Essentials of Entrepreneurship

and Small Business Management

Second Year – First Semester

❑ The Entrepreneurial Profile

❑ Most Important Qualities of an Entrepreneur

❑ In Conclusion
 ?What Is an Entrepreneur
• An entrepreneur is one who creates a new business in the face of risk and uncertainty for
the purpose of achieving profit and growth by identifying significant opportunities and
assembling the necessary resources to capitalize on them.
• Although many people come up with great business ideas, most never act on their ideas.
Entrepreneurs do.
• The process of creative destruction, in which entrepreneurs create new ideas and new
businesses that make existing ones obsolete, is a sign of a vibrant economy.
• High levels of entrepreneurial activity translate into high levels of business formation and
destruction and make an economy more flexible and capable of adapting to structural
changes in the competitive landscape.
 The Entrepreneurial Profile
Researchers have invested a great deal of time and effort over the last few decades trying to
paint a clear picture of “the entrepreneurial personality.” Although these studies have identified
several characteristics entrepreneurs tend to exhibit, none of them has isolated a set of traits
required for success.
1. Desire for responsibility: Entrepreneurs feel a deep sense of personal responsibility for the
outcome of ventures they start. They prefer to be in control of their resources, and they use
those resources to achieve self-determined goals.

2. Preference for moderate risk: Entrepreneurs are not wild risk takers but are instead
calculated risk takers. Entrepreneurs usually spot opportunities in areas that reflect their
passions, knowledge, backgrounds, or experiences, which increases their probability of
success. Successful entrepreneurs are not as much risk takers as they are risk eliminators,
systematically removing as many obstacles to the successful launch of their ventures as
possible. One of the most successful ways of eliminating risks is to build a viable business
plan for a venture.
3. Self-reliance. Entrepreneurs must fill multiple roles to make their companies successful,
especially in the early days of a start-up. Because their resources usually are limited, they end
up performing many jobs themselves, even those they know little about.

4. Confidence in their ability to succeed. Entrepreneurs typically have an abundance of

5. Determination. Some people call this characteristic “grit,” the ability to focus intently on
achieving a singular, long-term goal. Studies show that grit is a reliable predictor of
achievement and success. Successful entrepreneurs demonstrate high levels of determination,
especially in the face of challenging circumstances.
6. Desire for immediate feedback: Entrepreneurs enjoy the challenge of running a business,
and they like to know how they are doing and are constantly looking for feedback. The
feedback they receive from their businesses drives them to set higher standards of performance
for their companies and themselves.

7. High level of energy. Entrepreneurs are more energetic than the average person. That energy
may be a critical factor given the incredible effort required to launch a start-up company. Long
hours and hard work are the rule rather than the exception.
8. Future orientation. Entrepreneurs have a well-defined sense of searching for opportunities.
They look ahead and are less concerned with what they did yesterday than with what they
might do tomorrow. Not satisfied to sit back and revel in their success, real entrepreneurs stay
focused on the future.

9. Skill at organizing. Building a company “from scratch” is much like piecing together a
giant jigsaw puzzle. Entrepreneurs know how to put the right people together to accomplish a
task. Effectively combining people and jobs enables entrepreneurs to transform their visions
into reality.
10. Value of achievement over money. One of the most common misconceptions about
entrepreneurs is that they are driven wholly by the desire to make money. To the contrary,
achievement seems to be entrepreneurs’ primary motivating force; money is simply a way of
“keeping score” of accomplishments—a symbol of achievement.

11. High degree of commitment. Entrepreneurship is hard work, and launching a company
successfully requires total commitment from an entrepreneur. Business founders often
immerse themselves completely in their companies.
12. Tolerance for ambiguity. Entrepreneurs tend to have a high tolerance for ambiguous, ever-
changing situations, the environment in which they most often operate. This ability to handle
uncertainty is critical because these business builders constantly make decisions using new,
sometimes conflicting information gleaned from a variety of unfamiliar sources.

13. Creativity. One of the hallmarks of entrepreneurs is creativity. They constantly come up
with new product or service ideas, unique ways to market their businesses, and innovative
business models.
14. Flexibility. One hallmark of true entrepreneurs is their ability to adapt to the changing
needs and preferences of their customers and the changing demands of the business
environment.

15. Resourceful. Entrepreneurs excel at getting the most out of the resources that are available,
however limited they may be. They are skilled at bootstrapping, a strategy that involves
conserving money and cutting costs during start-up so that entrepreneurs can pour every
available dollar into their businesses.
Most Important Qualities of an
Entrepreneur
 In Conclusion
What conclusion can we draw from the volumes of research conducted on the
entrepreneurial personality? Entrepreneurs are not of one mold; no one set of
characteristics can predict who will become entrepreneurs and whether they will succeed.
Indeed, diversity seems to be a central characteristic of entrepreneurs.
THANK YOU