Key Skills Good Entrepreneurs Must Have

In business, you will always hear this question, “do you have what it takes to succeed?” Every person who wishes to engage himself in business must first ask himself this question before taking the first step. Why? Because, being in the business world is like being in a jungle with full of wild animals and no one is around except you. If you aren’t prepared and armoured you will be easily caught up and die instantly.

For you to stay long and be successful in business, you need to assess yourself first if you have these special traits that make up a good entrepreneur:

Objectivity. Think back to a time when you wanted to do something beyond your skill. Perhaps you wanted some large posters for your new product launching, will you choose your good friend which is an amateur graphic artist to do the job? The work might be passable but certainly not up to that of the skilled graphic artist— who might charge a fairly sizeable fee for the work but whose quality of work would be certain of. A successful entrepreneur prefers the expert than the amateur when in need of help. Because in business, a simple committed mistake is a loss of not just money, but time and effort.

Need for feedback. Have you ever wanted to know how you were doing on the job? Have you tackled the boss to find out? Do you keep track of the mileage you’re getting from your car and see to it that the tires are properly inflated and the engine tuned when the mileage shows signs of falling off? Is it your custom to check on matters of this kind and to make improvement when the signs show the need? A “yes” answer bodes well for your new venture. Enterprises look to feedback signals from what they do and from what thing to do for or to them. They want to know how they’re doing. They’ll do more of the right thing and change course to overcome the effects of having done the wrong thing. If you answer “no”, it suggests that you need to learn how to get use feedback to improve your performance.

Optimism in novel situations. Have you ever tackled a job that you didn’t know too much about but decided to take on because it looked exciting and you thought you could do it? For example, have you tried to convert your attic to a playroom, or put together a loom from a do-it- kit? Although the job proved to be difficult, did you plow ahead, gaining skills as you went and complete the project? If you answered yes, you have a special characteristic of a true entrepreneur.

Remember that true entrepreneurs sometimes take on projects that interest them even when they are not thoroughly familiar with the details. The novelty may attract them, and they believe they can bring their own special skills to accomplish the job.

Proactive management. Are you accustomed to think ahead? Do you set goal for yourself, such as a new house or a new car? Then do you plan and work consistently to achieve the goal, thinking through your special requirements and setting funds for the purchase? If you answer “yes”, then you have a proactive management skill.

To become a successful businessperson, it is important that you learn to plan ahead, yet keep your present circumstances under control. This is the essence of proactive management.
To sum up, good entrepreneurs are not destined to be one. They become successful because they want to and because they continue to practice to acquire the good traits of an entrepreneur. So, if you want to be like them, assess yourself if you have all those characteristics mentioned above. If you think you don’t have it, all it takes is practice!