Is An Entrepreneur Born Or Made?

Everywhere we look we see self-proclaimed successful entrepreneurs.

Have you ever wondered if you could be one of them?

Have you wondered: is an entrepreneur born or made?

And if you have wondered, then you have probably asked what ate the characteristics of a successful entrepreneur and whether you have what it takes to become one?

Let’s look at each question individually and dive in.

What’s An Entrepreneur?

The definition of an entrepreneur is someone who starts and runs a business. An entrepreneur assumes financial and other risks associated with running a business. This definition is very broad and is missing some crucial components.

The Real Definition Of An Entrepreneur

“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill

The real definition of an entrepreneur includes many other attributes than just starting a business and assuming financial and other risks. An entrepreneur is also:

• someone that has passion
• someone that has a solution to a problem
• someone that is courageous
• someone who has desire to give life to ideas
• someone who has grit

Top Characteristics Of An Entrepreneur

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” – Anaïs Nin

An entrepreneur has the following top characteristics.

• vision

You have a vision and you want to bring it to life. You know exactly what success looks like and you will do whatever it takes to fulfill that vision.

• creative

A creative mind will let you see past your competition and see opportunities for your clients where others don’t. Being creative will let you think outside of the box and come up with unique solutions or ideas.

• optimistic

An optimistic mind will help you deal with any setbacks and obstacles. Being an optimist will help you persevere and achieve success.

• self -motivated

You will not have a boss whose job will be to keep you motivated so it will be up to you to stay motivated on the way to achieve your dreams.

• risk tolerance

You have to be comfortable taking risks as being an entrepreneur involves taking financial and other risks.

• curiosity

If you have curious mind, you will be able to search and find unique and interesting ideas where least expected.

• confidence

Confidence will help you face the negative and often challenging world.

• discipline

Discipline will help you stay focused and proceed even if motivation is temporarily lacking.

• perseverance

Perseverance will help you overcome obstacles. It will not allow you to continue push on when you feel like quitting.

• self-reliance

There will not be many people that you will be able to rely on. As an entrepreneur you will have to learn to main rely on yourself.

You might naturally have all of the above characteristics, but if you do not, don’t worry. It does not mean that you will not be a successful entrepreneur, it just means that you will have to work on developing the characteristics of a successful entrepreneur that you do not naturally have.

Why not start right now?

This of the characteristics that you think you are missing as start implementing them in your life right now. If you need to learn self motivation, take time every day and practice motivating yourself.

Do the same with every other characteristic that you might want to develop further.

5 Steps To Become An Entrepreneur

“There’s no shortage of remarkable ideas, what’s missing is the will to execute them.” – Seth Godin

There are specific steps to become an entrepreneur:

1. determine that you have the entrepreneurial mindset
2. find your industry or niche
3. do research ( research the market)
4. educate yourself
5. start building your business

Related: Starting Online Business For FREE – How-To

We Are All Entrepreneurs

“I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away and doing the exact opposite.” – G.K. Chesterton

I realize that a lot of people will not agree with me, but I am convinced that all of us are already entrepreneurs in our lives. We all have our individual lives and regardless of how much help you might get, you are the one managing your own life. And what can be more important than being the entrepreneur of your life?

You already have and are using all the characteristics of being an entrepreneur:

• you have vision for your life – you know what you want your ideal life to look like
• you are creative when you look for solutions to problems in your life
• you are optimistic because you are still here, therefore you must believe that the future will be better, and what is that if not optimism?
• you are self -motivated, because everyone else is busy living their own lives. Eve if you seek motivation outside of yourself, that’s still being self-motivated.
• life is risky, there are no guarantees, so we all are risk takers and we have developed certain degree of risk tolerance
• there are many things in your life that you are already curious about
• you have lived your life for a while, you feel pretty confident living your life, besides, confidence usually comes with experience. As you learn new things and get good at them, confidence follows naturally.
• maybe there are aspects of your life where you wish you were more disciplined about, but there are most definitely are aspects of your life where you are very disciplined about
• there are many examples in your life where you used perseverance to overcome obstacles or challenges
• you might have a very good support system in your life, but in the end you have already developed self-reliance as you have probably experienced situations where you support system was not available and you had only yourself to rely on

So to answer our grand question,

Is An Entrepreneur Born Or Made?

 “Almost everything worthwhile carries with it some sort of risk, whether it’s starting a new business, whether it’s leaving home, whether it’s getting married, or whether it’s flying into space.” – Chris Hadfield

Definitely, an entrepreneur is born. We all are entrepreneurs. We developed the skills and characteristics by living and managing our lives. Every day we further develop our entrepreneurial abilities without even thinking about it. Can you imagine what you can do if you can consciously start implementing the characteristics in your personal and professional life?

An Entrepreneur Is Also Made

“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” – Albert Einstein

Being an entrepreneur is a skill, and like with any other skills we can get better at it with practice.

So go ahead. If you have an idea for a business or a passion that you want to follow but the only thing stopping you is your doubt whether you are an entrepreneur enough, put that doubt to sleep. We are all entrepreneurs and we can always get better at it by practicing like you would any other skill that you want to improve.

Once you decided that you have the skills, characteristics, and abilities to become an entrepreneur and you will follow your business idea, you need to be aware that there are
three levels of entrepreneurship.

The Three Levels Of Entrepreneurship

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney

1. Dreamers

This first stage of entrepreneurship is a very important stage. During this exciting stage you will have an idea for a business. You will start gathering resources, doing research, formulating a more concrete plan for your idea.

2. Site hustlers

“The moment you begin your first business, it becomes a side hustle. This could be ordering your first business card, buying a domain or telling your first friend about your new venture. This is the level where you start to build your business.”

3. Entrepreneurs

This is the final stage. During this phase your identity will begin to change as you will start identifying with your business or idea. You will deeply feel all success and setbacks associated with your business. Others in the community will start associating you with your business.

In Conclusion

“Embrace what you don’t know, especially in the beginning, because what you don’t know can become your greatest asset. It ensures that you will absolutely be doing things different from everybody else.”– Sara Blakely

People are very proud of becoming successful entrepreneur, and they have every right to be. They worked hard for it and they deserve to feel proud. Now that you know what exactly is a successful entrepreneur and what characteristics does one have, there is nothing stopping you from becoming one.

Related: How To Start A Business Online? -The First Step That Most People Skip

So go ahead, take the next step to becoming a successful entrepreneur and owning your own business.

I hope you have found this article helpful. I would love to hear from you. Please leave your questions, thoughts, ideas below.

So what step are you going to take today to become an entrepreneur?