5 Crucial Entrepreneurial Qualities That Are Necessary for a Successful Startup

fregrtgerEvery one of us at some point in life thought about creating our own business. For many of us, founding a successful startup means gaining financial independence, freedom of choice and a status of a successful entrepreneur. These desires are actively instigated by numerous TV shows and Internet articles that talk about successful people. There seem to be so many of them nowadays, and all of them seem to have the same story: they started out with nothing, they were very determined and ultimately succeeded.

However, entrepreneurial success is much more than just initiative and perseverance. It takes certain character traits that drive a startup owner towards success, the qualities that successful business owners cannot do without.

Passion about the idea

A lot of people make a mistake of starting a business in order to make money. Well, unless you are already a big trade company owner or a millionaire who wants to multiply their assets, it is not a very good idea. If we take a look at all the successful startup owners, like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, we will see this one quality in them – money was not their primary goal. Henry Ford once said that money should be a side-effect, and not the primary focus, or whatever it is you do.

So, start a business around an idea that you are really passionate about, something that, if you had to, you would still do for free. It will eventually bring you to success because it will give you enough motivation to keep going when things get tough, to show a good example to your employees of passion and emotional engagement with your product, and will generally make you happier at work. Money only motivates us until a certain point in time, so it should not be your primary motivation.

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Growth-oriented mindset

A growth-oriented mindset is a recent discovery in psychology, which stands for certain ways of thinking that drive a person towards success. Some of the main components of the growth mindset are:

  • ability to see mistakes as opportunities for growth and change of course of action, and not as a personal failure
  • ability to react to criticism without offense or self-defense (take criticism neutrally and pick up on things that could really be useful)
  • ability to keep going when the task is getting more difficult (not giving up easily)
  • ability to be happy for other people when they are successful

These 4 key traits have been identified by a psychologist Carol Dweck as key components of a mindset that is oriented towards success. And a lot of successful businessmen, in general, will tell you that your success in business always starts in your head and in your ways of thinking.

Business-oriented mind

To be able to succeed in business, you need to be able to think like a businessman. This means, first of all, that you need to always calculate everything in terms of profit and viability. Every decision you make regarding your business needs to be based on numbers, or, at the very least, numbers must be taken into consideration.

For many people, this also means getting rid of some moral stands which they hold dear. Things like firing workers which are a liability, even if they have 5 children, will have to happen if you want your business to grow. You will need to make tough decisions, but a business-oriented mind is a mind that keeps profit a priority in the majority of situations. This kind of mindset helps people succeed in their business goals more often than not, especially when they follow rules for free spins.

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Emotional intelligence

When it comes to managing self and managing other people around you, emotional intelligence is the first thing you need to look into. Emotional intelligence describes your ability to understand and manage your own emotions, as well as to understand and deal with emotions of other people. Growing your emotional intelligence will help you succeed in your new and growing business, because:

  • You will be able to cope with your strong emotions and not make rash on-the-spot decisions you will later regret
  • You will be able to communicate and build relationships with your clients and coworkers based on small-talk and common goals rather than business talk, and this will ensure your success as an entrepreneur
  • You will manage conflict with more ease and confidence and will be able to prevent conflict once you sense its threat

Emotional intelligence is a key trait of every entrepreneur, beginner or not.

Self-faith

Last, but not least, is your belief. You need to keep believing in yourself and believing in the causes of your new business during the hardest of times. This takes optimism, perseverance, even some degree of healthy stubbornness. A successful business coach once said that you will lose everything and start from scratch at numerous points in your life, and you will have to have perseverance and belief in yourself in order to stand up every time you fall. Your first attempt at business may be (and is very likely to be) unsuccessful, but that should not stop you from continuing to fight for your dream. Just remember how many times Steve Jobs failed his projects: NeXT computer, selling Pixar, the PowerMac Cube. Nevertheless, he believed in his vision and in the greater cause of Apple products, and this kept him going and continuing his work despite the failures that were obvious to everybody.

No human quality is 100% innate. Anything you want to be – you can educate yourself. With enough motivation and everyday hard work, it is possible to grow these qualities and become a successful entrepreneur. What is really important – is to understand why you want to have your own business and whether you want it at all.

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