Why Is Everyone NOT Cut Out To Be An Entrepreneur?

In the online business world, it is an easy thing to recognize the fact that there are entrepreneurs and there are opportunists. Unfortunately, it does appear that the number of opportunists far outweigh the number of entrepreneurs.

One is tempted most times to ask, why are the majority not entrepreneurs? Why are there more of those who are always jumping from one business opportunity to the other without any appreciable success? Why is the number of opportunists who are quick to take advantage of the gullible more out there?

The answers to these questions could be traced to the fact that not everyone is an entrepreneur. This is what account for the high number of struggling internet marketers, though the internet has removed a whole lot of barriers when it comes to building a successful business.

But Who Really Is An Entrepreneur?

According to Wikipedia, an entrepreneur is:

“One who undertakes innovations, finance and business acumen in an effort to transform innovations into economic goods”. This may result in new organizations or may be part of revitalizing mature organizations in response to a perceived opportunity. The most obvious form of entrepreneurship is that of starting new businesses (referred as Startup Company).”

From the above you can readily understand that there are particular things that makes one an entrepreneur. These are the character traits that have transformed ordinary men to become extraordinary in the world of business. Just as the popular cliché, “Your attitude determines your altitude!” these character traits are the internal “mechanisms” that causes the entrepreneur to defile all odds, step out of the comfort zone and push on to build and grow flourishing businesses.

not all are entrepreneurs

Character Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs

Many believe that entrepreneurs are born and not made. But that is far from the truth! Studies show that anyone can be a successful entrepreneur. However, that doesn’t mean entrepreurship is for everyone. For anyone to thrive as an entrepreneur there are specific character traits that one should be ready to imbibe. The following are 10 character traits that have helped many to succeed in the highly-competitive world of business as entrepreneurs.

1.  Self-Confidence – In the highly competitive business world you must have self confidence. You must trust in yourself. Believe that you have the powers and capabilities to make your business work. Of course, entrepreneurship is not alien to failure and disappointments but your attitude to these will determine if you're an entrepreneur or not. Self confidence will help you in times of difficulties to look within yourself so that you can find the drive and persistence to pursue your enterprise. It will also give you the determination and the courage, to face any adversity and tackle any problems that may be encountered in the world of business. The competitive business world is not a place for the half-hearted. You must be dogged in your desire to achieve your goal.

2.  A Desire For Independence – This is truly the most common denominator of all entrepreneurs. They “hate” the idea of a boss never wanting to labour under the gaze of anyone, no matter highly placed. They are never ready to leave their future in the hands of someone else. They would rather think for themselves than let any other do the thinking for them! They are self starters who desire to control their future. They have a purpose and are prepare to work hard to achieve that purpose – freedom!

3.  Creativity – This is another trait that is really common with entrepreneurs. They understand that competition is an everyday part of the business world and you cannot afford to be complacent and un-creative. They accept the fact that you must develop an aggressive creativity to stay ahead of the competition as an entrepreneur. They believe that, you should be able to create or introduce new ideas as well as find new ways to solve problems or explore new ventures.  Entrepreneurs, like every other creative people, are naturally curious, inquisitive, bright and highly flexible when thinking. They keenly observe their environment and have an eye for spotting new trends that could potentially become a business opportunity. 

4.  Goal-Oriented – Goal setting is the life of an entrepreneur! He values organization in a business endeavor and focuses all his efforts towards achieving his set goal. The good entrepreneur will always systematize his/her operations so that less time and resources are consumed in achieving the set goal.

5.  Visionary – An entrepreneur has a vision for his future and he/she is guided by this vision in everything he/she does in the business. This vision may be for short, middle or long term purposes, but ultimately they are geared towards the business success.

6.  Risk-Taker – Every entrepreneur is quite aware that loss and failure can never be divorced from any business endeavor. This is why an entrepreneur with a mind for success is never afraid to take calculated risks.  They are prepared to trust their hunches and act on them knowing that great business ideas sometimes start as a hunch. However, you must understand that an entrepreneur’s risk-taking does not depend on luck but on sheer effort and hard work.

7.  Perseverance and Hard Work – These are perhaps two of the most important entrepreneurial traits. In the world of business, there can be no real success without perseverance and hard work.  Entrepreneurs must have the courage to face failure and start again no matter what. As in all fields of endeavor, the characteristic of a successful entrepreneur is in never giving up and in picking up the pieces and continuing the journey even if failure momentarily obstructs the way.

8.  Commitment – An entrepreneur will not achieve success if he/she gives up at the first sign of trouble. Commitment to his business and to its success springs from the urge to achieve the set goal. An entrepreneur takes his/her business idea as a tender baby and he nurture and care for it just as one. To do this there must be commitment on the part of the entrepreneur else that business idea would be abandoned for another!

9.  Honesty and Honor – Another very important mark of a good entrepreneur is his being honest and honorable in all his business dealings and interpersonal relationships – whether it is between business partners, employees, peers and investors.

10.  Value For Leisure – Hard work and determination are very important values every entrepreneur must have. However, a good entrepreneur knows when it’s time to take a step back from all the rigors of business and enjoy some downtime with their family. Besides, we all do need a little relaxation to refresh the body and mind before plunging back into the challenging (and stressful) world of business.

Conclusion: Consider these traits very carefully and then ask yourself, do you have what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur? If you truly have the above mentioned entrepreneurial traits and qualities one thing is sure, you definitely have what it takes to succeed in the world of business. Of course this is not a guarantee but with these characteristics, you have just the right ingredients for success. All you need do is to find the right mix of these values, excellent timing and, of course, faith in yourself and you can be sure that you will end up a successful entrepreneur.

Over to you: Do you believe you truly need to be an entrepreneur in order to succeed online? Don't you think anyone can start and build a successful business online without being an entrepreneur? Share your views with us in your comments below.

Image credit: Freedigitalphotos.net

21 Comments
  1. Hi, Chadrack
    I think that all the traits of character that you have mentioned are suitable for any business – online or offline. Nothing to add and nothing to delete.
    What concerns me personally, I guess I have most of such traits (at least people say) and I hope one day I will become successful online. I believe in it.

    • @DiNaRa, you’re correct there, these traits can be traceable to both online and offline entrepreneurs. It good news really to know that others already notice these traits in you. What you need therefore is work on them and with them to produce the liffe you want!

      @Dennis, I think she’s only trying to point out the areas that touches her personally!

    • Reply
      Dennis Edell@ Direct Sales Marketing May 3, 2011 at 12:12 am

      Why does that concern you DiNaRa?

  2. Nice topic. To your list I would also add “adaptability”. If you can adapt to every given situation easily and learn from every experience that you have, then you can turn around events to make them in your favor.

    • That’s true Dan. It’s unfortunate that many who wants to build successful businesses online are too quick to “abandon ship.” They give up easily when faced with problems. But as you said, if you’re not afraid of failure but rather learn how to gain something from every experience you pass through, you can always come out more experienced and better equipped to succeed as an entrepreneur. Thanks for joining the conversation.

  3. Chadrack,
    I have also seen many “opportunists” that are not entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship is a state of mind and being that most have not cultivated yet.

    As I am reading your list of traits I am nodding my head saying “yes”.

    • That’s really encouraging Justin. We only hope that many of those who are online with the mind of making money will really understand that starting a business online goes beyond buying a domain name and a hosting account. All in all succeeding in building a business starts and largely depends on who you are. It’s really about you!

      Thanks for the comment.

  4. You’ve offered some real valuable things here in regards to entrepreneurs. It’s certainly a tough game, but those who make it are the leaders and visionaries of the world. I think there’s great emphasis of creativity in entrepreneurs, because that’s what helps them see things from a different perspective.

    Thank you!

    • @Christian, you’ve just used two words that I’m really fond of, visionary and creativity! Frankly every entrepreneur must possess these two. Being a visionary will help you what others can not easily see and creativity will help you take what is already there and creatively build something new! It is important to know that entrepreneur is not really about inventing something new but taking what is common and turning it around to make a profit! In this wise you are right on target.

  5. Some people just aren’t ruthless enough with themselves…

    Also I find some people I meet are just too lazy to succeed! It takes a lot of time, hard work and dedication to succeed, as you point out in the article Chadrack!

    ———————————————————–
    Off topic here Chadrack but how do you get your author box at the start of the article?
    i.e.

    “Author: Chadrack
    Blogger, niche marketer and SEO expert, Chadrack presents straight to the point, No-BS, No-Hype easy strategies and tips to help you dramatically boost your online business success!

    Chadrack has so far written 158 articles on the Web Income Journal!
    May 2nd, 2011 | Posted in Entrepreneurship | ShareThis”

    Thanks m8 🙂
    Christopher – Technology Bloggers Adimin Team

    • Hi Christopher, I must say ruthless is a hard word to use for this. Of course nothing can take away  working “hard” but as I mentioned in the post, there is always the time for leisure. You definitely need to push yourself to succeed but never push yourself too hard! 🙂

      On the author box, it actually came with the theme but coded in the sidebar. I simply did some “tweaking” and then added a few things like the date, category and share link and moved it to the top. I think most of the theme these days have something like that. The info in the box comes from you user profile in your dashboard.

  6. Hi Chadrack.
    Indeed, it depends on the definition someone gives to “success”. For someone, a successful online business is the one which gives $10/day but for someone this is totally waste of time. Entrepreneurial spirit is definitely a must for a thriving and sustainable online business. Unavoidably, as Dinara says, traits which are required in offline business are also required in online business. Internet is neither easy nor fast. But being an entrepreneur distinguishes people from left to right side of the “cash flow” quadrant, as Robert Kiyosaki writes in his book “Rich Dad Poor Dad”. People in the left side work for money and people (entrepreneurs) in the right side, eventually have money work for them. I believe that internet is a fantastic unprecedented tool that makes more feasible for entrepreneurs to succeed online.
    Peace

    • Thanks steven, for the comment. Success is definitely relative. Not two persons will define success in the same terms. However, once you are cut out to be an entrepreneur you definitely will think differently and with a mind for achieving more. Stagnacy is something that is not in an entrepreneurs bible!

  7. I think that the main reason for which a person doesn’t become a successful entrepreneur is that he/she even has never tried to realize business ideas in practice. Sometimes it is enough to try and success becomes obvious immediately. So, don’t afraid to try something new in your life.

    • Hi Terje,

      Glad to have you join the conversation. Just want to get something clear. Do you mean the reason many do not succeed as entrepreneur is just because they have not cared to put their ideas into practice? If that is it, then I agree with you. Actions is definitely neccessary. But that action must be backed with these traits mentioned.

      Thanks for commenting.

  8. I feel a lot of people lack confidence and fail to take the first step. I believe in the adage, “Better to try and fail than to not try at all”.

  9. Truth is that the entrepreneur is a dogged personality. Whatever comes, he/she will be ready to push through.

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