Would You Like You as the Boss?

Being an entrepreneur, business owner and manager comes at a cost. Do you have enough energy, persistence and support in your reserves to do it all with a smile on your face?

Here are the traits of the successful entrepreneur. Find out how you compare.

An eye for opportunity: Many entrepreneurs start by finding a market niche and quickly filling it.

Independence: Even though most entrepreneurs know how to work within the framework for the sake of profits, they enjoy being their own boss.

Self-confidence: Entrepreneurs must demonstrate extreme self-confidence in order to cope with all the risks of operating their own businesses. They need to be able to keep chaos at bay and project positive energy for those around them during trying times.

Discipline: Successful entrepreneurs resist the temptation to do what is unimportant or the easiest but have the ability to think through to what is the most essential. This includes having the financial discipline required to pay yourself last.

Multi-tasking: A myriad of competing interests and pressures will require doing many things at once, but utilizing your self-confidence and discipline (as above) to multi-task will enable you to say no occasionally, prioritize tasks, set logistical plans in motion, delegate to others and stay on your strategic plan.

Judgment: Successful entrepreneurs have the ability to think quickly and make wise decisions.

Ability to accept change: Change occurs frequently when you own your own business, which the entrepreneur thrives on and profits from.

Make stress work for them: On the roller coaster to business success the entrepreneur copes by focusing on the end result and not the stresses of the ups-and-downs that will inevitably occur on the journey.

Need to achieve: Although they keep an "eye" on profits, this is often secondary to the drive for personal success.

Focus on profits: Successful entrepreneurs always have the profit margin in sight and know that their business success is measured by profits (also equally to value created by their product, operations, services). Is this your profile or would you rather do your job, pick up your pay cheque and leave the headaches to someone else? Most of us, quite easily, choose the latter.

Entrepreneurs are not born, but created.

Most entrepreneurs had an early life influence that helped them, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t learn them too. Entrepreneurial traits are commonly quoted as:

If this list describes you well, owning and operating your own business may suit. If it doesn’t, all is not lost. You can learn to be an entrepreneur by taking small steps or learning from a local role model.