The Successful Entrepreneur 

What will it take to make your Business Successful

Most online entrepreneurs start out part time. I believe the main reason for this is that they have jobs that are paying the bills and putting food on the table and a roof over their heads. This is as it should be, one should never quit a job that's providing the basics for you and your family to start an online business. It takes time for any business to start generating significant income and you'll need the income from your job to live on in the meantime.

Starting a new small business is a life altering experience. If it's to be successful you're going to be living with it 24-7 and it's going to have it's up and downs and its surprises. There is no such thing as a free lunch and your level of success will be in direct proportion to the amount of effort they put forward and the amount of money you can afford to invest. Your entire family will be affected by your new venture so be sure to keep their needs in the front of your mind also.

By definition an entrepreneur is a person who starts and runs a new business venture. However most people today see the entrepreneur as a person with a special talent for finding great new opportunities and the ability to capitalize on them. Does this mean that an entrepreneur is born or can anyone develop the skills required to became successful?

I'm of the opinion that successful entrepreneurs do share certain personality traits that make them naturally more entrepreneurial than others. While not all entrepreneurs have exactly the same traits I do believe that there are at least five that are indispensable to the successful entrepreneur.

1. Desire – An entrepreneurs desire for personal fulfilment and professional success is his number one strength. It's what motivates him to start a business in the first place. Desire to achieve becomes a desire for success and this desire for success will be reflected throughout the business.
2. Positive Attitude – Entrepreneurs have a positive mental attitude, they see opportunities where others see obstacles, they free their mind of negativity so that it is free to dream, imagine, develop and expand.
3. Commitment – To succeed you have to be committed to your desires and beliefs, you have to commit to your business the hard work necessary to build it from the ground up. With commitment comes effort, with effort comes results, with results comes success!
4. Patience – Patience is a must, nothing happens overnight. The entrepreneur who's willing to work day after day will reap the rewards of their patience when the steady and focused hard work pays off in the form of a successful profitable business.
5. Persistence - The final entrepreneurial trait is critical to success. When obstacles appear you have to persist with your ideas, persist with your hard work and keep focused on success. With patient and committed persistence success will come.

Are these traits part of your make up? If they're not at least to some degree part of your personality I would think twice about starting a business of your own that you plan to depend on as a full time career. Now that's not to say that you can't make a little extra money online, however making a living as a full time entrepreneur is not likely. eBay for example is an excellent way for anyone to make a little extra money without all the traits listed above.

If however you do process all of these traits to some degree here are three questions you'll want to ask yourself before you go any further.

1. Do you really want to operate independently and be the person in charge, the one making all the decisions and having all the responsibilities?
2. Are you willing to put in the many hours of hard work and make all the sacrifices required of a business owner?
3. Do you have what it takes to stay the course, the confidence and discipline to build your enterprise into a successful business?
   

If you can't honestly answer yes to all of the above questions then you're probably not ready to start a serious business of your own.

If you'd like to check to see if your personality fits the typical entrepreneurial profile, the following site has a questionnaire that will help you assess your entrepreneurial skills: http://www.rateyourself.com/subject.cfm/Subject_ID/2

One misconception about entrepreneurs is that they are wild risk takers. While it's true starting a business is risky in and of itself the successful entrepreneur always takes the time to thoroughly evaluate all possible risks. Yes the entrepreneurs does take risks but only calculated ones. This is indeed an important part of starting a new business so don't cut it short take the time required to think everything through but on the other hand don't procrastinate either. Clearify your vision in your own mind, do your due diligense, set your goals and take it step by step. 

©2006 Successful Entrepreneur