Requirements of a Successful Entrepreneur - Essay Example

ENTERPRENUERSHIP Introduction The success of any business especially a new start up business by a sole proprietor or an entrepreneur solely depends on the personal qualities of the entrepreneur. There are some skills and abilities that are very critical in making an entrepreneurship a success. Even though there is no perfect entrepreneurial profile, there are some characteristics that have been established in almost all entrepreneurs. This essay seeks to explore the personal requirements of an entrepreneur, link entrepreneurship with real world by focusing on five entrepreneurs in Australia and later assist in writing a personal reflection. Requirements of a successful entrepreneur Entrepreneurs must have good physical health in order to be able to execute their quest to a successful business, which more often requires physical fitness. An entrepreneur cannot afford to be sick when in the process of making their business. They must be fit in order to work extra hours after the normal days work. Its common o find entrepreneurs stuck on their desk long after other employees have gone home. They also extend their office in their home in that; they continue their work even at home. Below are some of the personal characteristics of a successful entrepreneur. Self control Entrepreneurs do not fare well in a structured institution, and they do not enjoy when when working over someone's authority. An entrepreneur believes that he or she has the capability to do better than anyone else and thus strive for optimal responsibility and responsibilities. He enjoys creating business strategies and succeeds on the process of attaining their goals. When an entrepreneur achieves his first goal, he replaces it with another higher and challenging goal. When working in an organization, they perceive themselves as superior to their bosses and peers. They like the freedom of doing things their own way they deem will bring success. Self Confidence Self confidence is an inevitable requirement for entrepreneurs. An entrepreneur has self confidence while in control of what they are doing and solely working on. He or she handles issues immediately with confidence and is persistent in pursuit of his or her objectives. In times of adversity, they are at their best as they thrive on self confidence. Sense of urgency Entrepreneurs have an endless sense of urgency to establish their ideas. Inactivity makes them become tense, impatient and uneasy. They do well on activity and are not likely for them to be fishing at the bank of the river not unless the fish are biting. They are mostly interested in individual sporting activities such as tennis, skiing, and golf rather than team activities. They prefer individual sports because they feel that their own brain and brawn are directly connected with the outcome and pace of the game. Entrepreneurs have high drive and energy levels, are achievement focused, and tirelessly pursue their objectives. Comprehensive awareness A successful entrepreneur can comprehend multifaceted situations which may entail planning, working on several business ideas and making strategic decisions at the same time. They see beyond horizons and are keen of critical details and will constantly review all avenues to attain their objectives and at the same instance dedicate their energy to finishing the tasks immediately before them. Just like accountants, entrepreneurs are interested on the magnitude of numbers and their effect on their enterprise progress. Realism Entrepreneurs are easy to accept things as they happen and they work on them accordingly. They will alter their stand when they perceive that adjustments will enhance their prospect for attaining their objectives. They like knowing the status of any situation at any given moment. They are likely trust others since they think that everyone says what they mean. Conceptual ability Entrepreneurs have the ability to quickly identify relationships amid complex situations. They identify challenges and start working on them immediately. They are not bothered by uncertainty and ambiguity since they are used to problem solving. An entrepreneur is a born leader and he/she is always the first to identify an issue and the solution for it. If it’s noted that his or her solution will not be useful for concrete reasons, he/she will identify a substitute approach to tackle the problem. Status requirements Entrepreneurs find content in proof of success that are external. Thus, they admire when their business is commended and often feel embarrassed when they are personally commended. The ego of an entrepreneur does not hinder him or her from seeking data, facts and guidance. When in need of assistance, an entrepreneur will not hesitate asking for help especially in places where they are not expertise. Symbols of success such as position do not have any significance to them. They find content of status needs in the success of their business and not in the presentation to peers and the public. Hence an entrepreneur will not buy a luxurious car until he is absolutely sure his or her business is stable. Interpersonal relationships An Entrepreneur is more interested with the accomplishments of people rather than their feelings. He or she evades possibilities of becoming close with others and will not think twice to cut a relationship that has possibilities of hindering their business. In the period of building their business, when there is resource scarcity, they barely have time to satisfying the feelings of other people beyond what is necessary to achieving their objectives. This can cause problems in the organization as entrepreneurs grow impatient and seek to drive everyone around. Emotional stability An entrepreneur has adequate degree of self control and can deal with business pressures. He or she feels contented in stressful situations and gets challenged by setbacks rather than becoming discouraged. When things are all smooth going, an entrepreneur feels uncomfortable and will constantly explore other activities to divert his unused energy. He is not satisfied to leave well enough solely. An entrepreneur well handles problems of other people with action plan without concern. His moderate interpersonal abilities are usually inadequate to build stable relationships. Enthusiastic Entrepreneurs do what they love and love what they do. They are propelled by an inward urge to achieve a particular objective. Nothing stands on the way of an entrepreneur as they believe that they have all it takes to get what they want. Entrepreneurs at work, play and in the media Australia has several entrepreneurs who have made successful businesses. These entrepreneurs include; John Singleton He started his career in advertising in the year 1958, when he worked as a mail boy. After working for 5 years, he took a creative position at Berry Currie Advertising after which he became the Creative Director at the Company. In 1968, he established his own advertising agency in Sydney together with his partners. He has since then been involved in various businesses which has made him among top entrepreneurs in Australia. His attitude of wanting to be his own authority and his passion for advertising were key in building his empire. Nevertheless, he has had difficulties in establishing stable relationships as he has married six times. Diana Williams Diana Williams is the founder of Fernwood Women’s Health Clubs. She used her self experience to influence women into weight management through training at a moment when the health fitness sector was losing ground. Her business runs over 77 health clubs across Australia with more than 80,000 members. Making her idea a reality in the world of business, her motives was not only influenced by the urge to make money, but also the passion to give every woman the opportunity to empower herself through taking care of their health. She expresses this notion through her Venus Program which she has established in her Fernwood Foundation. This program promotes the club’s mantra “We exist to empower women to shine” whose objective is to help women enhance their physical looks as well as their self concept. Her success is mainly due to her passion for making women look great and confident. Janine Aliss She is the founder and chief executive officer of Boost Juice. She was inspired through observation of extensiveness of juice bars in the U.S. She replicated this idea in Adelaide in the year 2000. After two years of operation, Boost Juice was opening a new joint every 4 days and today operates 1850 stores in Australia, Ireland, UK, Thailand, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa and Macau. Her success can be attributed to her desire to grab an opportunity wherever it arises. Besides, she is enthusiastic, in that, she loves what she does. Maxine Horne She is the co-founder of Vita Group. Maxine Horne and her husband David McMahon established Fone Zone which regarded as Australia’s most sensational specialist mobile communications dealer. The company has created about 123 stores owned by the company with 22 dealers across Australia. The success company’s success is accredited to the hard work and distinct business skills of Horne, who heads over 800 employees. Julia Ross In 1989, she founded Ross Human Directions which is today one of the most successful and magnificent HR and recruitment service provider across Australia. Her journey was a very unbecoming when she established this company. She had just been divorced and was pregnant which limited her chances for an executive corporate rank for a single pregnant woman. Despite this, he worked hard and was determined to build what has placed her as the third most successful women entrepreneurs in Australia. Self Reflection This course has been very useful in helping me understand the concept of entrepreneurship and gaining knowledge on what it takes to be an entrepreneur. Throughout the course I have discovered that being an entrepreneur entails a strong sense of self concept and self confidence. There are many obstacles that can hinder a potential entrepreneur from achieving his or her dream, but being persistent and determined to achieve the set goals is critical. Consequently I have learnt from this work that becoming successful is not one night dream, it is a progressive and a long term endeavor that requires patience. Many are the times that an entrepreneur goes without profits especially in the first 2-3 years of business which can be a difficult moment in the life of the entrepreneur but remaining focused and enduring the pitfalls, turning them into challenges and always seeking a new and higher challenge is a component of building a successful business. Personally, I have at least a few entrepreneurial characteristics. I believe in being my own boss, controlling things around me and influencing others (self control). Leadership is one of my major strengths as an entrepreneur. Besides, am also a hardworking individual who believes that for one to achieve in life, they must make some sacrifices. I have a strong sense of self, and am confident in whatever I do. I believe in getting things done once and for all, urgency is one of my principles. In addition my conceptual awareness is superb. I am very swift in establishing a problem and am capable of handling issues as they arise without depending on anyone, which I have learnt in this course that it is requirement for an entrepreneur. I believe passion, determination, hard work and strong leadership abilities can help me in realizing my entrepreneurial concept. Nevertheless I have come to learn that being impatient is not a good quality of an entrepreneur. I have a tendency of giving up very fast on things that do not work out according to my will. In entrepreneurship for instance, I have discovered that success does not come without challenges. My other weakness is lack of emotional stability. I have bad temperament and get irritated very easily. I do not embrace the concept of being calm when there is a boiling situation. This is not a good characteristic of an entrepreneur as I have established through the study of this course. I believe that I can overcome these weaknesses. I can learn to be patient and can control my emotions. These are virtues and are critical for a successful entrepreneur. I believe however that, my strengths outwit my weaknesses and it is easier for me to thus address my weak points. Conclusion Being a successful entrepreneur is a long time process that has various requirements including self confidence, emotional stability, status requirement, self control, enthusiasm, realism, sense of urgency, comprehensive awareness among other characteristics. Nevertheless becoming an entrepreneur does not have a perfect recipe of requirements, but at least having some abilities can be useful. Many of the entrepreneurs that I have looked at in this work, most of whom are women did not have an easy way in making successful businesses. For instance Julia Ross the founder of Ross Human Directions was in the worst of circumstances when she built her business empire. Passion, hard work, patience, self confidence and determination are the attributes that has been portrayed by many entrepreneurs. Read More