Top 10 Qualities of a Budding Entrepreneur

The journey of an entrepreneur is a tough one. Long days of waiting, erratic markets,moody employees and difficult-to-please customers can, together, test your tolerance and level of grit and determination. But entrepreneurs can make their flight to success more joyful by inculcating certain essential traits. Listed here are the top 10 qualities that arespotted in cutting-edge entrepreneurs.

1.An entrepreneur has immense self-confidence and courage: In a recent interview, Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin brand, said that it is not only important that you love your business, but it is also important that others love it. An entrepreneur’s love for his work and company essentially emerges from his love for himself.This, in turn, boosts his self-confidence, making him more courageous,adventurous and risk-taking, and ultimately giving him the will to fight all odds in his entrepreneurial journey.

2.An entrepreneur combines self-discipline with freedom: While an entrepreneur’s life can start out being quite loosely structured, what makes the more successful ones stand out, is their ability to create a structure or discipline in that chaos. An entrepreneur too has to set certain goals and targets, but work around them with a certain freedom of movement. Though most entrepreneurs start out with flexi- hours, as they progress, they realize that they are better equipped to meet both client and market demands if their days are regulated and disciplined.

3.An entrepreneur patiently waits it out: It’s a trait of paramount importance: The early years of any start-up can be some of the most trying years of your entrepreneurial journey, often making you question your decisions, the strengths of your venture and the market’s reception to it. But it pays to stay the course and wait out turbulent markets or other obstacles in your path. And this normally results from your passion for and confidence in your venture. But striking a balance between complacence and aggression is crucial: don’t get so patient that you miss out on important clues and don’t get so aggressive that you promote your product excessively.

4.An entrepreneur chooses good teams: Most successful entrepreneurs realize the importance of a good team. They actively look for the right people who have similar values of work and share aligned interests with the venture. Moreover, they realize that their team too should have inherent entrepreneurial traits to take the venture forward with a sense of ownership. But more than having a good team, they also realise how important it is to be a good team player, highlighting the strengths of each individual and motivating them toward newer goals.

5.An entrepreneur has an early bird advantage: In order to be on top of the market, it is important to be there first. A successful enterprise is often one where the service or product offered is one the first of its kind in the market. Thus, foresight and a good analysis of market trends will help you discover missing gaps and create your own niche product.

6.An entrepreneur is agile and adaptive: A good entrepreneur has to be extremely responsive to market movements and dynamics. If a particular product or service doesn’t seem to be hitting the right chord with the consumer, the entrepreneur should be quick to reinvent it or create some value-added feature. In a service- oriented sector, the customer’s satisfaction can be achieved only after closely understanding and adapting your service to the client’s needs. For this, one may need to have a wide range of products and services that could fit various customer needs and styles. Thus, being adaptive also includes having a wide repertoire as well as a wide network.

7.An entrepreneur is at the right place at the right time: This trait is often the result of actively networking and promoting your product. While it is important to know your product, it is more important to know who your products can be sold to and where. This information is often got by actively communicating with prospective clients, partners, service providers, venture capitalists, etc. Thus, one of the ways of being at the right place at the right time is by constantly pushing your product or service to the right people.

8.An entrepreneur keeps his ears open: Good entrepreneurs, like good bosses, are known to be good listeners. They listen to their teams, listen to feedback on themselves, listen to suggestions, listen to the market’s calls and listen to ideas. The only way to enable more inclusive growth is by giving every employee a chance to be heard. This indirectly also enhances two-way communication in teams and companies. Thus, being able to listen is an imperative quality of every entrepreneur.

9.An entrepreneur takes tough calls: Very often, an entrepreneur is required to take tough and quick decisions. One of the keys to making good decisions is by staying calm and collected. Some of the questions that can be asked while making important decisions are: Is it good for the company; is it good for the employees; is it good for revenue and is it good for brand perception.

10.An entrepreneur enjoys what he does: And finally, the most important aspect of having your own venture is to simply have fun. Good entrepreneurs make the work and the workplace an enjoyable experience for all involved. They look at the lighter moments and remember to highlight the very human and emotional aspects of any endeavour. As Richard Branson says in the same interview, “Build rapports rather than create battles and let your hair down now and again.”