Entrepreneurship has become popular ever since the form changed. Think about it, decades ago an entrepreneur was anyone doing start-ups. Now, entrepreneurs can be people behind a laptop writing blog posts or filming videos for their YouTube channel. Entrepreneurs can be self-published authors or anyone with an idea who wants to pursue it.

The question here is if entrepreneurship has changed what are the defining characteristics of successful entrepreneurs. As much as many of us don’t want to admit it publicly we all want to be successful and create an impact. Sure, our thoughts call into question whether we can do that. Our brains are capable of so much and if we believe in something strongly it comes true. Since you are reading this blog post you might want to know how you can become a successful entrepreneur. 

One of the easiest ways to that is by understanding the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs and emulating it. When you do that, it is so much easier to become a successful entrepreneur. Maybe, you haven’t started your business yet, it is never too late to start. This blog post is a way to support and encourage you to go for your dreams. 

Self-motivation

Do you ever go through moments when you don’t want to do anything? One of the main characteristics of successful entrepreneurs and successful people, in general, is they self-motivate. They don’t wait for a muse to inspire them and that is what separates them. Many of us are so used to waiting for a mythical muse to appear so that we can focus on work.

Yes, they might be days when you are tired and frustrated. These moments should be times when you pick yourself up and work on your goals. Will it be hard? Anything foreign to us is always hard. Think about it like this when you are starting a new exercise routine, is it hard to get into to or if you want to wake up early. Our brains tend to rely on the past to protect us. This is the way we survive so when you are doing something you aren’t used to there’s resistance. 

You have to face the resistance for you to be able to self-motivate. Becoming successful isn’t easy, but this one characteristic of successful entrepreneurs is one that has put many of them on the map.

Take risks

This one is my favorite characteristic of successful entrepreneurs. I used to be a person who took calculated risks until I realized that to be successful I had to jump with both feet. Is it hard to do that? Yes, remember our brains want to protect us. There are built-in survival mechanisms that turn on whenever we put ourselves in a difficult situation.

Anything that is new can be seen as a difficult situation. That is including taking risks, but you will never become successful if you don’t take risks. Even if you don’t want to be an entrepreneur, taking risks will push you out of your comfort zone. This is why this characteristic of successful entrepreneurs is often discussed at length. If you don’t take risks, you will never find opportunities to help you grow. You will never become a millionaire or impact the world.

I had to learn this the hard way. I spent so many years terrified of my own shadow and I didn’t take risks. I dragged my feet until I realized the reason my business isn’t growing is that I am not taking risks. It is of course not that simple, but if you do take risks you will discover how many opportunities are out there.

Passion

I believe passion has to be one of the most important characteristics of successful entrepreneurs. Passionate entrepreneurs are more diverse than any other. They are more willing to dedicate their time to serving others and they never give up. That is the key there. Often when we follow money over passion we create this void in us.

This void limits our potential because we are concentrating on the money. When you concentrate on helping people you attract more people to you and you achieve more. And you are likely to follow through when something doesn’t work and you also pivot if your business isn’t growing. If you look at what is happening to businesses because of the pandemic. You will realize that many are not making an income or they have shut down. The businesses or entrepreneurs who survive are those that are passionate.

There are a few entrepreneurs who looked at their circumstances and changed the way they did businesses. 

Also Related: Why Following Your Passions is the Secret Ingredient to Success and Happiness

Understand your business model

If you have no idea what your business model is then it is will difficult to sell anything. For example, if you are a service business, but you sell t-shirts. There’s a problem with your model and what you offer. This is why it is important to understand the business you want to do. There are service businesses that do sell t-shirts, though. It has to make sense with the business that they are running though.

Diversifying income is one of the traits of successful entrepreneurs. What you offer has to be aligned with your business and you also need to understand your clients. If you are a service business offering financial consultancy to your clients, they wouldn’t be interested in buying t-shirts from you. However, if you are a service business that caters to dog lovers’ needs then they would love buying t-shirts.

Paying attention to your business model, what you offer and your clients are what will put you on the top. This is one of the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs and it isn’t talked about enough. Maybe, because it isn’t as interesting as talking about taking risks or passions. 

Also Related: The 11 Most Popular Online Business Models

Diversify income

Majority of successful entrepreneurs have numerous income sources and that is what makes them millionaires. Diversifying your income is important, but the first step is of course understanding your business model. Once you do that it is a lot easier to diversify your income. However, the problem is not understanding your business model.

One of the main characteristics of successful entrepreneurs is they have multiple sources of income. Service based businesses are now offering courses to their clients. And e-commerce businesses are doing the same and adding speaking to their roster. Not only does this make it easier to become a millionaire, it reduces the stress on the entrepreneur. Having one source of income involves working over time and this reduces the impact they can create and the money.

This why many successful entrepreneurs suggest having multiple sources of income. 

Money mindset

 You will never become successful if you believe you will always struggle with money. Many of us understand this on a basic level, yet we make the rookie mistake in believing we won’t achieve financial freedom. Our brains are like computers. Whatever we believe, our brains will act out. It won’t filter negative thoughts out. It doesn’t work like that.

If a virus attacks your computer, it messes up with the software. The computer starts operating differently and that is how our brains work as well. When it comes across something negative it at first tries to fight it off, but then when that doesn’t work the virus spreads. It changes the way you process everything. Information to our brain is like code and it uses that to justify our actions.

One of the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs is that they have a money mindset. What this means is that they have a healthy relationship with money. Whether it is spending, giving, investing, or earning money. If they believe they can make $10,000 a month they achieve it. This might seem impossible, but it isn’t. It is all about believing you can. It might seem too easy, but our brains have been conditioned to view money negatively.

When you believe in something, you will discover that you will find ways to make that come true. 

 Also Related: Is A Success Mindset Still Key To Success?

Adaptable 

Another characteristic of successful entrepreneurs is how adaptable they are. One thing you will discover is that successful entrepreneurs need to be able to find solutions to problems. If something isn’t working, they need to find a solution. Many of us struggle with being adaptable, but if you learn this one characteristic of successful entrepreneurs you will be ahead of many people.

Finding solutions to problems and being flexible is what sets successful people apart.  You need to be willing to change for your business to survive. Brick and mortar businesses that chose not to have social media accounts are probably struggling right now. Word of mouth used to be enough years ago and now it isn’t. Having a social media account is extremely important. Businesses that don’t find a way to operate are finding themselves stuck. A few businesses have seen this as an opportunity to go virtual because of the pandemic. Event companies are now doing virtual events. 

Also Related: How To Be Adaptable in 11 Simple Steps

What is your main takeaway from this and which characteristic will you work on? Please comment below.

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                                                                                           Vanessa