The talents of successful entrepreneurs are a diverse mix, but some key ones tend to stand out. Here are 10 of the most important:
Business Focus
Confidence
Creative Thinker
Delegator
Determination
Independent
Knowledge Seeker
Promoter
Relationship Builder
Risk Taker
Business Focus
Key Traits
Profit Oriented
Establish clear goals and measure progress.
Judge the value of opportunity, relationship, or a decision by its effect on business.
Invest time in planning a growth strategy.
Align employee responsibility with company goals.
Caution
Maximize profit can lose sight of customers.
Focus on increasing customer satisfaction along with maximize revenues.
Maximizing
Use specific timelines and yardsticks to measure business goals.
Manage your time carefully.
Write down your vision for short term and long term, and refer it often.
Communicate your goals consistently with your employees and clients.
Don’t lose sight of the human element in business.
Learn everything you can about all aspects of your business.
Confidence
Key Traits
Know yourself and present yourself effectively with confidence.
Clearly understand and can influence others.
Action-Oriented and take initiative.
Conviction in your ability to be a successful entrepreneur.
Caution
Overconfidence can be harmful to an enterprise’s health.
Not considering all the relevant factors before making decision.
Overestimating your ability to get results with minimal resources.
Overcommit resources without accessing the competition and market readiness.
Pay close attention to customer need technology to bring product to the new market.
Maximizing
Plan ahead to boost your confidence.
Do your homework to make your product ready for the market.
Avoid speed trap to make decision under pressure.
Discuss opportunities with your network.
Avoid in-group thinking seek feedback from diverse stakeholders.
Creative Thinker
Key Traits
Imagine beyond the boundaries of what exist now.
Explore options and can think your way through problems.
Constant dream up new products or service to customer.
Have a mind that is typically firing with many different ideas.
Curious and quick learner.
Caution
Make sure to communicate your ideas with your team.
Pay attention to changing customer need or shifting business environment.
Not to rush to launch new initiatives.
Don’t lose sight of your core business.
Maximizing
Balance current and future customer needs.
Use measurement to evaluate your ideas.
Releasing your new products or service incrementally.
Maintain a simple organizational structure.
Balance efficiency with creativity.
Mobilize resources to fuel the innovation.Learn from your failures.
Delegator
Key Traits
Delegate authority and responsibility.
Proactively collaborate with others.
Recognize and draw on people’s special abilities.
Ensure that team members become effective contributors.
Caution
Do not abdicate your overall responsibility for a project.
Set a milestone to monitor progress and feedback.
Maximizing
Identify what to delegate. Critical for business or someone do it better?
Identify whom to delegate. Talents and Skills.
Take time to set things up for success.
Allow employee to perform.
Give feedback.
Access the human resources you need for delegation.
Determination
Key Traits
Have a tremendous work ethic.
Confront obstacles directly and overcome them.
You are persistent and undeterred by failures and roadblocks.
Eager to make decision and quick to act.
Caution
Discontent disappointment and regret when faced with failing.
Having to make unpleasant decisions.
You might not attain all commitment.
Maximizing
Share your optimist outlook to your partners.
Energize your determination by partnering with creative individuals.
Always keep the big pictures of your business in mind.
Monitors your progress toward predefined goals.
Be attentive to the constantly shifting business landscape.
Don’t focus on the cause of setbacks. Move forward.
Keep things in perspective.
Reflect on your success and failures.
Independent
Key Traits
Depend on yourself to get the job done.
Have strong sense of responsibility.
Handle multiple tasks successfully.
High level of competence in every aspect of managing a business.
Caution
Independence is critical in the startup phase. Not for growth.
Long working hour days with multiple tasks could lead to burnout.
Impossible to do everything yourself. Transfer responsibilities to your staff.
Maximizing
Plan for the long term.
Don’t lose sight of your main objective.
Be prepared to “Pivot” quickly.
Form strategic alliances and diverse network.
Develop a product that aligns with your customer needs.
Hire staff members who can meet the needs of your growing business.
Knowledge Seeker
Key Traits
Acquire in depth information about every aspect of your business.
Use knowledge as competitive advantage.
Preoccupation with your business that borders on obsession.
Anticipate knowledge needs and use knowledge well.
Caution
Too many new ideas sometimes too quickly confusing your employees and customers.
Avoid the lure of implementing every idea.
Select ideas that streamline your business and add value to your customer.
Maximizing
Find your voracious desire to know everything related to your business.
Set aside plenty of time for thinking and learning.
Sort through your insights before initiating action.
Get an outsider’s point of view.
Give your employees clear direction.
Promoter
Key Traits
Speak boldly on behalf of your company.
Make your case effectively and influence people.
Communicate your vision of your company to employees and customers.
Have a clear growth strategy.
Caution
Closeness to your idea or product may blind you to its flaws.
Be objective about the product or service you promote.
Creating a single dominant persona may be counterproductive for business.
Maximizing
Build a great product or service.
Position yourself as an expert on company product and service.
Rehearse your story. Practice your story telling technique.
Use multiple media to reach the widest audience possible.
Build and support a community for your product and services.
Relationship Builder
Key Traits
Have high social awareness.
Attract and maintain a constituency.
Build mutually beneficial relationships.
Use your relationship talents to access internal and external resources.
Forge relationship with employees and customers that go beyond work.
Have an open demeanor, positive attitude, and personal integrity that help build trust.
Caution
Be selective about the associations you form.
Overinvestment in your network may take time away from focusing on your business.
Sometimes strong networks can shutdown new people and new thinking.
Maximizing
Diversify your network. Go beyond those you know well.
Reciprocity is vital to maintaining strong relationship.
Be selective in whom you invest the most time.
Pay attention to the existing bonds, loyalties and network community which you work and live.
Use your time, brand, and resources to address social issues.
Renew and reshape your networks frequently.
Risk Taker
Key Traits
Have a strong personality, charisma, and confidence.
Enthusiastic when taking the challenges.
Have a highly optimistic perception of risk.
Make decision easily in complex situations.
Take a rational approach to decision making.
Caution
Overestimate ability to manage risk.
Underestimate the uncertainties in the external business environment.
Evaluate an opportunity rationally before taking action.
Get feedback from your people.
Take time deciding which projects build on your core business.
Maximizing
Know what you do know and what you do not know.
Take risk incrementally.
Beware of confirmation bias. Ask people with opposing views.
Construct different scenarios to guide your decision-making process.
Don’t gamble. Take careful calculated risk.
Kill unimportant projects.
While not everyone possesses all these talents, many successful entrepreneurs cultivate them through experience, practice, and a willingness to learn. Remember, entrepreneurship is a journey, and developing these talents is an ongoing process.
Sangeeta Bharadwaj Badal Ph.D.
Entrepreneurial Strengths Finder
