Who is an Entrepreneur? What are the characteristics of an entrepreneur that nurture success? An entrepreneur is a person who has a passion for creation and the ability to follow through on their ideas, someone who can see a need that has previously not been addressed or in some cases created a need that didn’t even exist. Entrepreneurs want to work for themselves and are willing to take risks for their ideas or products to succeed.

A lot of people want to be an entrepreneur and wonder if they are cut out to be one, here are few of the common traits found in entrepreneurs. This is not saying that you need all, or without these, you cannot be successful. Ultimately success is determined by a lot of hard work and a little bit of luck.

Here are the 10 best characteristics that one must nurture:

1) Creativity:

Creativity gives birth to something new. For without creativity, there is no innovation possible. Entrepreneurs usually have the knack to pin down a lot of ideas and act on them. Not necessarily every idea might be a hit. But the experience obtained is gold.

Creativity helps in coming up with new solutions for the problems at hand and allows one to think of solutions that are out of the box. It also gives an entrepreneur the ability to devise new products for similar markets to the ones he’s currently playing in.

2) Professionalism:

Professionalism is a quality which all good entrepreneurs must possess. An entrepreneur’s mannerisms and behavior with their employees and clientele goes a long way in developing the culture of the organization.

Along with professionalism comes reliability and discipline. Self-discipline enables an entrepreneur to achieve their targets, be organized and set an example for everyone.

Reliability results in trust and for most ventures, trust in the entrepreneur is what keeps the people in the organization motivated and willing to put in their best.

3) Risk-taking:

A risk-taking ability is essential for an entrepreneur. Without the will to explore the unknown, one cannot discover something unique. And this uniqueness might make all the difference. Risk-taking involves a lot of things. Using unorthodox methods is also a risk. Investing in ideas, nobody else believes in but you are a risk too.

Entrepreneurs have a differentiated approach towards risks. Good entrepreneurs are always ready to invest their time and money. But they always have a backup for every risk they take.

For exploring in the unknown, one must be bestowed with a trump card; a good entrepreneur has one, always. Also, evaluation of the risk to be undertaken is also essential. Without knowing the consequences, a good entrepreneur wouldn’t risk it all.

4) Passion:

Your work should be your passion. So, when you work, you enjoy what you’re doing and stay highly motivated. Passion acts as a driving force, with which, you are motivated to strive for better.

It also allows you the ability to put in those extra hours in the office which can or may make a difference. At the beginning of every entrepreneurial venture or any venture, there are hurdles, but your passion ensures that you can overcome these roadblocks and forge ahead towards your goal.

5) Planning:

Perhaps, this is the most important of all steps required to run a show. Without planning, everything would be a loose string as they say, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

Planning is strategizing the whole game ahead of time. It basically sums up all the resources at hand and enables you to come up with a structure and a thought process for how to reach your goal.

The next step involves how to make optimum use of these resources, to weave the cloth of success. Facing a situation or a crisis with a plan is always better. It provides guidelines with minimum to no damage incurred to a business.

6) Knowledge:

Knowledge is the key to success. An entrepreneur should possess complete knowledge of his niche or industry. For only with knowledge can a difficulty be solved, or a crisis is tackled.

It enables him to keep track of the developments and the constantly changing requirements of the market that he is in. May it be a new trend in the market or an advancement in technology or even a new advertiser’s entry, an entrepreneur should keep himself abreast of it. Knowledge is the guiding force when it comes leaving the competition behind. New bits and pieces of information may just prove as useful as a newly devised strategy.

He should know what his strengths & weaknesses are so that they can be worked on and can result in a healthier organization.

A good entrepreneur will always try to increase his knowledge, which is why he is always a learner. The better an entrepreneur knows his playground, the easier he can play in it.

7) Social Skills:

A skillset is an arsenal with which an entrepreneur makes his business work. Social Skills are also needed to be a good entrepreneur. Overall, these make up the qualities required for an entrepreneur to function.

Social Skills involve the following:

• Relationship Building
• Hiring and Talent Sourcing
• Team Strategy Formulation

And many more.

8) Open-mindedness towards learning, people, and even failure:

An entrepreneur must be accepting. The true realization of which scenario or event can be a useful opportunity is necessary. To recognize such openings, an open-minded attitude is required.

An entrepreneur should be determined. He should face his losses with a positive attitude and his wins, humbly. Any good businessman will know not to frown on a defeat. Try till you succeed is the right mentality. Failure is a step or a way which didn’t work according to the plan. A good entrepreneur takes the experience of this setback and works even hard with the next goal in line.

This experience is inculcated through the process of accepted learning. Good entrepreneurs know they can learn from every situation and person around them. Information obtained can be used for the process of planning.

Learning with an open mind lets you look at your faults humbly. New information always makes an entrepreneur question his current resolve. It also provides a new perspective towards a particular aspect. Open-mindedness also enables you to know and learn from your competition.

9) Empathy:

Perhaps the least discussed value in the world today is empathy or having high emotional intelligence. Empathy is the understanding of what goes on in someone’s mind. This a skill that is worth a mention. A good entrepreneur should know the strengths and weaknesses of every employee who works under him. You must understand that it is the people who make the business tick! You’ve got to deploy empathy towards your people.

Unhappy employees are not determined and as an entrepreneur, it is up to you to create a working environment where people are happy to come. To look after their well-being, an entrepreneur should try to understand the situation of employees. What can be a motivational factor? How can I make my employees want to give their best? All this is understood through empathy.

Keeping a workplace light and happy is essential. For without empathy, an entrepreneur cannot reach the hearts of employees nor the success he desires. Empathy is one of the most important characteristics of an entrepreneur.

10) The customer is everything:

A good entrepreneur will always know this; a business is all about the customer. How you grab a customer’s attention is the first step. This can be done through various mediums such as marketing and advertising.

It is also important that you know the needs of your customers. The product or service which is being created by your organization needs to cater to the needs of your consumers. Personalizing a business for consumers will also boost the sales.

The ability to sell yourself in front of a potential investment when it comes in the form of a customer is also required. Being ready with the knowledge to please a customer, is a way to have a successful business.

It isn’t necessary that every entrepreneurial venture is a huge success. In addition to a brilliant idea, viability is an equally important aspect of a business, which is where having a business education can play an important role. All these characteristics of an entrepreneur can be instilled in an individual.