Entrepreneur?
Being harangued for being out of sync when it comes to your business and your ideas? Told that you can’t approach your business that way and that such behavior will lead to crashing your business? That your world view makes no sense? It’s a common malady for entrepreneurs.
At some point any entrepreneur begins to wonder: Am I wrong in my thinking?
The good news? Now new empirically based studies show a significant difference in personality types between entrepreneurs and everyone else. These new findings begin to shine light on why it’s not possible for everyone to become a business owner, or have the ability to withstand the demands of running a business themselves. These studies clearly show how in fact nothing is wrong with the precepts of entrepreneurs. Rather they posses a different way to view the business world. In this article we will take an in-depth view at the latest research regarding the personality traits intrinsic to successful entrepreneurs.
In a recent study conducted by University of Maryland, researchers Robert Baum and Edwin Locke investigated several personality traits which form the basis of entrepreneurial achievement.
Tenacity
The first trait that all entrepreneurs posses? Sheer tenacity. Basically a combination of resilience, perseverance, and a detrimental commitment to the task at hand. These traits become necessary in order to deal with repeated failures often seen in any enterprise, especially at the start. The research showed many entrepreneurs to be serial implementers, simultaneously working on various objectives and not believing in sequential steps of development. Instead they embrace the concept of “leap frogging” and advance quickly while the general population believes in a linear, step-by-step progress.
Passion
Another common trait involves excitement and a strong belief in what they do that gets the entrepreneur through the hard times. Because of this passion they can be seen as obsessive with work, too demanding of others and of themselves, too driven, and too ambitious. Yet, this passionate drive often takes their organizations to new heights despite the economy or other adversities.
Manage Fear
A third trait is their ability to withstand the fear of uncertainty and potential failure. The ability to control fear is paramount and includes such attributes as: the fear of humiliation, fear of missing payroll or running out of cash, even bankruptcy. People who don’t posses this trait usually only focus on finding opportunities with the least amount of risk and want some form of guarantee. However, certainty can’t exist or even be possible in a new untried venture. Rewards grow out of risks taken. Thus, entrepreneurs embrace the fear knowing that at the end the rewards will be great.
Vision
Many entrepreneurs have the ability to spot opportunity and imagine something where others haven’t. It’s a curiosity that identifies overlooked niches and puts them at the forefront of innovation and emerging fields. Pursuing a concept not generally accepted or ahead of its time is common. Apple’s Steve Jobs was such an individual who saw what the public wanted before the public even knew they wanted it.
Confidence
Another critical trait involves the confidence and certainty your product is something the world needs. Vacillating back and forth whether or not to do something is not a characteristic of successful entrepreneurs. In fact, having the proper state of mind becomes more important than know how, so that how they feel about themselves and their business outweighs any technical knowledge about that business.
Adaptable and flexible
Successful business owners can respond to changing tastes and market conditions. They are able to be honest with themselves, admitting when it’s not working. As Seth Godin once stated, it is the ability to fail fast and move to the next thing that makes the difference. We all know the famous Thomas Edison story where he learned the thousand ways the light bulb couldn’t work. He failed fast and moved on until he found what did work.
Rule Breaking
Defying conventional wisdom is key to success as an entrepreneur. It’s why many entrepreneurs seem like an alien to those around them. They are often rebuked and resented as well as understood by few. No wonder the current national statistics show that only 13 percent of Americans engage in entrepreneurial pursuits.
A Solstice for the Entrepreneur
As seen above, the life of an entrepreneur can be filled with challenge and misunderstanding. Marketing expert and author, Bill Glazer once stated, “the best thing about being an entrepreneur is that you are your own boss. The worst thing about being an entrepreneur is that you are your own boss”. Being isolated can make anyone vulnerable to the influences of the overwhelming majority of people populating your life who don’t get what you do, who don’t get you are and likely can’t.
Maintaining your sanity by seeking out and maintaining associations with other members of this elite group of business people plays a vital role to your survival. You need to gather with those who posses the same rare talents as you do.
Bay Area Mastermind is the premier place to find like minded entrepreneurs striving to grow their businesses and looking to explore new frontiers. When you attend a Bay Area Mastermind you get access to a sounding board of people just like you who hold you accountable and encourage you to push the limits.
The only way to fully understand all the benefits of a Bay Area Mastermind membership is to Test Drive a meeting. You are invited to click the link and find out how to take your business to the next level.