- Passion
Passion is more than just a feeling about your idea; it’s an insatiable thirst to build a business against all odds. Not all successful entrepreneurs were passionate about their business idea at the start. Jack Ma, the Founder of Alibaba, still doesn’t know how to code, despite running a hugely successful tech company. But he is passionate about trying to help people and build an equitable society from within Communist China. That’s no easy feat. An entrepreneur must be passionate about an idea and be willing to see it through.
- A Mindset for Growth
Entrepreneurs who intend to achieve a high level of success rapidly require a growth mindset. Writer, Jeff Haden, describes it as the belief that your smarts and skill can all be developed through solid, continuous effort. Although, people with a fixed mindset who believe they aren’t born with enough talent or don’t have the time or resources to tackle their dreams don’t get very far. Successful entrepreneurs have to constantly check themselves to be sure the growth mindset isn’t shifting.
- Risk Takers
This does not necessarily mean betting everything you own and staring down in fear to show you are a successful risk taker. Entrepreneurs are actually quite risk-averse. What they do instead is limit their potential losses while diving in headfirst. That’s why it looks like Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin group, defies the odds while he seems to simultaneously launch businesses and skydive at the same time. In reality, he’s just mastered the balance of risk management and acceptable loss.
- Discipline
Building a business, securing funding, and going through years of struggle and near failure all require intense discipline to see success. Regardless, many entrepreneurs realize their first dream isn’t working, scrap the entire idea, and start building their next business or product. Successful entrepreneurship doesn’t just take discipline, but intense discipline, to keep working through obstacles and moving forward.
- Persistence
Intense discipline and persistence go hand-in-hand, with the latter fueling the former momentum needed to push through failures and stumbling blocks. Milton Hershey, as an example, dropped out of school in the 4th grade, and launched not one, but three, unsuccessful candy companies. He ultimately landed on a caramel recipe that was a hit and that paved the way to a multi-million-dollar company. Persistence pushes you to keep trying until you get it right.
- Willingness to Fail
Failing fast became a mantra for some entrepreneurs over the last decade for good reason. Without a willingness to fail, most entrepreneurs would still be stubbornly pushing forward a doomed idea or never stepping up their game enough to realize explosive success. Failing isn’t exactly pleasant, but it is part of the journey and opens the entrepreneurs mind to new possibilities.
- Adaptability
It’s true that, to succeed as an entrepreneur, you need an unflappable faith in your business and your ability to keep it moving forward. That faith may come from a commitment to self-discipline, motivation, or persistence. However, successful entrepreneurs are also adaptable. Market trends change constantly, funding falls through, business partners flake, and ideas can fizzle. But successful entrepreneurs are adaptable and agile enough to find creative solutions to their obstacles, pivot to a new idea or industry, or start over from scratch. This is fueled by curiosity and readiness to stay relevant in emerging markets.
- Self-Motivated
Whether you’re a successful entrepreneur or an employee at a corporate firm, success comes from being self-motivated. No one is going to build your business for you . Successful entrepreneurs don’t wait around for opportunities to be handed to them – they go after them and make their good fortune happen.
