Starting up your own business is not for everyone – some people would consider the very idea a nightmare of stress while others find it invigorating and challenging. So what are the qualities which make one person a successful new business owner and another happy in a 9 to 5 job?
Most qualities which successful start-up entrepreneurs share are ones we all have inside us. The difference is the time they spend honing those qualities to make sure they are at the very top of their game.
Given their experience working with entrepreneurs and freelancers we asked the team behind Crunch on which qualities set these people apart from the crowd. Here are their five key qualities which every successful start-up entrepreneur needs to polish:
1) Integrity
You are your business and when you are a new start-up your business can’t run without you. Your reputation is crucial in establishing a successful new firm. You want people to buy from you, trust you, believe in your products, and give you their money – so integrity is a crucial quality when establishing yourself.
Starting out with the right level of integrity, honesty and trustworthiness from the very beginning is absolutely paramount to the future success of any start-up business – if you get it wrong people won’t buy from you.
Showing up in your business authentically, not making claims which are untrue and not trying to cheat customers or treat them badly, are all key qualities of a successful start-up entrepreneur, all wrapped up in integrity.
2) Self-discipline
Self-discipline is one of the most important qualities for success in any challenge in life, whether it’s starting up a business or running a busy family household. We all have it but what makes entrepreneurs stand out is they work on it and hone it to a whole different level.
It’s about being so disciplined that you will do whatever it takes to be successful, whether you feel like doing it or not. Successful entrepreneurs won’t put off doing the things they find boring or uncomfortable or challenging, they will have the self-discipline to do what is needed to be done.
They have the required self-discipline, self-awareness and self-control and won’t be tempted to sit and watch a box set rather than getting on with the work that needs to happen to create their business success.
3) Persistence
If you start something but give up at the first hurdle then the life of an entrepreneur probably isn’t right for you. All successful entrepreneurs have an in-built dogged persistence – they keep going with their dreams no matter what.
It can be learned behaviour – it’s as much of a mind-set as it is a quality. You need to be in the mind-set of never giving up, no matter what happens. It’s having the courage to continue even when things go wrong, that marks out the best entrepreneurs.
4) Focus
The key difference between successful and unsuccessful start-up entrepreneurs can be summed up in one word – focus. Those who get distracted easily, or focus too short-term on dealing with the day-to-day are more likely to be unsuccessful.
The quality of having very clear goals and outcomes, and a clear sense of how to get there, with a laser sharp focus that never deviates from that plan and direction, is a true key quality for the successful start-up entrepreneur.
It can be all too easy to get caught up in the day-to-day paperwork, admin and operational side of the business and to lose focus on the main goals and the big reasons why the business was set up in the first place. A successful entrepreneur will always have one eye focused on the big picture.
5) Action-taker
The fifth key quality of all successful entrepreneurs is that of action-taker. It’s important in business to be able to make decisions and stick to them, as well as being able to take action and avoid procrastination.
Anyone who avoids action and is indecisive is unlikely to succeed as a new start-up entrepreneur. Being able to make quick and tough decisions and then take the action which goes with them is an absolutely crucial quality for success. After all, as a business owner you will need to decide on hiring and firing people and high level financial decisions on a regular basis.
Conclusion
There are of course many other traits and qualities which go together to make up a successful start-up business entrepreneur, not least of all having a creative idea to turn into a business. However, these five life qualities are elements we all possess to some degree but successful entrepreneurs work hard to cultivate to a more extreme level.
Being focused, determined, decisive and able to take action won’t of course, guarantee your success in business as there are many other factors involved, but if you don’t have these qualities your failure is almost certainly guaranteed in the business world.
