
What better way to do this than to hack all the things?
7. You Read
Not all entrepreneurs are avid readers. But it sure does help. Warren Buffet, Charlie Munger (his right-hand man), Elon Musk, Oprah Winfrey and Bill Gates all read. A lot.
In fact, after interviewing over 1 200 of the richest people on Earth, Steve Siebold, the author of How Rich People Think, found a standout common thread. And that is reading.
When you read a book, you are essentially consuming the result of years worth of research or study that was done by the author. In the amount of time that it takes you to read the book, you can gain the same amount of knowledge that the author had to use years to gather.
If you do this consistently, you can accumulate massive stores of knowledge you can draw on that many others don’t have.
For example, when asked how he learned to build rockets, Elon Musk replied, ‘I read books’.
8. You See Possibilities Where Others See Problems
Are you one of those people that sees possibilities where others see problems? Ever heard somebody complaining about something, only to think ‘Hey! How cool would it be to create an app for that..’?
If so, then you have one of the top personality traits that are a forerunner to becoming a successful entrepreneur.
Studies have shown that innovation is the number one commonality between successful entrepreneurs. But what exactly is innovation, where does it come from? Innovation is what happens when you see possibilities in areas that other people see problems.
In business, it is vital that your offerings serve a need. The bigger the need, the bigger the market, and the larger the chance that your business idea will skyrocket.
9. Uncomfortable Situations Don’t Scare You
A common piece of advice from successful entrepreneurs is that you need to get out of your comfort zone if you want to succeed in business. This means, getting used to feeling uncomfortable, and not hesitating at new things and opportunities.
Research has shown that comfort with the unfamiliar is significantly higher among serial entrepreneurs. This makes complete sense, given that almost all aspects of entrepreneurialism involve some uncertainty.
Most of us prefer the known to the unknown. But if you are one of those people who feel a thrill at the unknown, and don’t dread uncomfortable situations – this may be a sign that you would make a great entrepreneur.
If you feel some discomfort at the unfamiliar, or there are some situations that you would shy away from, don’t stress out. Although most entrepreneurs started off not fearing the unknown in some areas, many have honed this quality and developed it.
10. You Believe in Yourself… But You Know That You Aren’t Good at Everything
Another recurring piece of advice from already successful entrepreneurs is that to succeed you have to wholeheartedly believe in yourself. While all of us get feelings of uncertainty at times, having faith that you can accomplish whatever you set out to do is vital to achieving success.
To go far and achieve your entrepreneurial goals, you need to have confidence in your abilities.
But at the same time, the best entrepreneurs also realize where their shortcomings lie, and that they can’t and shouldn’t do everything themselves.
Fatigue is one of the ten biggest challenges that face business owners today. To beat this as an entrepreneur, the only way is to delegate and outsource in areas where your strengths do not lie.
For example, do you hate bookkeeping? If so, you can take the first practical opportunity to outsource and free yourself up to devote time to what you are good at.
Many entrepreneurs also aim to not only hire the right people – but to hire people that are much smarter than they are. If you are confident in your abilities to learn, and constantly surrounded by people who know more than you, this will automatically raise the bar and keep you primed to improve yourself.
11. You Are Not Scared of Failure
Entrepreneurs do not have the liberty to be afraid of failure. Fear of failure causes delayed action and hesitancy. In the business world, hesitancy in an of itself can spell failure. In Mark Zuckerburg’s words “if you are not breaking stuff, you are not moving fast enough”.
Successful entrepreneurs realize that failure is nothing to be scared of and that it can actually propel growth and innovation.
12. You Have ADHD Tendencies
ADHD is generally deemed to be detrimental to one’s success. If you have ADHD symptoms or tendencies, then the chances are that studying may have been a challenge, and teachers might have even expressed their certainty that you would never amount to much.
But guess what.
Ikea founder, Feodor Ingvar Kamprad, and Richard Branson of the Virgin group have both come forward and revealed that their ADHD symptoms were a propellant to their business success.
Why is this? Well, people who have been diagnosed with ADHD are usually:
- Tireless
- Anxious to get out into the world
- Good communicators
- Great at multi-tasking
- Not afraid to take risks
- Able to be hyper-focused on select things (things that are interesting enough to hold their attention)
All of the above traits can be super valuable when applied to business.
Research done on ADHD and entrepreneurialism has indicated that those with ADHD symptoms may be better suited to entrepreneurial pursuits than almost all others.
So, if you have been diagnosed with ADHD, or suffer from some of the associated tendencies, relax. Because many of these tendencies are some of the keys to being a successful entrepreneur.
If These 12 Signs Apply to You, Learning How to Become a Successful Entrepreneur Will Come Naturally
Although the entrepreneurialism is made out to be glamorous, it is not always an easy path. You will need to take risks, manage money like a boss, believe in yourself and never take no for an answer. And some personalities are better suited for these things than others.
Before you embark on an entrepreneurial path, you need to be certain that you are cut out for it. Otherwise, you may end up wasting time and energy on something that does not bring you joy.
Learning how to become a successful entrepreneur is a lot easier if many of these traits come naturally to you.
Fortunately, you now know what signs to look for in yourself that signal whether or not you are made to be an entrepreneur.
If you know you are prime entrepreneurial material, and all you need is financing to kick start your business, find out if you qualify for tailored financing in two easy steps.