Forbes;
"8 Signs You're An Entrepreneur
Most people don’t grow up wanting to become an Entrepreneur, they grow into it. I’ve found that there are 10 different signs that are very good indicators that you’re an Entrepreneur or an Entrepreneur in training.
Passion
This is by far something that will qualify you as an Entrepreneur. If you don’t have a passion for what you’re doing, you’ll never succeed. There will be days/months/years when you don’t make any money, you have no customer and everything just sucks but your passion will drive you to keep pushing forward. It’s this passion that will help you to become the Entrepreneur that you’re meant to be!
A great example of passion is John Walsh, creator of Americas Most Wanted. He’s been running this show for 23 years. Why does he do it? What many people don’t know about Walsh is his son Adam was abducted in Sears and later murdered. He’s passionate about what he’s doing and keeps going it today because of his passion. His passion led him to a conviction of the murderer 25 years later. It’s passion like this that makes for amazing Entrepreneurs. Would he have pushed so hard to catch criminals had this not happened? We all have reasons for starting a business, find your passion and it’ll push you through the hard times.
Doesn’t Take No For An Answer
An Entrepreneur doesn’t take NO for an answer…ever. They may concede but they will never give up. They will figure out a way to fit a square block into a round hole.
Competitive Nature
Entrepreneurs are extremely competitive. Much like above, they don’t take no for an answer and they are unwilling to lose. It’s not in your nature. You can’t, because if you do… well that’s not even possible. Many companies are formed out of such competitive natures. They feel like they can do a better job.
A good example of this would be Google GOOG -0.2%. There were 100′s of other
Search Engines out there before they started. Larry Page and Sergey Brin believed they could build a better search engine than all the others combined and because of their competitive nature, they would not lose to anyone. Think of how they crafted it, Page Rank. They were ranking pages. They were making pages compete against each other. It’s been a competition ever since.
Enneagram = #1
If you haven’t taken the Enneagram test, you should go take it today. This is a personality test that will tell you what type of a person you are, what career choice would be best for you and what type of a partner you would best fit with. The test, which is a bit intense consists of 100′s of questions. It will tell you what type of a person you are normally, and what type of a person you are under stress.
They have a free version that should take you no longer 5 minutes. It’s well worth your time. Most Entrepreneurs are number 1, The Reformer. They are principles, purposeful, self-controled and perfectionists. Does this sound like you? Take the test and find out.
Self-Starter
When I was starting my Entrepreneurial career I watched as my boss Lane Livingston pull into work at 7am every morning and not leave till 6pm. He would always tell me that he “got the majority of his pressing work done before anyone showed up.” It’s self starters like Lane that motivated me to start work daily at 630am. It’s true, you get the majority of your work done before anyone even shows up. Ever since he taught me this I have started work early.
Self-Starting isn’t just getting up early. It’s working your tail off day and night on things that are important. Entrepreneurs are people who tackle projects as they come up and finish them. They don’t have someone looking over their shoulder. If they don’t get it done, they don’t have a place to live. They put everything on the line.
Think Outside The Box
Passion
This is by far something that will qualify you as an Entrepreneur. If you don’t have a passion for what you’re doing, you’ll never succeed. There will be days/months/years when you don’t make any money, you have no customer and everything just sucks but your passion will drive you to keep pushing forward. It’s this passion that will help you to become the Entrepreneur that you’re meant to be!
A great example of passion is John Walsh, creator of Americas Most Wanted. He’s been running this show for 23 years. Why does he do it? What many people don’t know about Walsh is his son Adam was abducted in Sears and later murdered. He’s passionate about what he’s doing and keeps going it today because of his passion. His passion led him to a conviction of the murderer 25 years later. It’s passion like this that makes for amazing Entrepreneurs. Would he have pushed so hard to catch criminals had this not happened? We all have reasons for starting a business, find your passion and it’ll push you through the hard times.
Doesn’t Take No For An Answer
An Entrepreneur doesn’t take NO for an answer…ever. They may concede but they will never give up. They will figure out a way to fit a square block into a round hole.
Competitive Nature
Entrepreneurs are extremely competitive. Much like above, they don’t take no for an answer and they are unwilling to lose. It’s not in your nature. You can’t, because if you do… well that’s not even possible. Many companies are formed out of such competitive natures. They feel like they can do a better job.
A good example of this would be Google GOOG -0.2%. There were 100′s of other
Search Engines out there before they started. Larry Page and Sergey Brin believed they could build a better search engine than all the others combined and because of their competitive nature, they would not lose to anyone. Think of how they crafted it, Page Rank. They were ranking pages. They were making pages compete against each other. It’s been a competition ever since.
Enneagram = #1
If you haven’t taken the Enneagram test, you should go take it today. This is a personality test that will tell you what type of a person you are, what career choice would be best for you and what type of a partner you would best fit with. The test, which is a bit intense consists of 100′s of questions. It will tell you what type of a person you are normally, and what type of a person you are under stress.
They have a free version that should take you no longer 5 minutes. It’s well worth your time. Most Entrepreneurs are number 1, The Reformer. They are principles, purposeful, self-controled and perfectionists. Does this sound like you? Take the test and find out.
Self-Starter
When I was starting my Entrepreneurial career I watched as my boss Lane Livingston pull into work at 7am every morning and not leave till 6pm. He would always tell me that he “got the majority of his pressing work done before anyone showed up.” It’s self starters like Lane that motivated me to start work daily at 630am. It’s true, you get the majority of your work done before anyone even shows up. Ever since he taught me this I have started work early.
Self-Starting isn’t just getting up early. It’s working your tail off day and night on things that are important. Entrepreneurs are people who tackle projects as they come up and finish them. They don’t have someone looking over their shoulder. If they don’t get it done, they don’t have a place to live. They put everything on the line.
Think Outside The Box
You’re going to have to think outside the box now days if you want to change the world. Founder of Amazon Jeff Bezos said “Entrepreneurs must be willing to be misunderstood for long periods of time.” I like to call this thinking outside the box. If you just think inside the box, nothing will ever change. You have to be willing to take chances on crazy things.
Einstein was considered crazy for years before he proved the theory of relativity, he later received the Noble Prize for his crazy findings. Bezos left his well paying job at a hedge fund in NYC to start a company out of his garage that would later be called Amazon. He left his job because of a law that passed that said retailers didn’t have to collect taxes in states where they didn’t have a physical presence. Brilliant or stupid, you ask me?
Unpredictable
Most entrepreneurs plans change by the minute. You have to if you’re going to get ahead in this World. You will truly know that you’re an Entrepreneur if your business life is a little unpredictable. ”Entrepreneurs have to pivot consistently” according to Eric Ries of Lean Startup. This is what will dramatically improve the odds for success.
Strong People Skills
To succeed in business you have to be willing to communicate. Communication is one of the keys to success and every Entrepreneur should have this. I will put a caveat on this though. There are many Entrepreneurs that aren’t good at this but team up with someone that is VERY good at this. An example of this would be Mark Zuckerberg. When he started The Facebook he didn’t quite have the skills to make things work. I believe it was more business skills that he needed in the beginning more than money, you can get money anywhere. He needed Edwardo Saverin to be the business end and people end of the company.
If you don’t have people skills you need to find a partner with them. Someone on your core team needs to have strong people skills in order to succeed.
Remember, being an Entrepreneur is neither a part-time or a full-time job. It’s a lifestyle."
Einstein was considered crazy for years before he proved the theory of relativity, he later received the Noble Prize for his crazy findings. Bezos left his well paying job at a hedge fund in NYC to start a company out of his garage that would later be called Amazon. He left his job because of a law that passed that said retailers didn’t have to collect taxes in states where they didn’t have a physical presence. Brilliant or stupid, you ask me?
Unpredictable
Most entrepreneurs plans change by the minute. You have to if you’re going to get ahead in this World. You will truly know that you’re an Entrepreneur if your business life is a little unpredictable. ”Entrepreneurs have to pivot consistently” according to Eric Ries of Lean Startup. This is what will dramatically improve the odds for success.
Strong People Skills
To succeed in business you have to be willing to communicate. Communication is one of the keys to success and every Entrepreneur should have this. I will put a caveat on this though. There are many Entrepreneurs that aren’t good at this but team up with someone that is VERY good at this. An example of this would be Mark Zuckerberg. When he started The Facebook he didn’t quite have the skills to make things work. I believe it was more business skills that he needed in the beginning more than money, you can get money anywhere. He needed Edwardo Saverin to be the business end and people end of the company.
If you don’t have people skills you need to find a partner with them. Someone on your core team needs to have strong people skills in order to succeed.
Remember, being an Entrepreneur is neither a part-time or a full-time job. It’s a lifestyle."
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