So many people love the idea of being an entrepreneur. After all, you get to set your own hours, earn a limitless amount of money and become your own creative director. We feature a lot of them in our business column. However, there’s a whole lot more that’s involved in the process of entrepreneurship. Not enough people are completely transparent about the ups and downs involved in entrepreneurship. While it’s not an easy road, you can make it easier to succeed when you develop a certain list of characteristics. Consider the following traits that you’ll want to develop in order to be a successful and effective entrepreneur.
Discipline
If you try to rely on doing things when you feel like it, you’ll never get a lot done. You have to learn how to work even when you don’t feel like. You have to develop the art of self-discipline. Even though you have the ability to call your own shots and set your own hours, it’s important to develop a schedule and routine. Even though you might want to sleep in until 11 am, set your alarm clock to wake up at 8 am each morning. As you wake up, develop a morning routine to help you start your day. Most people tend to thrive when there’s a level of structure. Develop routines for your life, and remain consistent with them. You’ll increase your likelihood of succeeding.
Creativity
Even if you’re an entrepreneur in a niche that’s not so creative, you have to develop a sense of creativity within your approach. Entrepreneurs provide solutions to problems. Your job is to be available to those who need what your company provides. It takes a level of creativity to stand out from the crowd. You’re not in a position where you’re waiting on someone to tell you what to do. You have to get creative in coming up with the solutions on your own. When you can develop a practice that encourages creativity, it’ll overflow into the different ways you operate within your business.
Quick Decision-Maker
Too often, people get stuck on making decisions. They mull over different options because they’re not confident in their ability to make a wise decision. If you make the wrong decision, you can always bounce back from failure. However, it’s not a great idea to waste a ton of time making frivolous decisions. Instead, learn how to trust your gut, do your research and make an informed decision. If you’re making a creative decision, it’s easy to get stuck. That’s why it’s also important to yield to someone else or ask for help. If you’re stuck on finding a great name for your business, use a business name generator. You’ll be able to generate your business name without spending a ton of time on the process. You don’t have to make all of the decisions within your company. You just need to approve all of the decisions.
Well-Read
There are plenty of people who believe that they’re too busy to read a book. Truthfully, if you have ten minutes a day, you can take time out to read. Even if it’s just a few pages out of a great book, take time to intentionally read. If you want to be a great leader, it’s important to consistently read. Don’t just read about topics surrounding entrepreneurship. Read about current events, art history and biographies of past leaders. If you’re sitting at an important dinner with a client, you want to be able to have an in-depth conversation about something other than the terrible political climate. As you become well-rounded and well-read, it’ll help you to become more confident in your ability to provide value to the world.
Resilient
You’re going to make mistakes. There’s going to be a time where you make the wrong decision that leads to a financial loss. The key is to become resilient. When you’re resilient, you’ll have a tough exterior that’ll allow you to bounce back from the mistakes you’ve made. Everyone makes mistakes. Mistakes are part of the journey. If you choose to wallow in the mistake you made, you’ll only waste more time. Plus, if you remain focused on a mistake, you’ll end up putting yourself in a position of analysis paralysis.
Student
As an entrepreneur, it’s easy to assume that you know it all. Truthfully, you don’t know it all. There really is so much to learn. Even as you pass the five-year mark in entrepreneurship, always remember that you have more to learn. This is why it’s best to remain a student. Attend seminars. Take courses. Go to conferences. Submit to the authority of a business mentor. As you gain wisdom, you’ll be able to apply it to your business. If you maintain an arrogant stance as someone who’s not teachable, you cut yourself off from lots of valuable instruction.
