If you’ve been an entrepreneur for a while, you must have observed that you need some elements to be successful in business or be close to success. Some of these factors go beyond the financial capability to include the willingness to be persistent on the path you decide to take. It could also include the capability of the team you hire to help you achieve your business goals. In some cases, you need to be innovative to do more than what everyone else around you is doing or rather do it differently.
We asked entrepreneurs and business owners what they think are the most essential factors to be successful in entrepreneurship and here are the responses.
#1- Being optimistic
Optimism is defined as focusing on the good while remaining emotionally resilient in the face of adversity. An entrepreneur who organizes, manages, and operates a company is likely to experience numerous setbacks throughout time. For example, when you first start your firm, you'll have a lot of paperwork to fill out, such as licenses, tax forms, business plans, and bank accounts. Optimism, like the other crucial entrepreneurial attributes, is a skill you'll need to cultivate and sustain throughout your career.
Thanks to Steve Pogson, First Pier!
#2- Team development
Entrepreneurs must be able to make difficult decisions and stick to them in order to succeed. A successful entrepreneur is cognizant of his or her skills and flaws. Rather than allowing their weaknesses to limit them, they develop well-rounded teams that complement their strengths. Often, rather than an individual, it is the entrepreneurial team that propels a company to success. When beginning a firm, it is vital to surround yourself with teammates that possess complementary skills and work toward a shared goal.
Thanks to Alexandra Tanya, Miss Amara!
#3- Work ON the business
There are a lot of things that an entrepreneur should have to be successful; passion, knowledge, drive, single or an understanding spouse, thick skin, and more. To be successful in growing a business requires a special attitude. To grow a successful business an entrepreneur must understand that they have to work ON their business, not IN it. That is a different attitude from a startup where the entrepreneur starts knowing THEY can do something; cheaper, faster, better, more unique than others.
Thanks to Charles Read, GetPayroll!
#4- Financial discipline
The most essential trait of successful entrepreneurs is financial discipline. While taking chances is a wonderful thing, entrepreneurs also need to know how to budget and save money. Because many startup businesses don't produce money right away, frugality is the only way for them to stay afloat. Being financially savvy requires budgeting, prioritizing, and understanding when to spend and when to save. Even if this isn't your natural strength, there are plenty of ways to improve your financial management skills.
Thanks to Jay Bats, ContentBASE!
#5- Having patience
I believe that there are three traits every entrepreneur must possess in order to be successful. A good entrepreneur has to be creative, able to think outside the box and come up with new ideas all the time. The second trait is having a lot of patience. Businesses can take years until they become profitable, so entrepreneurs must have patience and persevere. Finally, I believe that entrepreneurs must be very determined and never give up in the middle of a project, even if the road seems long and hard.
Thanks to Kim Abrams, Abrams Roofing!
#6- Successful delegation
A vision for your business and a willingness to work as many hours as it takes will get you started as an entrepreneur, but they won't make you successful. At some point, every successful business makes the transition from start-up mode to established, routine operation. This transition is the hardest thing about being an entrepreneur successful delegation is the thing that will save your business from dying when you burn out, as you inevitably will if you stay in start-up mode forever.
Thanks to Devon Fata, Pixoul!
#7- Being empathetic
Entrepreneurship is a journey that, more often than not, people end up taking on their own. It is important to be self-aware and determined because the entrepreneurial journey can be long, arduous, and even discouraging at times. The most important trait for successful entrepreneurs is empathy. Empathy for their customers, employees, co-workers – it’s what drives them to succeed in their business ventures.
Thanks to Max Benz, Remote-job.net!
#8- Dealing with uncertainties
If you want to be successful in business, you have to be comfortable with uncertainties. The pandemic has shown everyone just how much it’s important to be calm and collected during highly unpredictable situations. The world of entrepreneurs is pretty unstable. You have to weigh all options and make calls based on the data you have, which is often not enough for any type of security. This is a normal part of running a business and those who can’t handle it risk failing very early on.
Thanks to Malte Scholz, Airfocus!
#9- Resourcefulness
Entrepreneurs who become successful know how to make something out of nothing – even in times when no one else would dare to try. They’re on a mission and they don’t stop until they get what they need, no matter what that might mean. They will exhaust all alternatives, play out every conceivable situation in their thoughts, and seek assistance from everyone they know if necessary. They are successful because they understand how to make the most of the resources available to them, no matter how limited they may be.
Thanks to Anton Giuroiu, Homesthetics.net!
#10- Anti-fragility
I recently learned what this means and it goes beyond resilience and tenacity, which although both are great only exhibit an ability to survive through turmoil or trauma. Anti-fragility is the ability of a thing or person to actually improve or get better. As an entrepreneur or business owner, you’re going to experience a lot of ups and downs and you’re going to make mistakes. Succeeding relies on taking those letdowns and mistakes and using them to become stronger, smarter, and more comfortable being uncomfortable.
Thanks to Natalie Palomino, North Authentic!
#11- Staying disciplined
Discipline strengthens our grip on the path we want to take. Throughout the journey of doing business, discipline is the trait that keeps entrepreneurs fixing their eyes on the price they are aiming for. We all know that struggles here are not just about financial and social but also about personal. But discipline is responsible for the constant motivation, passion, and determination that they are having. Being strict with their goals, firm with their decisions, and not being easily influenced by external negativities helped them a lot with their success.
Thanks to Susan Melony, Unbreak Yourself!
#12- Integrity
Thanks to Francis Locknear, The Cost Guys!
#13- Being open to change
What I have learned is an important trait as a successful entrepreneur is being open to change. I'm President/CEO of a 4 generation family design, build, and remodeling business in San Diego, California started by my Grandfather in 1975. Listening to new ideas and being able to evolve our marketing and innovation was something I had to fight hard for. Now I'm grateful and open to the ideas my daughter Rachel has, who is the 4th generation in our company. What is important to understand is you should not be afraid of change and diversity.
Thanks to Gregg Cantor, Murray Lampert Design!
#14- Learning from failure
Every successful entrepreneur embraces the experience of failure more than they do success. The reason is that failure offers the opportunity for self-definition, because, unlike success, it requires a response; and in our reactions to those setbacks, we find our character. Simply learning from our mistakes, so as to never experience them again. So while success creates excitement, failure creates motivation. Those entrepreneurs who view failure as the most valuable tool will be more likely to succeed.
Thanks to Cody Candee, Bounce!
#15- Being motivated
Entrepreneurs tend to be highly motivated people. You need to be in order to start your own business and be successful at it. But with motivation comes the discipline to act on your ideas as well. Motivation is the wind, pushing your sailboat in the direction you'd like to go. But we all know that wind isn't 100% reliable, which is why you need discipline for those times when you just don't have enough wind/motivation to make forward progress. Discipline is the motor or oars that continue your progress until you can find your motivation again and let it carry you forward.
Thanks to Andre Kazimierski, Improovy!
#16- Being passionate
You must be passionate about your business to be successful. If you truly love what you do, then you’ll be willing to put in the hard work and extra hours to make sure your company succeeds. Passion and positivity are also contagious. If you’re enthusiastic about what you’re trying to achieve, others will latch onto that enthusiasm and want to help you accomplish your goals. The more people passionate about your vision, the better the chances of your business not only succeeding but thriving.
Thanks to Isaiah Henry, Seabreeze Management!
#17- Have strong people skill
Strong people skills are one of the essential characteristics of successful businesses. A great entrepreneur is someone who can sell goods to consumers and motivate workers through solid communication skills. Yes, most entrepreneurs who can inspire their workers will experience rapid growth in their company. These business owners are also excellent at teaching people how to be successful and emphasizing the positive aspects of any circumstance.
Thanks to Richard Mews, Sell With Richard!
#18- Ability to learn
I believe the most successful trait an entrepreneur can have is the ability to learn. As an entrepreneur, you will have to wear a ton of different hats. Some weeks you may need to focus on marketing aspects of your business while other weeks you may need to work on a completely different aspect of the business. As an entrepreneur, especially one that is just starting off, you will most likely not have a full-scale team to handle different parts of the business. You need to have a willingness to learn different skills. The business landscape will always be changing with competitors doing new things.
Thanks to Dave Evangelisti, Test-Guide!
#19- Be prepared
Being an entrepreneur and business owner, you live and breathe unpredictability. Every day, you have a different problem to solve, different people to talk to, and different opportunities to take. The best example is how the recent pandemic put businesses down on their knees. You will always be caught with various challenges that will come your way, and the best way to cushion the blow is to be prepared. Entrepreneurs who have a knack for preparedness have a higher chance of survival during storms.
Thanks to Ewen Finser, The Digital Merchant!
#20- Eagerness to learn more
Managing a business is a long journey. From my experience as a restaurateur, a successful entrepreneur must always be eager to learn more. He should not be contented with what he currently knows. He always works his way to find new ideas, combine them with his current ones to give his strategies a fresh new approach. And of course, he is aware that despite his experiences, there are many things that he still needs to learn.
Thanks to Heloise Blause, Home Kitchen Land!
#21- Being compassionate
The most important trait of an entrepreneur is empathy. When you are able to put yourself in other people's shoes, you create stronger relationships and business is all about creating relationships. To show empathy it's essential to actively listen to your stakeholders, giving them your undivided attention, and making them feel understood. This way, you create trust, which is essential to succeed as an entrepreneur.
Thanks to Sira Mas, The Truly Charming!
#22- Developing a purpose and a vision
Whether you are a C-suite pro at a big organization or a founder of a startup, the best entrepreneurs have a vision as to what they want to achieve and how to do it. The ability to stick to the vision, stay the course, pick yourself up, and keep going is what perseverance is made of. Developing a purpose and a vision that’s bigger than yourself, then creating a map to get you there and putting in the work necessary to succeed without complaint- is finding a way to persevere even when you want to quit.
Thanks to Rajiv Lamba, Survey Sensum!
#23- Having a questioning mind
Entrepreneurship never comes with a handbook that has the answers to all your questions. Only through real-world experiences and countless trials and errors can you really make true progress. For this reason, an open and curious mind is the most valuable trait that an entrepreneur can possess because it will eventually lead to exponential growth and surprising opportunities that one would otherwise miss out on. As long as you're committed to learning and keeping up with the changing times, your business will always be relevant.
Thanks to Philipp Zeiske, Zeitholz!
#24- Investing in the team
Hiring top talent has never been more competitive, it’s essential you invest in your team culture to retain talent. We listened to both our staff and ran research into real issues people have with workplaces, to make our decisions on this which has contributed to a staff turnover for the past 2 years. Some of the things we’ve invested into include gym memberships, unlimited therapy for staff, finish at 12 Fridays, and flexible working policies for those that have hobbies or responsibilities that fall within the 9-5.
Thanks to Charlie Clark, Minty Digital LTD!
#25- Self-motivated
There's no secret formula to being a driven and highly successful entrepreneur — you just have to be self-motivated and make it happen. It's all about taking true accountability for your success (and failures) and realizing that no one apart from you is responsible for your growth. This pushes you to face every challenge with confidence and invest in your personal and professional development above all else. With persistence and an unbreakable resolve, success is inevitable
Thanks to Demi B. Yilmaz, Colonist.io!