These are the characteristics of an entrepreneur that knows how to be successful

Do you have what it takes to be your own boss? When it comes to finding success, here are the top characteristics of an entrepreneur.
These are the characteristics of an entrepreneur that knows how to be successful

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As of last year, there were more than 57 million Americans working in the freelance market, and that number is on the rise. You can make more money, set your own schedule, and do what you’re passionate about. But running your own business is hard, and it takes a certain sort of person to make it work.

There are a few characteristics of an entrepreneur that can help you find success in the freelance world. Read on to learn more about what personality traits you need to succeed. 

Creativity

One of the most important characteristics a successful entrepreneur can have is creativity. We’ve all heard that thinking outside the box is good, but when it comes to the business world, it’s imperative. You have to find ways to get ahead of the competition and design an innovative approach that will keep your business on the leading edge of the industry.

Creativity can also help you pull through the hard times when they come. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many business owners found themselves facing a completely changed market and world overnight. Entrepreneurs who can find a way to pivot and make the new set of circumstances work for them will come out of this pandemic on a better footing than ever. 

Passion

Running your own business is hard – it means long days, working on weekends, marketing yourself, managing all the daily details of a business, and figuring out tough financial spots. You don’t get to have bad days, and oftentimes, it can feel like you’re alone in this endeavor. The only way you get through those sorts of challenges is by being absolutely passionate about what you’re doing. 

That passion can also help you bring in more clients and make more sales. People get excited about the things you’re excited about, and that can encourage them to make a purchase. When they see how much you believe in your business, they’ll start to believe in it too and will be more likely to invest their money in you. 

Motivation

Of course, passion isn’t always enough, especially on those days when everything feels like it’s going wrong. You also have to be motivated to succeed and to make your business into something amazing. Motivation turns your passion into a plan and that plan into success.

Part of staying motivated is setting and achieving small goals, remembering that setbacks are a totally normal part of running a business. Celebrate your small accomplishments, and use that drive to push forward to the next step. Your passion and motivation will fuel each other, keeping you on the path to success. 

Optimism 

Another crucial characteristic of successful entrepreneurs is optimism. As we said, setbacks are a normal part of running a business, and how you respond to them will determine how successful your business is. Pessimism looks at these setbacks as failures, throws up its hands, and lets the dream die because it’s never going to work anyway.

You have to be relentlessly optimistic about your business and its growth. When setbacks occur, take them as the opportunities they are, and learn to make your business stronger. However, it is also important to recognize when something isn’t working and pivot to a new strategy for success. 

Future orientation

When setbacks occur, it’s important to take some time and evaluate what happened and how you can prevent them from happening in the future. But dwelling on these problems can pull you into pessimism, killing your motivation and passion. Instead, successful entrepreneurs always stay focused on the future.

Setbacks are tough, but they’re excellent learning opportunities to improve what you do going forward. Success is exciting, but you should never rest on your laurels. Instead, always strive to do better, celebrating wins as they come, and looking for ways to keep growing into the future.

Persuasiveness

Being able to persuade people is a critical skill for any aspiring entrepreneur. You need to be able to persuade your customers that your product is worth spending money on. Your passion will shine through and make this task easier, but you must also be able to make a convincing sale. 

Take classes that will teach you stronger communication and persuasion skills.

If you have a chance to participate in public speaking or debate groups, do so, and take daily opportunities to practice communicating with strangers around you. The more comfortable you are talking with people you don't know, the better you'll be able to persuade people that your business is worth spending money with.

Flexibility

If you run your own business, you’ll quickly discover that things almost never go according to plan. You may have challenges getting a space, your product shipments may get delayed, or you might have communication problems with a client. When the unexpected happens, you need to be able to roll with the punches. 

Flexibility will get you a long way in the world of entrepreneurial success. If you’re locked into one rigid approach, you won’t be able to act on your feet when things go sideways. Always be willing to consider a new way of doing things and change tacks when the situation changes.

Resourcefulness

Another great characteristic to have in your tool belt when the unexpected happens is resourcefulness. Your job as a business owner is to find innovative solutions and keep your customers’ trust. And sometimes you may not have much at your disposal to make that happen.

As an entrepreneur, you have to be able to make lemons out of lemonade. If an employee has to call in sick at the last minute, you have to figure out a way to rearrange your work shift so the essentials get done without overextending your staff. If you’re short on an order, figure out a way to keep your customers happy while you wait for the rest of your merchandise to arrive.

Adventurous spirit

Running your own business is a leap of faith, and chances are if you’ve decided to make that leap, you’re already a pretty adventurous person. Make sure you maintain that adventurous spirit – it’s going to be important to growing your business.

You’ll have to take risks throughout your entrepreneurial career in order to grow your business. A sense of adventure can make these risks easier to take since you know the sorts of amazing returns you could see in the end. But make sure you always check that adventurous spirit with your logical side to prevent any unwise choices.

Decisiveness 

As an entrepreneur, you are automatically a leader. You’re leading your company, you’re a leader to your clients, and you’re a leader in your community. Everyone from your team to your fellow business owners needs to be able to trust your leadership, and one of the most important qualities a leader can have is decisiveness.

You’re going to have to make a thousand decisions a day about how to run your company, and being decisive can make that process easier on everyone involved. Your employees will trust you more if they get the sense you know what the plan is.

Confidence

When you run your own business, it can feel like you're out on a wire by yourself. You have to make sure everything gets done, your customers are happy, and the business affairs are under control. One of the most important tools you can have when you're chasing this life is confidence in yourself.

Stay confident that you have what it takes to make your business a success every day. Be confident in your products and the value your business offers to your customers. This confidence will make it easier to pursue the best thing for your life and keep your business growing every day.

Discover the characteristics of an entrepreneur

Running your own business is hard, but there are a few tools you have that can help you be successful. These characteristics of an entrepreneur will help you weather the bad times and make the most of the good. They’ll keep your customers happy, your team confident, and your star on the rise.

If you’d like to discover more ways to grow your freelance business, check out the rest of our site at Hecticapp.com. We believe you were made to construct, optimize, build, and develop, and we’re here to help you do that. Get started today and learn how to run your freelance business the stress-free way.

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Contributor
Geoffrey Mina
Contributor
Geoffrey Mina
Geoff has always focused on building technology solutions that solve real-world problems for real people. Over the years he’s developed a reputation for optimizing strategy for efficiency and high-performance outputs. In other words, he’s skilled at selecting the right strategic paths for organizations but can also mobilize workforces to execute action plans and critical initiatives. He’s passionate about building high-performance teams, inspiring them to push beyond their limits and perform at levels not thought possible.
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