What Are the Main Characteristics of an Entrepreneur?

About 27 million Americans start or run a new business each year. It’s not enough to have a great idea, though. You also need the characteristics of an entrepreneur to set yourself up for success.

Here are seven traits you need to have when starting your own company. By sharpening your skillset, you can increase your chances of developing a winning business.

Otherwise, competitors within your niche might have an easier time attracting your ideal customers instead.

Don’t give them the chance! Discover the top entrepreneur characteristics you need with this guide today.

1. Passion

One of the most important characteristics of an entrepreneur is passion. Passion will drive you to turn your vision into a reality. If you love what you do, you can drive yourself to invest time and energy in a project.

Your passion can help set you apart from competing businesses, too. Passionate entrepreneurs focus on the meaning of their work.

They strive to find solutions that can help other people.

Understand why you’re making this commitment. Then, let your passion fuel you.

Even if you struggle, you’ll have the passion and drive you to need to continue, even when doubt sets in. You can remain focused on your objective and accomplishing your goals.

Your passion can give you reasons to start a business, too.

No one else will turn your business idea into a reality. Your passion can give you the push you need to take the first steps.

You can use your passion to fuel your creativity as well. As an entrepreneur, you’ll start with a simple idea. Your creativity can further enhance your idea.

You can find new, innovative ways to find solutions.

If you want to strengthen your passion and creativity, develop habits that fuel your passion. Gather inspiration from books, other people, and music. Other activities can fuel your creativity and passion as well.

Dedicate a certain part of your day to finding inspiration around you.

Then, let your mind flow. Write down your ideas to keep track of them.

2. Tenacity

Every entrepreneur needs a little tenacity. You’ll need to preserve and keep chasing your goals, even in the face of adversity.

Don’t take no for an answer. Don’t stop until you accomplish what you want.

Don’t give up.

3. Hard Work

Hard work pays off, right? As you learn how to start a business, you’ll need to work harder than ever before. No one else will do this for you.

Understanding the importance of hard work can help you accomplish your goals.

Take your goals and break them into smaller benchmarks. Then, establish a key performance indicator (KPI) for each goal. Measure your success along the way.

Then, determine which tactics will help you accomplish those goals.

Are you ready to put in that work?

One of the benefits of becoming an entrepreneur is you’ll naturally love what you do. Hard work will collide with your passion. If your passion takes over, the hard work won’t look so bad.

4. Risk Taking

Developing these characteristics of an entrepreneur can set you up for success. Some of these entrepreneur characteristics are difficult to develop, though. For example, many entrepreneurs are natural risk-takers.

If you’re afraid to take a risk, you might hold yourself back from an opportunity.

Entrepreneurs aren’t reckless. You’ll need to recognize the balance between risk and reward. Rather, it helps to recognize that a certain degree of risk can pay off.

You might recognize that a risk will have greater returns, pushing you toward success.

Ask an entrepreneur, you also need to recognize that this isn’t a one-time thing. Becoming an entrepreneur in itself is a risk. It’s not for a short period of your life, though.

It’s a part of you, whether you’re working on a project or not.

Focus on the long-term. Recognize that this opportunity is an investment in your future. The risks you take now can help you succeed for years to come.

5. Vision

In order to become a successful entrepreneur, you’ll need a vision. Your vision can push you to become successful. Once you picture what you want in life, you won’t stop.

Having a clear picture of the future can help you recognize the steps you need to take along the way.

Try to create and articulate your vision. What do you need to do in order to become successful?

About 20% of small businesses fail within the first year. Establishing your vision and how to accomplish it can help you succeed.

Turn your goals into SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-Driven, Timely). You’ll have an easier time accomplishing your goals if you can see them.

6. Communication Skills

As you develop these entrepreneur characteristics, take a moment to consider your communication skills.

You can’t do this on your own. Developing a team can help you accomplish your goals.

As an entrepreneur, you’ll need strong verbal communication skills. You’ll need to speak with potential employees, investors, and customers. If you struggle to articulate yourself, you might feel alone.

You could lose the attention of your audience as well.

Let your passion speak for itself. Having passion will carry through in the way you speak about your project. Your passion could even become infectious, drawing more people to your project.

7. Self-Confidence

Learning how to start a business can feel stressful and tedious. If you want to set yourself up for success, focus on your confidence. You’ll need to believe in yourself and your abilities above all else.

Otherwise, your self-doubt could hold you back. You might hesitate to jump on opportunities as a result.

Try to remain optimistic. Focus on the positives and underestimate the potential for failure.

Even if things get difficult, you can focus on your confidence to push you forward.