7 Key Qualities of Entrepreneurs

Being an entrepreneur is more than just starting up a business, it is about having the attitude and the drive to succeed in business. All successful entrepreneurs have a quasi-similar way of thinking and possess several key personal qualities  that makes them successful in their businesses.

What are those key qualities?

v  Inner Drive to Succeed. Entrepreneurs are driven to success and to expand their business. They see the bigger picture and are often very ambitious. Entrepreneurs set massive goals for themselves and stay committed to achieve them regardless of the obstacles that get in the way.

v  Strong Belief in Themselves.  Successful entrepreneurs have an healthy opinion of themselves and often have a strong assertive personality. They are focused and determined to achieve their goals and believe completely in their ability to achieve them. Their self-optimism can often been seen by others as flamboyance or arrogance but entrepreneurs are just too focused to spend too much time thinking about un-constructive criticism.

v  Search for New Ideas and Innovation. All entrepreneurs have a passionate desire to do things better and to improve their product or service. They are constantly looking for ways to improve. They are creative, innovative and resourceful.

v  Openness to Change. If something is not working for them they simply change. Entrepreneurs know the importance of staying on top their industries and the only way to be the number one is to evolve and change with the market. They’re up to date with the latest technology and always ready to change if they see a new opportunity arise.

v  Competitive by Nature: Successful entrepreneurs thrive on competition. The only way to reach their goals and their self-imposed high standards is to compete with other successful businesses.

v  Highly Motivated and Energetic: Entrepreneurs are always on the move, full of energy and highly motivated. They are driven to succeed and have an abundance of self-motivation. The high standards of ambition of many entrepreneurs demand that they have to be motivated!

v  Accepting of Constructive Criticism and Rejection: Innovative entrepreneurs are often at the forefront of their industry so they hear the words ‘it can’t be done’ and ‘it’s a waste of time’, etc… quite often. They readjust their path if the criticism is constructive and useful to their overall goal, otherwise they simply disregard the comments as pessimism. Also, successful entrepreneurs know that rejection and obstacles are part of their entrepreneurial journey and they can deal with them in a proper way.

True entrepreneurs are resourceful, passionate and driven to succeed and improve. They are pioneers and are comfortable ‘fighting on the frontline’. The great entrepreneurs are ready to be laughed at and criticized in the beginning because they can see their path ahead of them and are too busy to working towards their dream.

 

Can a Business Startup Incubator help you?

More and more entrepreneurs heard the success stories of the graduates of the famous American incubators like Y Combinator, the Founder Institute and TechStars. They dream of knocking at the door of an incubator with their idea on the back of a napkin and going out there one year later (or less) with millions of investors’ money in their pocket. But the reality is different.

 

What is an Incubator?

An incubator helps the entrepreneur to  transform his idea into a product or service to put on the market.

Mostly is an incubator a company ( sometimes also part of an university) which provides mentoring, support and resources to business startups. Some of them are getting paid for their services, others take a share of the stock of the new venture and others use a combination of both to be paid for their services and inputs.

Not everybody with ‘an idea on a napkin’ will be accepted by the incubator. Incubators want that their ‘entrepreneurs in residence’ are successful. So they are assessing every business concept or idea that is presented to them and will analyze if:

-         The entrepreneurial team has the right qualifications and if the members are complementing each other

-         The idea is unique in the market and solves a problem of the potential clients

 

But what is more important than the idea or business concept is to check if the applicant(s) are really apt to be entrepreneurs. A lot of would be entrepreneurs are, for example,  very strong in the technical aspects of their idea but don’t have any clue what it is to sell the product they want to develop. Worse, they don’t even want to leave their computer screen to find out what the wants and needs of the market are. That’s the objective of the intake chat. Are we dealing with potential entrepreneurs or with dreamers….

 Most of the time is this assessment appreciated by the applicants because they realize that it is not the best idea to start up a company, to struggle and to spend money , when entrepreneurship is obviously not their ‘thing’.

 

What can you expect from an incubator?

-         Expert mentoring and hands-on training.  The quality of an incubator is equal at the quality of the entrepreneurial coaches of the incubator. Avoid incubators where the entrepreneurial trainings are done by highly educated university graduates without any experience. Look for those guys with credentials and a solid resume. Experience is the best teacher you can find!

-         Peer support.  In addition to the formal training and coaching you will get from the incubator, the other entrepreneurs in the building (your peers) will you provide with more than just emotional support. You will find the expertise you need and a quick ‘coffee vending machine’ advice from those who are a bit ahead in the incubation process is priceless.

-         Facilities. An affordable office space is important, some administrative support also and that friendly lady who answer the phone can be a great asset. But incubation is not only cheap office space and a friendly lady who answers the phone…. So watch out for incubators who are ‘specialized’ in facilities, the more when they offer space in an, otherwise, vacant building.

-         Learning by doing. A good incubator with hands-on entrepreneurial coaches will allow (even force) the entrepreneurs to get their ideas out their head and out of the classroom while still retaining some structure and discipline. Products and services are sold on the market. They have to be tested on the market and testing is as close as a project can be to reality. And as I said before, experience is the best teacher you can get! Going out with the project gives the entrepreneur the opportunity to succeed or to fail fast and with a minimum of collateral damage.

-         Funding and connections. Funding is an import issue for every startup. Most of the incubators have the possibility to introduce their ‘graduates’ to bankers, investment companies, business angels and/or venture capitalists. In the incubator the entrepreneurs will be assisted in writing the winning proposal and will be trained in pitching their business model to financiers. Off course will the leadership of the incubator and the entrepreneurial coaches open their address books for their graduates so they can meet the ‘gurus’ of their industry and develop business opportunities.

Conclusion.

A good incubator can really help you. But realize that an incubator is no shortcut or substitute for the right entrepreneurial spirit, for hard work and for an idea that is a real solution to a real problem with a big opportunity.

 

Raf Vlummens

Entrepreneurial Coach