What does it take to become a successful entrepreneur? This is a difficult question to answer, as there really isn't any uniform approach to the matter. In fact, what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the failures is about as varied and inconsistent as what separates success from other forms of success.
Think about the various factors that contribute to success or failure: hard work, luck, location, timing, inspiration, networking, age, skill, education, and opportunity, among others. With all these variables, it's easy to see that there is no formula for success.
That being the case, it doesn't mean that there are not a series of fundamental traits that nearly all entrepreneurs share. But what are they? And how can they be harnessed, if at all? Here are the two most fundamental:
Hard work
Author and serial entrepreneur Kevin Ready holds that this is perhaps the most fundamental and most important trait for a successful entrepreneur - whether they're forming an LLC in Texas or launching a garage startup in New York.
"There is only one absolutely necessary ingredient for becoming an entrepreneur," Ready writes for CNBC. "It sounds almost too simple, but everything that you need to be successful as an entrepreneur can be bundled as a mere sub-heading to this one central idea. What is that all-critical requirement? A willingness to do the work. That's it, and there is no way around it."
However, the ability to stick to one's guns, to trudge on in the face of adversity, and to remain diligent to the point of obsession requires something else...
Independence
Entrepreneurs need to be determined and to believe so strongly in the idea behind their enterprise that they're willing to go down with the ship, so to speak. This requires a sense of independence and individuality that is nearing hubris. This is what allows them to innovate and forge novel ideas while critics, rivals, and even co-workers scoff at their efforts.
"I like to see entrepreneurs who are slightly delusional about their companies," venture capitalist Kathleen Utecht told Inc. magazine. "Delusional in a way that means they won't quit. They have to be reasonable enough to take feedback and be flexible, but none of that should shake their drive to create."
Tags : Texas, California, LLC
Posted: Feb 9th, 2012