What Does It Take to Be a Successful Entrepreneur?

A successful entrepreneur always enjoys a good relationship with the business

First published in The Indian Fusion
Written by Shaktiman Singh

Wikipedia defines ‘entrepreneur’ as the owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative. So you must have the guts to take chances, because with no risk there is no gain!

If asked to define an entrepreneur, the words most often chosen are motivated, focused, confident, aggressive, dominant, leader, etc. While these adjectives taken together may truly describe some entrepreneurs, they certainly do not describe all of them. It is as foolish to define them as one personality type as it is to say that all athletes, students or employees are the same.

A good entrepreneur never lets his business fall apart. So, why do some businesses fail? The root cause behind this is not due the lack of knowledge or capital; it is due to a poor fit between the owner and the chosen venture. A successful entrepreneur always enjoys a good relationship with the business. It follows that the purpose of an organization is to realize its potential.  And the realizing of its potential lies in the strength of its purpose.

Let’s find out what are the soft skills that an aspiring entrepreneur must have in order to reach over the top by taking examples of some of the successful business leaders of the present world…

Jeff Bezos knows the power of positive thinking. Living by the motto that “every challenge is an opportunity,” Bezos created the largest bookstore in the world with a little internet start-up called Amazon!

Adaptability is one of the greatest strengths an entrepreneur can have. Every successful business owner must be willing to improve, refine and customize their services to constantly give customers what they want. Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page took this idea a step further by not just reacting to change, but leading the way. They quickly adapted to the requisites of the people and developed their services according to that. Google continually leads the internet with innovative ideas that allow people to see and do things in ways they couldn’t before (think Google Earth).

No one embodies the word “passion” quite like Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin mega-brand. Branson’s passion lies in his insatiable appetite for starting companies. Founded in 1970, the Virgin Group has expanded to more than 200 companies, ranging from music, publishing, mobile phones and even space travel! “Businesses are like buses,” he once said. “There’s always another one coming.”

At age 20, Debbi Fields didn’t have much. She was a young housewife with no business experience, but what she did have, was a great chocolate chip cookie recipe and a dream to share with the world. Fields opened her first Mrs. Field’s store in1977, despite being told she was crazy to believe a business could survive solely on selling cookies. Fields’ headstrong determination and ambition helped her nurture her little cookie store into a $450 million company with more than 600 locations in the U.S. and 10 foreign nations!

A good leader is someone with charisma, a sense of ethics and a desire to build integrity within an organization; someone who is enthusiastic, team oriented and a great teacher. All of these qualities were personified by the late Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics; a company that has helped more than half a million women realize their dreams of owning a business. Ash started Mary Kay Inc. in 1963 with $5,000. She was best known for being a powerful motivator and inspirational leader, creating a company with a “You can do it!” attitude.