Entrepreneur Skills - Essay Example

Entrepreneur Skills and Characteristics Introduction “An entrepreneur is one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise” (Webster Dictionary, cited in Smith 1999). When a talented entrepreneur possesses a practicable business perception and has access to sufficient financial resources to start his own business, then he is sure to meet progress by leaps and bounds. He is creative and moves strategically to ensure high production with minimal business risks. An entrepreneur is said to be successful if he is “in business for at least 5 years and has gross revenues of at least $1 million” (Smith). This paper describes personal and management skills and characteristics that a successful entrepreneur must possess to increase his odds of high productivity and development. 2. Skills and Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneur a) The first is discipline. It is not enough to have creativity and innovation. The key to success is being disciplined. The entrepreneur must be able to manage time between his private and business life. A boss can discipline his sub-ordinates but there will be no one to regulate him so he must be able to make himself punctual and self-controlled. b) Staying calm and steady matters a lot. An entrepreneur must know how to stay calm in catastrophes, losses and financial disasters. If he gets troubled himself and gets frustrated, it will worsen the situation. Anger management and risk tolerance are skills that are very hard to learn but are very fruitful. c) Entrepreneurs want to have a control over business events and resources, thus they work well where they can direct others. For this, they must know how to work as a leader and a supervisor (Watlington & Radeloff 1997) and should be able to think and make decisions a step ahead of the old conventional methods. d) A successful entrepreneur concentrates upon bits and details of the business activity rather than looking at the overall picture of the problem. He can hire an employee to go through details like ledgers and financial statements but at the start of a business, he must involve himself in going through everything so as to get a better understanding of business and being able to solve problems efficiently. e) He enjoys his work and is able to make his sub-ordinates enjoy too while taking the work seriously at the same time. He is able to create a friendly working environment where workers can perform at their best to increase the output. He knows the cons of stress at work, is able to take measures to reduce tension at the working place and is also able to keep his cool in stressful situations. f) He has complete confidence in his skills. He trusts his abilities and this is what drags him toward success. He has determination to survive in the competitive world. He has enough courage to be able to give voice to his vision in front of opposing parties. He is daring enough to make people understand his directions and principles. g) He knows the value of capital and knows how to manage his financial resources so that he has enough to invest and enough left behind to get help from in difficult times. As most entrepreneurs start at very young age from small businesses, the most often know the value of hard earned money. h) He has an instinct that tells him what actions to take that will benefit him more, what steps to take and when. He does not have supernatural senses for this but his keen understanding and intuition enables him to think and plan ahead of time. i) Freeman and Stewart (2006) assert that a successful entrepreneur must be able to “focus on organizational success rather than on personal ego”. He must know that what is important is the success of people working in the organization and not the success of one individual. A little ego is okay but he must not get swept away by his personal ego and should prefer the benefit of the whole organization to his personal benefit. j) He maintains his integrity by staying adhered to the code of ethics, morals and values. He is able to frame his actions in such a way that they go just in accordance to his inner beliefs, values, morals and standards. He knows that the leadership is “a fully ethical task” (Freeman & Stewart, 2006). k) He is able to understand that others can make their choices and decisions based on their values, but simultaneously he knows how not to give away his own ethical standards. He has a strong grip on what he is supposed to do in a controversial situation, giving due respect to others’ opinions too. l) He possesses good leadership qualities that make him run the business smoothly and without conflicts. He knows how to work individually and how to build teams (Longenecker et al 2005:16). m) He knows the value of time as well. He is punctual and makes payments in time. He pays salaries without delay. This keeps the workers happy and attracts clientele. n) He is a good speaker. Good communication within and outside the working environment is a key to success. He is able to make himself comprehendible and is able to understand others too. Hi is able to convey his ideas and thoughts to others successfully. 3. Conclusion These were basic personal and managerial skills and characteristics that an entrepreneur must possess in order to be successful. To sum up, a successful entrepreneur has the creative element which forces him to come up with new ideas for problem-solving. He is curious enough to analyze the problem efficiently and has enough team spirit to work in teams and groups. He is able to collaborate and communicate with the members of the same or different profession. He recognizes the change in developments and discoveries and is able to adapt himself accordingly. He is able to accept criticism and seek advice from the experts of the field. The element of praising others’ work and assisting others is an important element in his nature. He treats the co-workers with respect and always tries to put his best efforts in whatever project he is working on. If he possesses all the skills described above, then the market waits for him with open arms. References Freeman, R, & Stewart, L 2006, ‘What is ethical leadership?’, Developing Ethical Leadership. Retrieved February, viewed 13 May 2010, Longenecker, J, Moore, C, Petty, J & Palich L 2005, ‘Characteristics of successful entrepreneurs’, Small Business Management: An Entrepreneurial Emphasis, 13th edn, Cengage Learning, USA. Smith, J 1999, Successful Entrepreneurs, viewed 13 May 2010, Watlington, A & Radeloff, R 1997, Contract Engineering: Start and Build a New Career, illustrated, McGraw-Hill Companies, US. Read More