Discover Yourself:

Entrepreneurial Success

Entrepreneur

The Key Personality, Environmental, and Action Factors

What Is Entrepreneurship?

Entrepreneurship is first and foremost a mindset. It is the art of finding creative profitable solutions to problems.

Every successful entrepreneur, every successful businessperson has been someone who's been able to identify a problem and come up with a solution to it before somebody else did.

Who Is the Entrepreneur?

Entrepreneur is a person who habitually creates and innovates to build something of recognized value around perceived opportunities.¹

In this definition, all words are key words:

• 'Entrepreneur' – can be an individual entrepreneur, but also an entrepreneurial team or even entrepreneurial organization

• 'A person' – emphasizes a personality rather than a system

• 'Habitually' – just cannot stop being an entrepreneur

• 'creates' – starts from scratch and brings into being something that was not there before

• 'innovates' – able to overcome obstacles that would stop most people; turns problems and risks into opportunities; delivers - sees ideas through to final application

• 'Builds something' – describes the output of the creation and innovation process

• 'Of recognized value' – encompasses economic, commercial, social, or aesthetic value

• 'Perceived opportunities' – spotting the opportunity to exploit an idea that may or may not be original to the entrepreneur; seeing something other miss or only see in retrospect¹

8 Key Entrepreneurial Questions

What Entrepreneurs Are Like?¹

1. Personality factors

   • born/made ratio – 50/50, a synergy of genetic and environmental influence

   • motivation and emotion – independence, competitive spirit, challenge, wealth

   • behavioral characteristics – perseverance, determination, orientation to clear goals, need to achieve, opportunity orientation, creativity, persistent problem-solving, risk-taking, integrity, honesty, internal locus on control

   • personality attributes – preferred styles: extrovert/introvert; sensor/intuit; thinker/feeler; and judger/perceiver

2. Environmental factors

   • family background – entrepreneurial heritage

   • age and education – begin entrepreneurial activity early; are not over-educated

   • work experience – most entrepreneurs first gain some work experience in the line of business they later start up

3. Action factors

   • make the difference – initiate change and enjoy it

   • create and innovate – a continuous activity, seeing creative idea through to the end, and then start climbing another mountain

   • exploit opportunities – able to see or craft opportunities that other people miss

   • find resources and competencies – experts at exploiting contacts and sources

   • network – expertise oriented; know when they need experts and how to use them effectively

   • face adversity – resolve problems under pressure; turn problems into opportunities

   • manage risk - not adventurers, but manageable risk takers; their success lies in caution, learning, flexibility and change during implementation

   • control the business - pay attention to details and essential ratios; exercise strategic control over their business

   • put the customer first – listen to the customer and respond to the customers' feedback

   • creates capital – financial, social, and aesthetic

1. Find your true passion and do what you love to do.

2. Make a difference... More

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References:

1. Entrepreneurs, Bill Bolton and John Thompson

2. High Tech Start Up, John L. Nesheim

3. "Money Hunt", Miles Spenser and Cliff Ennico

4. Direct from Dell, Michael Dell with Catherine Fredman

5. Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Peter Drucker

Resources:

1. Business On the Mound – Helping Your Startup Business To Hit a Home Run