Who Is an Entrepreneur?
A person who is a risk taker and a starter, and invests money into his business can be considered an entrepreneur. An entrepreneur is a brain behind the success of any business and without the guideline of a good entrepreneur best to best ideas can’t survive.
That’s why we are here to discuss on 20 best characteristics of successful entrepreneurs which are the most essential ingredients for the success of any business and its survival for a long time. An entrepreneur can be a man or a woman or even a group of people who are working together for the success of any business.
An entrepreneur can enjoy the fruit of success, and at the same time bears the losses as well, making the concept of starting an enterprise juicy as well as risky. In normal observation starting a business may seem easy and feel like we can do it without any problem, but in reality, it’s completely different and it requires a huge amount of knowledge, effort, dedication, and capital to make a business successful.
An entrepreneur is like a driver of a bus who is in charge of all the passengers inside, as the amount of success an entrepreneur can make, can be reflected in the lifestyle of the workers as well as he is accountable not only for his business but for all who are working for him and if somehow an entrepreneur fails in his decisions, the same can be reflected in the lifestyle of the people as all hundred or thousand people working for him will fight for survival too.
What are Types of Entrepreneurship?
Entrepreneurship is the implication of the business ideas possessed by the entrepreneur and it consists of planning, starting, and operating a business. The distinctive nature of an entrepreneur can be visualized in the working of the enterprise as well because entrepreneurship is the reflection of what an entrepreneur visualizes.
Talking about categorizing the varieties of entrepreneurship, traditionally it was categorized into four basic types small businesses, scalable start-ups, large companies, and social entrepreneurs but now with the world changing so fast, the varieties of entrepreneurs have also changed, and a lot more diversities are added to the categorization of entrepreneurship.
To understand the 20 best characteristics of successful entrepreneurs we must recall the different types of enterprises as depending upon the enterprise the characteristics of the entrepreneur may vary too. So, keeping all these in mind, let us start the discussion on the different possible types of entrepreneurship.
10 Most Common Types of Entrepreneurship
1. Small Business Entrepreneurship
It’s like a one-man creation, where the scope for further expansion is to minimise, due to the lack of supporting hands. Mostly only one is behind all success or failure of such kind of entrepreneurship and there is very little hope that the endeavor can be expanded to new branches or franchises.
All the salon shops, bakery shops, grocery shops, etc that we can see all around us can be categorised into small business entrepreneurship which owing to the constraints of manpower and capital, has very little chance of growth and development.
The most that can happen with such outlets is the whole family is looking after the business and can end up with few branches in nearby cities, but even that is hard to achieve. The amount of profit such business ideas can yield may vary from business to business and also depends on the amount of capital invested, but still, it will remain limited to some extent only and there will be very few exceptions to this.
2. Scalable Start-Up Entrepreneurship
The whole world is changing at a fast pace and with this change, the idea of a start-up is spreading the fire in a forest. A start-up is like a new business idea that focuses on how to create a business model which is repeatable as well as scalable and can be looked after for an extended period.
You might have heard the stories of many famous start-ups growing from garages to riches, and if not let me remind you of the world’s famous e-commerce website, Amazon.
Most start-ups begin with a simple idea, but if their idea is solid and they can successfully convey their idea to others, the investors will support such ideas happily.
To make a start-up successful you need to arrange for the starting capital which is mostly organised through families and friends, and once the initial setup is done, they can approach the investors for funds. Such kind of funding for a start-up is called venture capital. Most small investors are willing to extend funds to the start-up if they find some solidarity in the idea of the start-up which the investor can easily recover if the start-up is listed in the share market.
3. Large Company Entrepreneurship
Companies like JIO, Google, Facebook, and ITC which work in multiple nations, and have their branches spread across different corners of the world, having a strong financial backup and a huge ecosystem of business are categorised as Large Company Entrepreneurship.
All such kinds of entrepreneurship and big players in the market are already established with their business and need not take massive efforts to make success, but their main focus is on maintaining the reputation among the old customers.
One of the strategies followed by such large companies is the acquisition of smaller companies and expanding their business, just like Facebook did with WhatsApp.
Traditionally Large company entrepreneurship was looked at as a big company with a large infrastructure and thousands of employees, but brands like Facebook and Amazon, have proved that even if there isn’t a large infrastructure, they can achieve mammoth success.
4. Intrapreneurship
This is like finding a diamond from a pile of coal, Intrapreneurship is the skill of an employee to work like an entrepreneur within the company, and behaves like the founder, designer, manager, and decision maker employee who works on the force of self-motivation.
This is a great way to find new talents having entrepreneurial skills, among the younger generations, and provide them with a chance to prove their utility for the business.
For example, a 24-hour hackathon event is organised by the company, Shutterstock provides employees with a chance to pursue innovative ideas which can be beneficial to the company and rewards those who come up with excellent ideas. Another great example of intrapreneurial innovation is Facebook’s ‘Like’ button which was also created in a similar hackathon event and is now an integral part of the brand and one of the reasons behind the commanding success story of Facebook.
5. Imitative Entrepreneurship
Mostly new entrepreneurs with limited capital adopt this idea, where they try to copy the successful innovative entrepreneurs and implement them in their own business, and that’s why they are known as imitative or adoptive entrepreneurs.
The most important thing if you are imitating someone else, you should never stop innovating because after a while the circumstances may change for our business and at that time what imitating tactics we are following may not be fruitful.
You can start your business as an imitator but it’s only good for getting the start because with time the requirements of your business will change and then you must work hard to create your own separate brand identity and not stay in the shadow of some other company.
6. Innovative Entrepreneurship
Some entrepreneurs never settle down with what they have and keep on trying new with the next big thing, constantly searching for options which can be proven to be groundbreaking and go viral within a short period.
Knowing the market conditions, and capabilities of analysing the situation and acting accordingly is a very important aspect of an innovator because every new thing you try in the name of innovation is not fated to be successful, so he must have the courage to revert whenever necessary.
7. Hustler Entrepreneurship
These types of entrepreneurs are like self-starters, who are charged and highly motivated and self-driven to achieve a definite goal. Most of the hustlers are confident and fearless and can sell anything to anyone, and are one of the few entrepreneurs who lash on to every new opportunity provided to them.
8. Buyer Entrepreneurship
There is a difference between a buyer entrepreneur and an investor in a business as an investor only invests money and is concerned with the interest on capital, whereas a buyer entrepreneur seeks opportunities to buy a pre-existing company and merge it into their existing business, and apart from the simple investment it participates in the decision-making process of the company.
You might have heard the example of Reliance retail taking our a renowned retail company, Big Bazar, in October 2020, for a massive ₹24500 crore is a perfect example to represent this type of entrepreneurship where reliance on Retail not only acquired the company’s business but also acquired the trust of the customers over Big Bazar which was created over the years.
9. Social Entrepreneurship
Innovators who create products that can benefit the world as well as make money for them can be regarded as social entrepreneurs who are like a hybrid of both profit and non-profit organisations. These companies mostly started as non-profit organisations but eventually got into the profit-making zone.
You might have heard the story, of how the world’s most famous CMS software WordPress was developed, to help the blogger who was out of options when b2, a blogging site was off the air, but with time it grew into popularity, and now 70 percent of the websites are built on WordPress, but the most interesting part is that its development is still maintained by a community.
10. Researcher Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is based on facts and figures, and after making all research and calculations, they set up the business which is most likely to succeed, is called researcher entrepreneurship as it is a combination of innovative ideas with calculative innovation.
After reading so much on types of entrepreneurship we are familiar with the circumstances an entrepreneur has to pass and now we are in the best position to discuss the 20 best characteristics of successful entrepreneurs, which they must have to make a successful journey. In the first phase of the discussion, we are going to disclose the top 10 ideas which all entrepreneurs must have and in the later part, we will discuss the additional qualities which they possess to complement the top 10 qualities.
20 Best Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs
1. Planning
This is the most important quality among the 20 best characteristics of successful entrepreneurs, as without proper planning nothing can be achieved, and even if you are successful to achieve something without planning it’s not consistent.
The way an entrepreneur plans all his ventures, show his capability to visualize the future, and the extent it can be successful. It is a must-have quality for any entrepreneur as it lays a strong foundation for all kinds of projects started by the business.
2. Knowing The Unknown
Surprised but it’s true, that an entrepreneur needs to know the unknown, which shows dedication in him to be successful. Anything unknown to the entrepreneur and at the same time it is important for the business, it’s a sign of weakness for the entrepreneur, which can push him down the path of success and popularity, and he must come out of the position of weakness.
3. Willingness to Work Hard
An entrepreneur should lead by example and passes on positive energy to his employees who mostly look at the entrepreneur as a role model to them. Most of the time to inspire co-workers an entrepreneur should work with them matching shoulders to shoulders to keep them energised and in times of downtrend when nothing is going well for the business, he should not let their morale down under any condition.
4. Empathy
Another must-have quality among the 20 best characteristics of successful entrepreneurs is having an understanding of the business, as well as the employees, their feeling, and their wellbeing.
Proper understanding of everything about the business is the key to success and anyone lacking in such a quality may achieve success for a few milestones but for making it a lifelong success it is a must-have quality.
5. Being Fair
As an entrepreneur, the first mistake people make is to neglect the welfare of the worker, but they forget that without the support of the worker they can never reach the position they are presently at, and if he is successful and leading a good life, his workers, who have worked with him matching shoulder to shoulder should lead a good life too because happy workers will be loyal to the company and act like pillars of growth.
An entrepreneur should be fair with the customers as well and should never try to cheat them in price or quality, as once it is done the customer loyalty vanishes and cause a long-lasting impact on the brand value.
6. Listening Carefully
The quality of listening is the best to gather knowledge, and as an entrepreneur and we should never think about ourselves as superior thinkers and planners to our juniors. That’s why many organizations organize campaigns where anyone is welcomed with an idea that can benefit the enterprise.
7. Vision For What They Can Build
As planning is the most important among the 20 best characteristics of entrepreneurs, a vision to analyse the future with the implementation of the plans is also equally important. What’s the benefit of learning a lesson after spending million on a project, and failing to achieve the desired targets?
Only if we can visualise the impact of our plans on the business and before implementing the plan we can be sure about the success, then we can be considered a successful entrepreneurs.
8. Making Mistakes
As human beings all of us make mistakes, but as an entrepreneur, we must learn from our mistakes and come back with double enthusiasm, and never let the morale of our co-workers drop. Our Mistakes are our top teachers and we should never look upon them as failures, as no one can say that he has never failed in life.
9. Invest in Yourself
As an investor, it is important to keep on upgrading ourselves, as never think that we know everything and there is no one better than us. There is no end to learning and every moment of life gives you a chance to learn something new, something extraordinary, so, just jump on to the occasion when you get a chance to learn more.
10. Get to Know Your Customers
Unless and until you know your customers well, you can never be a successful entrepreneur, because your customers are the key to your success. It is also a must-have quality among the 20 best characteristics of successful entrepreneurs which sometimes people may feel is not too important but in the real life, scenario it’s not like that.
If you know your customers properly then only you can create products or services which suit their needs the best, and then only you can be a successful entrepreneur.
After discussing the most important 10 qualities among the 20 best characteristics of successful entrepreneurs, now we must proceed to check the additional qualities that are important for an entrepreneur to have.
11 Changing Viewpoint
It never remains the same, what is good for us at present is not necessarily remain good after 10 years, that’s why an entrepreneur needs to change his viewpoint related to different aspects of his business if necessary.
12. Manage Money Wisely
We all know how difficult it is to earn money, and in the case of an enterprise, it becomes even more important to manage our money properly, because most of the capital comes from the investors who always have a keen eye on the activities of the business.
Without proper management of the money, a business can never survive in the long run, because money and the trust of investors are like the backbone of any business which we can’t afford to lose.
13. Do What You Enjoy
Only when we can enjoy what we are doing, we can give a thought to continue it for a lifetime and dream to become a successful entrepreneurs. Our happiness with the business is reflected in the way we make our decisions and we can come out with great ideas only if we like what we are doing.
14. Know When to Prioritise
When running a business there will be several events happening together and you should be in a position to decide which is more important for your business and finish it on an urgent basis.
15. Look For The Sale
As an entrepreneur, you can never sit and wait for the customers to come to you, and most of the time you have to hunt for them, and you should possess the knowledge on how to do this. Knowing how to sell is also an important quality among the 20 best characteristics of successful entrepreneurs because at the end of everything the only thing that matters the most is to know, how to sell.
16. Remember, It’s All About The Customer
Another must point to remember as the quality of an entrepreneur is that everything you are doing as a businessman is to please your customers and the whole thought process of a business should rotate around the concept of how to attract more and more customers.
17. Become a Shameless Self-Promoter
When you are talking about your business or your product you should never be ashamed of what you are doing and never let any opportunity go by, to promote your business.
18. Become Known As an Expert
Another cheeky quality to have for a successful entrepreneur is to project an image of an expert. Let the people think that you are the best person to look for advice, and you know what is best for your business. You can create an image of an expert by posting on different social media platforms, like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc, and must be consistent in doing so.
19. Build a Top-Notch Business Team
No matter how good a general is, war is fought by the soldiers, and the same is true for your business as well. The team that you hire is the key to your success, and you must be selective to choose people to work around you.
20. Master The Art of Negotiations
The last quality among the 20 best characteristics of a successful entrepreneur is to be a master of negotiation, as it’s the quality on which you have to rely every moment you deal with any person. Maybe it is related to the selection of employees, dealing with traders and investors, or talking to clients, the skill of negotiation that you possess will always help you.
Conclusion
In this fast-moving world, all of us wants to be the master of our destiny and wants to become successful entrepreneur, and to do so you must have the above-discussed 20 best characteristics of successful entrepreneurs.
All the qualities discussed above are hand-picked by us and listed in an order that suits the case of study the best and we too hope that you will achieve what you are looking for shortly.
