An entrepreneur is a person who has possession over a new enterprise or venture and assumes full accountability for the inherent risks as well as the overall outcome. An entrepreneur is someone who organizes resources in new and more valuable ways.
One of the main reasons as to why entrepreneurs become successful is because of their passion to achieve an outcome of their business. This passion leads them to organise available resources in new and more valuable ways. Entrepreneurs are said to effectively and efficiently use factors of production. These factors include; land (resources), labour, capital, intelligence and knowledge as well as creativity. All of these factors mean that your business is given real opportunity and adds value in the long run.
After numerous studies it has been said that there are 14 important entrepreneurial characteristics that successful entrepreneurs possess. Not all entrepreneurs own them all but it has been seen that many entrepreneurs have at least a few of them. These 14 characteristics are:
o Moderate risk taking
o Long-term involvement
o Money as a measure
o Use of feedback
o Drive and energy
o Self-confidence
o High initiative and personal responsibility
o Internal locus of control
o Tolerance of ambiguity
Use of resources
o Self-imposed standards
o Clear goal setting
o Low fear of failure
o Continuous pragmatic problem solving
Sadly many new ventures fail, which demonstrates that entrepreneurship is often difficult. This is why it is so important that you plan what you are doing and that you feel confident with what you are doing. Most commonly, the term entrepreneur applies to someone who creates value by offering a product or service. Entrepreneurs often have strong beliefs about a market opportunity and organize their resources effectively to accomplish an outcome that changes existing interactions.
If you are hoping to make it as a successful entrepreneur you have to have a high level of personal, professional and financial risk. You need to be willing to take risks and put things on the line in order to pursue opportunity. This willing to risk is what the low fear of failure stands for. You need to be prepared to risk things going wrong and it means you can handle set backs.
The 14 characteristics that are named above are not set in stone as having actual experience of business can have a major effect as it either makes you more business cautious or more business confidence, both of which have their advantages. If you are business cautious it makes you more aware of potential pitfalls and allows you to make informed business decisions based on past experience as well as facts. If you are business confident it means that you will be more willing to take risks and make decisions that could dramatically alter your business for the better.
Entrepreneurs who are both cautious and confident as well as those who take on board the 14 characteristics mentioned above are more likely to become successful in business. If you are business wise and you have thoroughly researched the business that you are hoping to become involved in you are giving yourself more of a chance to succeed in business.