Entrepreneurship: Are You Ready? 3 Key Personality Traits for Success

We’ve been talking side-hustles and income bridging. If your side hustle goes well, it might become your full-time business. The research tells us that there are certain personality traits that are well suited for entrepreneurship. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of successful entrepreneurs who have different traits, but if this looks like you, your own business might be calling for you.

Owning our own business is an important part of our collective dream, and the benefits are very appealing. At least two-thirds of all North Americans would like to run their own business one day. The reasons are obvious: independence, creativity, and realizing the benefits of your own labor. There is also often a higher status attached to being a job creator and independent businessperson. If you’re one of the dreamers, you’ve probably already envisioned the flexibility, independence and creative and operational control you could achieve with your own business.

And did you know that the self-employed are likely to be happier and express a higher sense of well-being? Never mind the fact that, on average, you’ll make less money, work more hours, and won’t have a pension, paid sick time, or health benefits. It’s also harder to get a loan, even though you’ll need money to make that creative vision a reality. But you’ll be able to set your own schedule, choose your customers and projects so you’ll have a lot of control and freedom. And, importantly, you’ll be able to keep your own revenue. If this is appealing and you’re willing to accept the downsides, then you may just have the personality necessary to be a successful business owner!

The key personality traits necessary for successful self-employment and entrepreneurship are: optimism, confidence, and ambition; the rest follow from these. It helps if you have emotional stability, are open to new experiences, and tend to be a social person. 

·      Optimism: This is the belief that more good things are going to happen than bad. Tied to this is a tolerance for risk, the ability to keep going in the face of uncertainty, because you believe that things generally will work out. That’s your optimism in action.

·      Confidence: This is a belief that you are the person to make it happen. That what you don’t know you can learn. And that you can overcome the obstacles that are coming your way. It’s a very attractive quality.

·      Ambition: Entrepreneurs have a strong desire to achieve, to develop a dream and work toward making it a reality. They need it to keep going when the doubters come knocking.

It helps also if you have an outgoing personality because you’ll need good relationships to help you with various business processes. And it helps if you are open to new things and like change.

None of us have all these qualities, and pessimistic introverts can become entrepreneurs, but the more of these qualities you have, the more likely you are to make your venture a success because they enable you to keep when things are tough.

With the right mindset, you will proceed, tackling the challenges as they come, focusing on problem-solving rather than how the difficulty makes you feel. The more successful entrepreneurs have a lot of curiosity, a drive to learn more, and a desire to achieve more. If you’re more Eeyore than Winnie-the-Pooh, self-employment might be harder for you. But if you have an existing client base or a market that is familiar with you and what you’re selling, then the risk is much lower, and it may be a good decision for you.

Whatever your business, before starting it, you’ll have to consider a few things. Market entry barriers or the cost to start up come first. You’ll look at the amount of competition in your area, and then maybe broaden your geographic reach, this includes your marketing, even if you’re selling online. It’ll help if you do some research on how much your industry is changing due to innovation and technology. And it’ll help some more if you do some research on the potential for growth in your business. One final thing: of those who do start a business, the majority have another job when they do.

Try this: Research is a good thing to do while you’re in the dreaming or Career Imagination stage. It helps you plan and keeps you motivated while you move closer to your goal. Start your research small by confirming an unproven assumption you find you have.