7 TRAITS EVERY ENTREPRENEUR SHOULD HAVE

Course: Entrepreneurship (W301)

Prepared for:

DR. A.K.M. Saiful Majid

Professor, IBA

Course Instructor

Prepared by:

Saleh Ahmed

Roll: ZR-46, Sec: A

Batch: 20th

Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka

28 August 2014

What if you weren't born with Jobs' creative genius or Gates' iron will? There's good news for

the rest of us: Entrepreneurs can be guided to success by harnessing crucial attributes.

Scholars, business experts and venture capitalists say entrepreneurs can emerge at any stage of

life and from any realm, and they come in all personality types and with any grade point average.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, you don't have to be Type A--that is, an overachieving,

hyperorganized workaholic--or an extrovert to launch a successful business. "Type A's don't take

the risks to be entrepreneurs," says Elana Fine, managing director of the University of

Maryland's Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship, adding that the same goes for straight-A

students. "Very often it's C students who become entrepreneurs."

However, the best entrepreneurs do share a collection of characteristics, from tenacity to the

ability to tolerate risk, that are crucial to a successful venture.

TENACITY:

This trait is known by many names--perseverance, persistence, determination, commitment,

resilience--but it's really just old-fashioned stubborn-ness. You have to be able to live with

uncertainty and push through a crucible of obstacles for years on end. When failure happens, you

have to start all over again.

"Tenacity is No. 1," says Mike Colwell, who runs Plains Angels, an Iowa angel investor forum,

and the accelerator Business Innovation Zone for the Greater Des Moines Partnership. "So much

of entrepreneurship is dealing with repeated failure. It happens many times each week."

PASSION:

 A startup founder is often driven by the quest for deeper purpose beyond the sheer mechanics of

operating a business. My mission for my startup, Yes Man Watches, is to empower people to

consider the most valuable asset in their lives: time. I rise early every morning because I don’t

want to waste my day. If you have passion for your startup, this will drive you to turn your idea

into a reality. Without that missing spark, you'll lack the necessary motivation to put in all the

early mornings and late nights to get your business off the ground.

TOLERANCE TO AMBIGUITY:

This classic trait is the definition of risk-taking. It is the ability to withstand the fear of

uncertainty and potential failure. This is where the ultimate entrepreneurial test takes place, on

the mental battlefield. You can go with the fear and quit, or push through it. While many would

feel powerless in the face of adversity, the entrepreneur looks at the situation and knows he has

some control over the outcome.

VISION:

Entrepreneurs have a curiosity that identifies overlooked niches and puts them at the forefront of

innovation and emerging fields. They imagine another world and have the ability to

communicate that vision effectively to investors, customers and staff. One of the defining traits

of entrepreneurship is the ability to spot an opportunity and imagine something where others

haven't. You have to be several steps ahead of the market.

SELF-BELIEF:

Self-confidence is a key entrepreneurial trait. You have to be crazy-sure your product is

something the world needs and that you can deliver it to overcome the naysayers, who will

always deride what the majority has yet to validate.

Researchers define this trait as task-specific confidence. It's a belief that turns the risk

proposition around--you've conducted enough research and have enough confidence that you can

get the job done that you ameliorate the risk. You have to have a lot of self-confidence. Be

willing to take a risk, but be conservative.

FLEXIBILITY:

Flexibility that allows you to respond to changing tastes and market conditions is essential.

Being an entrepreneur involves a learning process. If you’re not willing to learn, think about

leaving the startup world. You need to be able to soak in everything and anything you can, just

like a sponge.  If you have an idea you'd like to turn into a reality, go for it. You'll never know

the outcome if you don't try. This sort of flexibility is of utmost importance for entrepreneurship.

RULE – BREAKING:

Doing what the majority isn't doing is the nature of entrepreneurship. So in a way a business

startup is rule breaking as very few people opt to being an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs exist to

defy conventional wisdom. They always try to think out of the box and to cross boundaries.

Launching a business takes guts. It takes focus, money, time and there is no guarantee. If risk

leaves someone fearful, this is not the path for him/her. Conversely, if he/she crave adventure

and is the ultimate dreamer, they will find true happiness in taking this wild ride.