by Ryan Currie
No two successful entrepreneurs are alike. Some are charismatic, some are book-smart, and some are just lucky. But when all is said and done and every entrepreneur on the planet is boiled down to his or her basic characteristics, it’s easy to see that there are a few things they all have in common, for better or for worse.
Here are five things nearly every entrepreneur has in common, and three things they don’t.
1. All entrepreneurs have self-motivation.
It may seem obvious, but there’s a key difference between the psyche of an entrepreneur and that of a desk-dweller. The difference is that entrepreneurs don’t need deadlines, a manager, or a paycheck to motivate them…they’ve all got an internal drive that’s able to overcome the comfortable, predictable stability of a regular job.
2. All entrepreneurs are persistent.
The thing about being an entrepreneur in this day and age is that your business never even begins to get off the ground without some pushback. Whether it’s investors, a 9-5 boss, or even the IRS, true entrepreneurs are able to brush off hurdles like other people aren’t in order to pursue their goals.
3. All entrepreneurs have leadership qualities.
But wait! What about notoriously anti-social bosses like Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos. The type of leadership qualities differ greatly from one entrepreneur to another, but they’ve all got that “thing” that makes people want to listen. Whether it’s a keen mind for technology, a persuasive speaking style, or even a quiet confidence, all entrepreneurs have to have something that gets people’s attention.
4. All entrepreneurs are willing to fail.
No one goes into business assuming it’s a shoe-in. Entrepreneurs are keenly aware of how much the deck’s stacked against them and simply do it anyway. There’s something about successful entrepreneurs that makes them less afraid of humiliation, of dejection than your average office worker and it’s a great thing.
5. All entrepreneurs have the ability to listen.
At some point, even in the most CEO-centric business model, all entrepreneurs are forced to listen to move forward. Sometimes they need to listen to investor advice, and sometimes they have to listen to a tech consultant. No true entrepreneur assumes he or she can go it completely alone and furthermore, the most successful ‘treps not only know how to listen, they know when to ask for help.
So what don’t all entrepreneurs have in common? You may be surprised.
1. Most entrepreneurs do not have a flourishing business network.
There’s a myth floating around that hedge-fund kids with ties to big VC firms are the only ones getting deals. Not so! In fact, many of the best entrepreneurs of the last century started their businesses in decidedly unprofessional settings with little more than a couple of buddies. Microsoft, anyone?
2. All entrepreneurs are not dreamers.
Another myth about entrepreneurs is that they all want to change the world, to develop the “next big thing” and to overcome impossible odds. Many great entrepreneurs simply started out with a great idea or, better yet, fell into a fabulous invention that eventually led them to the lifestyle.
3. It’s not true that entrepreneurs, as a whole, are not cut out for the “regular” business world.
If all it took to become an entrepreneur was a disdain for the daily grind, everyone would be an entrepreneur. Most successful business owners would and have made really great employees themselves, and sometimes even come from management backgrounds. Being a good employee and team member is not mutually exclusive from becoming an entrepreneur.
About the Author:
Ryan Currie is a product manager at BizShark.com, with 5 years experience in online marketing and product development. In addition to web related businesses, he also enjoys the latest news and information on emerging technologies and open source projects.
