Successful entrepreneurs typically begin with a desire to solve a problem, says Roelof Botha, of Sequoia Capital. The problem is often driven by personal frustration.
Successful entrepreneurs are people who see a business opportunity and create a company to exploit it. The term ‘entrepreneur’ may also refer to somebody who identifies a problem and subsequently develops a business venture to solve it.
The term ‘entrepreneur’ comes from the French word Entreprendre, which more or less means ‘undertaking a task.’
The London School of Business and Finance defines an entrepreneur as:
“An individual who starts and runs a business with limited resources and planning, and is responsible for all the risks and rewards of his or her business venture.”
“In most cases, the business plan or idea involves a new product or service. New entrepreneurial ventures usually have a high risk and an equally high reward. An entrepreneur usually controls most of the aspects of his/her new venture, such as marketing, sales, hiring, and distribution. Even if some of the key functions are farmed out, risk still lies with the entrepreneur.”
What do we mean by successful entrepreneurs?
Somebody who has several degrees or does well in school is not necessarily successful. Successful entrepreneurs did not get to where they are thanks to who their parents are. Where they grew up was not a main factor either.
Being successful depends on an individual’s personality, attitude, and outlook on life.
So, how do we become entrepreneurs? According to an article in the London Business School, it’s actually pretty simple. All we need to do is combine a set of ‘secret ingredients.’
These secret ingredients include flexibility, a ‘never say die’ attitude, and hard work. Discipline and the ability to learn along the way are also important ingredients.
Successful entrepreneurs – attitude
Successful entrepreneurs are those who have a positive attitude towards business. They also have the fortitude to become triumphant, regardless of conditions.
Open mind
Successful entrepreneurs must have an open mind, especially with regard to change. They must have an abundance of confidence and should constantly be reinventing themselves. They should also constantly be reinventing their businesses to cope in an ever-changing world.
An entrepreneur cannot afford to be stubborn and obstinate when it is time to select alternate options.
Evolution and innovation
People aiming to become successful entrepreneurs must remember that the path to success always lies in evolution and innovation. It could be an innovation and evolution of services, ideas, or products. It might also be an evolution and innovation of technology.
Keep up-to-date
Budding entrepreneurs need to be aware of the latest products and technologies. This is crucial if they are serious about improving their businesses.
Successful entrepreneurs – qualities
Being street smart
We also refer to this quality as being ‘streetwise.’ Somebody who is street smart has the knowledge and experience necessary to deal with the potential dangers and difficulties of life. Especially the dangers and difficulties in an urban environment.
Passion
Research has shown that 65% of successful entrepreneurs are passionate and are driven about their work rather than motivated by money.
Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos are incredibly rich successful entrepreneurs. However, when they started off they were passionate.
Intuition and perception
CPP Inc. carried out a study recently which identified two important traits for successful entrepreneurs; intuition and perception.
Success comes to people who see opportunities and explore them. They do not necessarily have to be the most intelligent people.
Risk-taker
Successful entrepreneurs must be willing to take risks. If they see an opportunity, they will not hesitate in taking risks.
However, they will assess the risk first and think about the outcomes beforehand. In other words, they do not jump into new opportunities blindly.
Resilience
Business people sometimes fail. After failing, it is important to get up and try again. Sir Winston Churchill once described success as the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.
Like Walt Disney, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mr. Ibrahim Issaoui, and Richard Branson, successful entrepreneurs have perseverance and resilience ingrained in them.
Flexibility
Business people must be able to adapt to challenges and changes in the marketplace. In this context, ‘marketplace‘ means the same as ‘market‘ in the abstract sense of the word.
The majority of successful entrepreneurs said that they changed their initial business plans or ideas along the way.
Other characteristics
Successful entrepreneurs must be ambitious and hungry. They should also have knowledge and good management skills.