Monday, March 2, 2009

What "Entrepreneur" Means to Me

 For many years, I didn't understand  what "entrepreneur" meant. I was not sure how to pronounce it either. I thought it had something to do with business, but was not sure. Now that I am turning out to be an entrepreneur myself, I am defining the terms as follows: an entrepreneur is someone who starts a business, someone who has a desire to stand on her feet rather than relying on others to take care of her needs, someone with a vision, a person who

I am an entrepreneur.

The world of business consists of two groups: the creative and the practical.  These two groups view the world from very different perspectives.  The creative people have an instinct, gut-level appreciation for presentation, uniqueness, and delivery of service.  The practical people on the other hand have an instinct, gut-level appreciation for numbers and analysis.  Within the creative and practical groups of people are leaders and followers.   Take it from Tuco in the movie The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly who says “There are two types of people in this world, my friend.  Those with the gun and those who dig.”  Those with the gun set the overall direction and those who dig sweat and do the work.  An entrepreneur is a leader who is able to balance the creative and practical elements and create a following to sell a product or service.

In an ideal world you would have to have a blend of both worlds in order to start your own successfully; but this rarely happens.  Most people are “lop-sided” into one of these categories and continue to become successful entrepreneurs.  They make up for the deficit by hiring professionals, seeking advice from others, and through self learning.  It doesn’t matter whether you are creative or practical, a leader or a follower.  You can become a successful entrepreneur if you have motivation, a willingness to learn, and a positive spirit.  

Take this quiz to see what traits you have. You don't have to possess all these traits; having a few is a great place to start. If you have none, don't panic. It is never too late to start acquiring them.

Traits of an Entrepreneur

1.  The power of a positive attitude - No matter how many entrepreneurial characteristics you have or develop, they won’t do any good unless you combine them with a positive attitude.  Entrepreneurs are optimists – they have to be, in order to see opportunities where others see only problems.

2.  Vision – the ability to see the end results of your goals while working to achieve them.

3.  Confidence – the belief that you can do what you set out to do.

4.  Perseverance – the refusal to quit; the willingness to keep goals in sight and work toward them, despite obstacles.

5.  Drive – the desire to work hard to accomplish one’s goals, not giving up.

6.  Honesty – the commitment to tell the truth and deal with people fairly.

7.  Discipline – the ability to stay focused and stick to schedules and deadlines.

8.  Adaptability – the ability to cope with new situations and find creative solutions to problems.

9.  Competitiveness – the willingness to compete with others.

10.  Organization – the ability to structure one’s life and keep tasks and information in order.

11.  Persuasiveness – the knack for convincing people to see your point of view and get them interested in your ideas; the ability to persuade another to buy your product or service.

12.  Risk Taking – the courage to expose oneself to possible losses; the ability to tread unknown waters.

13.  Understanding – the ability to listen and empathize with other people.

14.  Dream – the drive to achieve a dream that others thought was impossible.

15.  Practice effective time management – must be able to manage time wisely and efficiently.

16.  Stress management – must be able to manage stress well.

17.  Hard worker – must have a strong work ethic.

18.  Motivation – must have the ability to motivate others and one’s self.

19.  Comfortable with change – must be able to go with the flow of things and be willing to change.

20.  Resilience – being able to recover from dire times and not give up

Preethi Burkholder, www.giftedhandswriting.com  info@giftedhandswriting.com