Thinking about starting your own business and wondering if you have what it takes? Read on to see if you share these key personality traits with top entrepreneurs:
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Emotional intelligence - Great entrepreneurs understand what motivates people. This is probably the single most important skill needed to run a successful business, and they don’t teach it in school. What makes your employees want to give you their all? What makes your customers want to buy your product or service? When is a word of encouragement needed? And when is it necessary to let someone go? The most successful entrepreneurs know, and they are always working to improve their people skills.
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Willingness to take risks - It takes guts to start a business. There will be plenty of ideas along the way that just don’t work out. Smart entrepreneurs remain unfazed. They get up, dust themselves off, and try again.
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Relentless focus - There are so many distractions in our daily lives: email, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn requests, conference calls, and meetings. Successful entrepreneurs are able to drown out the noise and focus on what really matters - driving their business forward.
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An optimistic mindset - As an entrepreneur, you will discover that there are lots of ups and downs. The highs are really high and the lows are really low! It’s not like working for a big company, where there are large cash piles to smooth over any bumps in the road. That’s why it’s so important to have an optimistic mindset. Believe in yourself and your team.
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Ability to prioritize - Ask any entrepreneur and they will tell you their to do list is a mile long. To succeed, it’s all about triage.
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Desire to learn new things - The great thing about being an entrepreneur is that you are always learning! Something needs doing at your start-up? You figure out how to do it and make it happen.
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Great listening skills - The most successful entrepreneurs are great listeners. While someone is talking, they are fully present and focused on the speaker. They aren’t preparing a response in their head or looking at their phone. They want to hear you and understand what you are saying. This helps them establish strong connections with clients, investors, and employees.
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Determination - Ultimately, it’s the level of determination that separates the winners from the losers. There will be days when it all seems like too much. Keep going. Successful entrepreneurs do not give up!
Don’t have all the traits listed above? No worries. You can work on them. That’s what great leadership is all about.
