Traits That Most Successful Entrepreneurs Seem to Possess

Several studies have found that all successful people have certain traits in common. Interestingly, these traits don’t necessarily predict success. But then, for every successful person you see, the odds are that they have at least a few of these seven traits.

Experimentation

Successful entrepreneurs are very curious about what works, what doesn’t, and the dividing line between them. They are continually pushing the envelope to find new ways to make things work better, and they explore their ideas with structured and controlled experiments. A great example is launching a product to a handful of customers to see how it’s received.

Introspection

Introspection is often unpleasant because it involves looking inward in an objective manner. You analyze yourself to find both useful and unproductive patterns of behavior and adjust accordingly. Often, introspection can lead to massive personal growth, and nobody does it more than a successful business owner.

Team building

Introspection inevitably leads to a firm understanding of one’s strengths and weaknesses. Instead of dwelling on the weaknesses, great entrepreneurs lean on their strengths and build a team to compensate for the weaknesses. Very often, a complete team will drive a business to success because each member offers a unique perspective and invaluable input.

Team building is perhaps more important when starting a business. It’s often wiser to delegate specific tasks to the most qualified people. For example, letting Taxfyle handle business incorporation, while the entrepreneur focuses on other tasks.

Acceptance of failure

Three out of four startups fail the first year, according to statistics. The odds only get slimmer from there. Entrepreneurs have to be comfortable with failure to the point that they are prepared to give it everything they have, knowing that the odds are stacked against them. Instead of allowing the fear of failure to limit them, they use it as a motivator to work harder and smarter than ever.

Great people skills

Entrepreneurs are leaders, and great people skills are needed to reach customers and motivate them to buy. More importantly, they have to motivate employees to give the business all they’ve got.

Persistence

It’s almost like entrepreneurs come pre-installed with resilience and a strong will. It’s no surprise because, at every stage of a business, resilience is needed to keep it going. At inception, the entrepreneur has to convince his people that the idea has potential.

Then, the team needs the determination to penetrate the market and compete with established brands. Even after existing for years, the business has to stave off competition.

Self-starter

Teams are critical to a business’ success, but sometimes, entrepreneurs have to brave it alone. They often have to go against the tide to execute an idea or vision. Other times, the team simply isn’t large enough to delegate tasks liberally.

A handful of people have to do a ton of work, and it often falls to the entrepreneur to make it happen. Entrepreneurs also often seek to hire self-starters like them, especially in the early years of the business.