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What Is the Most Important Quality an Entrepreneur Should Possess?
Nothing guarantees success, but unwavering determination, authenticity and optimism can carry you a long way in business and in life, according to our Board of Directors.
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Starting your own businesses a life-changing decision -- one that's full of great potential risk and great potential reward. Sure, entrepreneurs sacrifice their personal savings and personal lives in pursuit of big business dreams, but isn't that a small price to pay for the chance of becoming the next Steve Jobs?So what compels them to make that proverbial leap of faith? And more importantly, what qualities offer the best chance of success?
Like many of the questions we pose to our Board of Directors, there's no one right answer to this one. Let's face it, a big part of success in business is luck, opportunity, and being able to identify where and when the two overlap. But with decades of experience and billions of dollars under their collective belts, we think this unique group has a pretty good idea.
JJ Ramberg
Co-Founder, GoodSearch.com and Host, MSNBC's Your Business
"My mother was a very successful entrepreneur, and her favorite book, which she gave my three siblings and me when we were younger, was The Little Engine That Could. To me, and her, the most important quality an entrepreneur can have is an "I think I can..." attitude. There are, without a doubt, going to be times as you build and grow your business that you're going to face enormous challenges -- and you have to believe that you can surmount them. Once you feel like you can do it, you need to sit down and be very practical about figuring out how."
Rieva Lesonsky
CEO, GrowBiz Media
"The ability to go without a good night's sleep for days on end. I'm just kidding about that -- barely. I think entrepreneurs need to be optimists. You hear 'no thanks' a lot when running your own business. Or you lose a good client or account. Successful entrepreneurs possess the ability to get past disappointment or (temporary) defeat. Yes, bad things are going to happen. And you have the right to mourn when they do. But you have to bounce back almost immediately (I tell people they can be depressed or angry for three days at the most, and then it's time to move on. It's all too easy to get sucked into negativity, and then it's so much more difficult to find the 'sunny side of the street' again.
"Positive people are more apt to take the risks necessary to be successful business owners. Pessimists are often too scared of the negative consequences to take the needed risks in the first place."
Eric Ryan
Co-Founder and Chief Brand Architect, Method
"Unwavering persistence. Trying to get a business off the ground requires the ability to overcome a crazy number of hurdles, roadblocks and the occasional person telling you that your nuts. Its a cliche for good reason -- sheer persistence is most commonly the difference between the successful and failed entrepreneur. So keep at it!"
Dylan Lauren
Founder and CEO, Dylan's Candy Bar
"The most important quality is determination. Running a business isn't a piece of cake, things don't always go as planned, but determination will often help in any situation."
Julie Jumonville
Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer, UpSpring Baby
"Honesty and authenticity!"
Tate Chalk
Founder and CEO, Nfinity
"I feel the quality that an entrepreneur could not live without is optimism. Not just the brand of positive thinking that says things will be "fine," but an innate belief that no matter what happens, everything will work out like it should. Relentlessly optimistic."
Elizabeth Busch, Anne Frey-Mott and Beckie Jankiewicz
Co-Founders, The Event Studio
"Focus, persistence and choosing the best partners will make you successful. At the end of the day, though, you need to believe in and love the service or business you provide -- and others will too."
Tom Szaky
Founder, TerraCycle
"The ability, not desire, to take calculated risk and to be level headed about the outcome. I'm a big fan of objectivity when making decisions. In my line of work, emotional decision-making typically backfires."
Gary Whitehill
Founder, The Relentless Foundation and New York Entrepreneur Week
"Unrelenting drive toward achieving their goal."
Clint Greenleaf
Founder and CEO, Greenleaf Book Group
"It's hard to pick just one. I'll say initiative is critical -- you have to get off your butt before you do anything. Shortly after you start, persistence is required because you'll fail. Once you start to make it, you'll need judgment to know what to do and what to stop doing."
Rob Adams
Director, Texas Venture Labs at the University of Texas
"The completely bipolar traits of the ruthless execution of a plan and the intelligence to change the plan when the market dictates."
Bob Parsons
Founder and CEO, The Go Daddy Group
"Passion -- plain and simple."
Phil Town
Investor and Author of Rule #1 and Payback Time
"Here it is: The ability to hire properly so that you only do what only you can do."
Steve Strauss
Columnist and Author of The Small Business Bible
"Aside from creativity and smarts, entrepreneurs must possess all sorts of other, somewhat more unusual traits: The ability to live with uncertainly, plenty of hubris, the willingness to work extra hard, self-direction and the willingness and ability to change course quickly. All of that said, I think No. 1 on the list is the willingness to take a risk. Most people are, for plenty of good reasons, risk-averse. Entrepreneurs are too, except where others see risk and let that be the end of the story, entrepreneurs see the risk, work to minimize it, then take it on, and then move forward. Risk is the juice."
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
I would love to start my own business but where does the start-up money come from? I know what I want to do but don't have the slightest idea of how to get started.
Hi Charlene:
Contact your local SCORE office - the helpful small business experts will help you for free!
There is NO one thing that will guarantee success. It is a very complex set of issues and cannot be put into simple sentences. One guy says, it is simply passion - - - that is total B.S. along with the statement that you have to hire good people, for what? to try and sell a product that nobody wants. In short there is NO answer to this question.
I borrowed $5,000 from my mother and over 45 yrs opened 7 stores, sent over 400 kids through college by giving them jobs and this was due to a LOT of different circumstances, not just one - - - there is NO simple answer to the question.
Anything worth having is worth working hard for. It may take years to build your own business to the point where it can truly support you and itself. Meanwhile, that's what the working hard part is for. The biggest mistake most people make is quitting their bill paying job to pursue their own business. Of course, in the vast majority of cases, the bill collectors put you back to working for the man long before you get your business up, running, and self-sufficient. The process that finally worked for me was to take a good job working the 2nd shift. My regular days off were mid-week (I worked weekends). What that allowed me during the work week, was 3 half-days and 2 full days to apply my complete efforts and attention to my business. It took me nearly two and a half years to get my business generating enough revenue to support me and the business. I held my bill paying job for another 6 months after that point to make sure it was all for real. Then I was as nice to the man as he was to me and gave him his job back. My way is not the only way, but I can tell you that my way works if you have the ass and the back to give it 70 hours week-in and week-out until you reach your goal. I've been the boss for 20 years now. Feel free to use my formula if you have what it takes.
It's a 3 legged stool, passion, skills sets ,and a good fit. The big question you need to ask is "What do I want to do all day long?" I have worked for myself my whole adult life and found it a roller coaster . I have enjoyed it ,but that's me ,not for everyone. Make sure you can endure the ups and downs. just like a boxer you are going to get hit ,learn how to duck and weave. I am a franchise consultant ,a good halfway step for some people is to look at this area. Depends on your profile...
I want to start a viable solar energy grid for one neighborhood. I have done the research, and feel that it can work. every "member of this co-op" can produce enough energy for their household needs. Any exra they produce, goes into the neoighborhood cop. this money is used for maintainence, repair and insurance that their home owners insurance may require.
The co-op energy money will be used to pay for roof inspectors, a solar engineer and a qualified eletrician to make sure all houses will be properly checked to make sure everything is in order. Any permits that have to be pulled will be paid for by the co-op fund. This is a valid, and well researched project. We do have a LLP in progess, all memembers of the co-op have a voice in all actions taking place in thier neiborhood. If a owner wishes not to participate, no problrm. The co-op is for neighbors in the Dickinson Bayou Park Subdivision, Wagon Road. We want to kep our co-op among neighborbors, and we will decide, as neighbors who would be willing to use the sun or your electric company, all co-op members have a vote and a decision to make. We will have two or three houses on our street to demonstrate house this will work.
At the moment I am working with two companies that suppor my idea and are awatid proposals, I have plenty of research with me, but I need to organize it into a viable proposal presentation. I nneed an excellect grant proposal writer, power point or whatever is popular these days. For me, this is an NPO, I will make no money, I am SSI and cannot be considered a productive member of society, so I have no financial profit or gains for myself. If anyone is interested in helping my idea work,, I would love to hear from you.
Thank you,
Tom Crowley
281-337-6530
Passion, Determination, Risk, and a lot of very hard long hours of Work are a great start. Knowledge is probably the most important of them all.
Everyone had something that was valuable to new individual that are considering going into business; the only recommendation that I have for anyone is to Make a Plan then work that plan. If you fail to do this you may be just spinning your wheel and will become frustrated down the road. SCORE has a lots to offer so utilize the services and get some knowledge as to what you are facing. We have members that have gone down the road that you want to go and they can tell you where the ruts are. Good Luck
I have learned to know when the customer is right,,,,and also when the customer is just confused....Deliver the best product day in and day out!
My company is now in it's 20th year in business. I feel I have been successful because when I saw the opportunity I acted on it. It is the hardest I have ever worked. It's a 24/7 job, but it has also been the most exciting thing I have ever done. Sure we have had great times but we have also had bad times but you get through them with the confidence that if you stay the course it all will work out. Being responsible for other peoples lives has also been a challange. With 10 employees part of my job, one of many, is to be sure I can provide for them. You must wear many different hats as a small business owner. Accounting, HR, operations, marketing, customer service etc. are just some of the daily challenges. I also feel, and I learned this from an old time business man, you must serve your customers properly. Like the old saying, if I don't take care of my customers, someone else will. I pride my self on being honest and open with my customers and I think they appreciate that. LAst year I helped my wife start her own business, Educational Advocacy for children with special needs. She is a special education teacher and we have a son who has a leaning disability for whom she advocated since he was in kindergarten. He is noe a stong young man, accepted to 7 of 8 colleges he has applied to and most of the have awarded him merit scholorships. He is now very much self advocating and I feel he will be very successful. We saw the opportunity to help others and we decided she should start her own business. We hope it is as successful, but if it is not due to circumstances beyond our control then we'll move on to something else. Just hang in there, grab the opportunity and go forward. SCORE is a great source for getting information and free advice. The folks are all retired business people willing to help. I know I used them.
A fearce independence toward regulatory controls; government intervention, and the "can't be done" crowd.