Believe it or not, One in ten adults in the United States is and entrepreneur.

Traditionally, entrepreneurial ability tended to focus on three attributes. Entrepreneurship is a major contributing factor to the economic well-being of a country both in terms of economic growth and job creation. Here are the three:

–>Making A Decision – the business owner makes the basic business policy decisions for the business, therefore setting the course of the enterprise.

–>Innovation – the entrepreneur is an innovator, attempting to introduce a new way of doing things and new products.

–>Risk-taker for his business – the entrepreneur risks his or her time, business reputation, effort, and invested funds in the entrepreneurial venture.

NEW AND MODERN ENTREPRENEUR

The 2 dominating factors that defined the characteristics of those who wanted to become entrepreneurs were the above attributes, innovation and risk-taking, until recently.

With corporate downsizing being a fact of life and us having no control over it,some entrepreneurs find themselves thrust into the role of owning their own business by default.

Entrepreneurs are not just “born”, believe it or not. Well, some, of course, seem to be naturally-born but for the rest of us, the qualities can definitely be acquired by hard work and application. For anyone either finding themselves in this position involuntarily or thinking about leaving corporate life for the heady world of entrepreneurship the question is, whether or not you have what it takes to be successful … in other words the “right stuff”.

HERE ARE SOME COMMON ISSUES

The “common denominator” issues or questions facing most entrepreneurs are planning, finance and implementation.

=> Plan

Most entrepreneurs face the challenge of starting a new business,be it through innovation (inventing something new or doing something a different way), finding the right opportunity to get into, or buying a franchise. Whichever road you choose, it will involve serious planning.

=> Financing

Unless you have saved money for your investment or have ready funds at your disposal,getting finance is the next major challenge and cannot be attempted until your business plan is in place. You will need to prepare funding proposals and applications for loans, venture capital,and funds from angel investors.

=> Implementation

This will make or break you. People think that just getting started is the hardest part – and yes that is true. But where some businesses may trip is not in the planning and financing stages but in implementing a business plan. The fact that implementation requires a broad range of skills that no one person can be adept at all of them.

The areas to think about in terms of implementation are the same as those encompassed by a broad definition of management: promotion (marketing and advertising), public relations, sales, communications, technology, computer systems, taxes, bookkeeping, finance, and the internet.

A PERSONAL QUALITY

Equally important are the personal qualities of the entrepreneur.

Here’s a list of character traits and work ethics common to successful entrepreneurs. Although it is not necessary that you possess all of them, you should possess most:

=> Passion – entrepreneurs have a strong passion for their idea or concept, so much so that their work is their play. If you don’t like what you do, you won’t stick it out when challenges come along, as they inevitably will.

=> Professional – entrepreneurs are professional when approaching work. They operate as though they were in a corporate environment and don’t allow themselves to be distracted by outside influences.

==>True Curiosity – entrepreneurs want to understand and know how things work. They ask a lot of questions. Curiosity then triggers innovation.

=> Sponges – entrepreneurs are sometimes like sponges. They devour information about their industry and are always current on new and emerging trends and technologies.

=> Optimism – entrepreneurs think of problems as areas for improvements and brand new ideas.

=> Forward looking – entrepreneurs are never satisfied with the status quo and are always proactively carving out their future.

=> Self responsibility – entrepreneurs will take the initiative and personal responsibility for their success or failure of the business (which is usually a temporary state).

=>Must be Competitive – entrepreneurs are competitive and don’t let any grass grow under their feet.

=> Usually Time conscious -entrepreneurs typically also recognize the value of downtime and time with family and will factor these activities into their schedule That said, entrepreneurs know the value of time and how to make the best use of it.

=> Nurture entrepreneurial spirit – entrepreneurs seek out and nurture the entrepreneurial spirit in their employees and reward them accordingly.

=> You should be persistent – entrepreneurs persist until they succeed. They never give up.

=> Utililize Resource – entrepreneurs utilize Most if not All of their available resources.

Have you Looked At The Future of Owning Your Own Business

As you know, increasing numbers of people are choosing to work from home either through telecommuting or running their own home business.While this trend has been attributed to the growth in the number of working women wanting to be home for their children, a lot of people now working from home are men.

So, if you have decided entrepreneurship is for you, you can be sure that you are part of the wave of the future. But please know what it will demand of you and whether you are prepared to give what it will take.

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