The Top 5 Entrepreneur Must-Haves

Being an entrepreneur is the dream of many people with the thought of “getting rich”, “being my own boss”, or “setting my own hours” dancing in their heads. But entrepreneurship is not a smooth ride, and it only takes a quick Google search to find the statistics of the number of businesses that fail in the first five years. So, what does it take to beat the odds? Below are some common traits that we see with successful entrepreneurs:

Growth mindset – As Dr. Carol Dweck discusses in her book, Mindset, a person with a growth mindset believes that they can learn and grow from situations they face, whether positive or challenging. On the other hand, those with a fixed mindset feel like they “are what they are” and “that’s just the way it is”. Having a growth mindset means looking at setbacks or failures as opportunities to learn and grow, not a signal to give up. A growth mindset can be trained and developed in your brain, just like your muscles are, by doing reps in the gym. Plan on having or developing a growth mindset.

A good vision and plan – Rarely do you decide to go on a trip without an idea of where you want to go, and your GPS set to guide you. Why would you do that with something as significant as starting a new business. Successful entrepreneurs have a good vision of where they want to take the business and a plan to get there. They seek input and feedback from others to challenge their thinking and they are willing to listen to sage advice.

Adaptability – Few things stay the same. A good business owner keeps a close eye on what problems they can solve for their target audience, the resources they have, or issues that can pop up every day in business. Adaptability and flexibility of your vision and plan are key to being a successful entrepreneur. You may start out heading in a certain direction with your business or have plans to offer a particular kind of product or service, but you may be surprised at how often you may need to adjust to keep your business thriving.

Be willing to sacrifice – Often, running your own business is much harder than it may look from the outside. If you want to take on this challenge, be ready to change how you spend your time and money. It’s true that a successful entrepreneur works to build a business that can run without them, but there is much work to be done before you reach that level. One must dig deep to ask themselves if they are willing to put in the hours, invest the capital and start out doing every job within the business, at least until the business can be built to have other people and systems set up to take the pressure off the owner.

Have a strong set of resources – One of the biggest causes of stress or failure for a new business is lack of resources. Talk to other business owners who have started from scratch and listen to what experiences they have had with finances and other resources. Plan to put enough money into the business, either from friends, family, or commercial funding sources to allow your business to grow. Set up the non-financial resources such as staff, outside services or partners to supply all parts of the business needed to operate. A wise business owner builds a strong pool of resources that can be called on when needed.