Are you an Entrepreneur?

By Anastasia and Michael Tsouroupakis

     Entrepreneurs are a unique breed, who in general shares various similar characteristics; among them are great amounts of self-confidence, highly innovative and analytical abilities, as a general rule they are very social and can network very well, and pose heightened levels of self-motivation.  In addition to these general characteristics, those who have become highly successful also possess the ability to identify opportunities and have the ware withal to make decisions and to take calculated risks.  It can be argued that on some level many people possess these characteristics and they are not entrepreneurs and do not possess the desire to become one.  What is it in addition to these basic character traits that make a successful entrepreneur?  They just think differently.  

Hard Work AND Smart Work!

    While it is indisputable most of our parents engrained in us the adage, that ONLY hard work will result in success, such is no longer the case.  Today’s successful entrepreneur owes most of their success to among other things, working SMART as well as working HARD.  A hard worker by definition is someone with a good work ethic, and anyone who believes that the amount of work they put into a task will be rewarded with success.  This is a fantastic attribute for anyone who works for you, but it cannot be the sole driving force behind an entrepreneur. If your business has undertaken a project that is just not right, no amount of hard work will make it successful.   The smart worker will cut the project free and refusing to waste any more of their time and their team’s time on this particular endeavour.   A smart worker is able to plan their time with efficiency and can prioritize and delegate necessary tasks, resulting in maximizing their results with minimal energy input.

Fear and Failure                                                                   

     To the average person these two words incite a panic in their brain; we look to minimize these to outcomes at all costs.   The entrepreneur has no aversion of these two things, they embrace them.  Henry Ford was very fond of saying “One who fears failure, limits his activities.  Failure is the only opportunity to more intelligently begin again”.   Entrepreneurs never take failure personally, in other words they don’t interpret their failed venture as a reflection of their own abilities or self-worth, and rather it becomes a lesson of how NOT to do something.  In short they embody Thomas Edison’s adage, “I have not failed I have just found out 10 000 ways that won’t work”

 And finally Inspiration

     All of the above points we have made mean nothing if what you are doing does not inspire you.  If the business venture you are entering into does not speak to your passions, and does not help you in define the world in which you live then you will never find success.   Richard Branson sums this point up rather nicely “Entrepreneurship is about turning what excites you in life into capital, so that you can do more of it and move forward with it.”

We whole heatedly agree.

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