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Entrepreneurial U – Part 1
Reality 18 years ago No Comments

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Last month we responded to a student who was itching to throw her mortarboard in the air and her hat in the ring. On the verge of graduating from an interior design program, she was already imagining herself running her own show. EntrepreneurialU1.gifSurprising” Not really. According to the new American Society of Interior Designers [ASID] study, “Inside Small and Medium Design Firms,” approximately two-thirds of the interior design businesses in the United States are small firms and sole practitioners. Yes, creatives are an ambitious bunch; unfortunately, a brilliant imagination doesn’t guarantee success. So before you change your business card to read “owner,” see if you possess what it takes to run your own show.

Over the years, successful entrepreneurs have been studied, scrutinized, and picked apart, and much is now known about what is necessary to thrive. As you will learn from the list below, just the right blend of characteristics can make a successful entrepreneur. The right mind-set has everything to do with both initial and ongoing success. Aspects such as education, intelligence, and personality are less significant, yet anything but negligible. Paramount to creating a booming business is the overwhelming drive to realize one’s goals — whatever they may be. (FYI: The following are not listed in any particular order.)


Love Thyself

You could have guessed that self-confidence was on the list. It’s just a given, right” Arrogance and bravado, however, do not apply here — those are usually just a front for rampant insecurity. Entrepreneurs have a positive sense of self and are quite self-assured in their talents and skills. This kind of poise is both inherent in your genes and fortified by your upbringing. Self-confidence can be difficult to learn, though not impossible, when your personality is already fully developed. This kind of self-assurance lets one retain control when things get rough, and a commanding, composed nature calms down the troops and inspires others looking for guidance.

Of course, no one person is ever 100% confident in every circumstance because no one ever knows everything there is to know. The key is to understand what it takes to get through difficult, intimidating situations with grace, which frequently means putting on a happy mask and doing a little acting until issues can be dealt with effectively. One of our favorite slogans is “Fake It Till You Make It” because it sums it all up (not to mention it’s catchy): Keep acting like you are a winner, and you will be a winner. The power of positive thinking, baby. Tony Robbins, watch out.


Challenge Me

There tends to be a misconception that entrepreneurs are essentially gamblers who get their kicks from crazy financial risks and wild ideas. Not so. Those who go into business for themselves and ultimately flourish love everything about the challenge and nothing about the risk. Competitiveness causes all decisions to be quite calculated. They love to win.

These ambitious types want to keep score so that they know if they are beating the socks off of their opponents or are barely on the board. They prefer sports in which they depend on only their own performance strategy to compete, rather than relying on a team full of players. A full bank account is but one method of score keeping. People with this outlook on life always assume that they will succeed financially, but mounds of cash and material goods are not always the crucial pay-off — freedom of choice and making one’s mark on the world can be just as motivating.


I Just Want To Direct

The world “control” is not always negative. In this case, possessing the desire to dictate and give instructions has nothing to do with wielding power over others. We’re talking about directing one’s own destiny without being at the mercy of the vagaries of others. Entrepreneurial types can’t stand feeble performance, poor choices, and general incompetence in coworkers, especially those who sit above them in the business food chain. They tend to think that they could do a better job because they pay attention to detail and think long-term.

Taking charge means identifying goals and determining how to meet them. Key to this ability is knowing how to follow through and doing it consistently. When you own your own business, everything ends up on your plate. Even if you don’t perform all of the tasks yourself, it’s ultimately your responsibility to meet all commitments and — here’s the cheerleader in us — never, never quit. If you are content to ride the waves that someone else is making, we would encourage you not to take out that small business loan.


Status Low

Despite media saturation of celebrity business mavens like Donald Trump and Martha Stewart, most entrepreneurs have little desire for status and rank. When you start your own business, it’s all you, baby, so you get fired up about doing anything — whether it’s answering the phones, fixing the copy machine, filing tax returns, or taking out the trash — to make your business work. Getting one’s hands dirty is just part of the overall strategy for success.

Until they are miles beyond comfortable, business owners curb their spending, buying only the essential pieces of the puzzle necessary to facilitate their vision. Because they’re always investing back into the venture, cash is usually scarce, so they shell it out only for maximum impact — with the goal of maximum return. Succeeding materially does not appeal to them as much as meeting their business goals, but when they do have the cash, they might spring for a well-deserved, if not frivolous, reward.


Think Fast

Entrepreneurs have an endless sense of urgency. They take the utmost care to be efficient with their time because there are always things to do. And they like it like that. Instead of feeling stressed, they feel alive. If they aren’t coming up with new ideas, seeking out new business, or wrapping up a project, they are bored and restless. “Why sit still”” is their philosophy. Every day brings new potential and excitement, so these types generally have little problem leaping out of bed in the morning and bounding into the new day.

Part of the exhilaration is the challenge of coming up with solutions for both new and familiar problems. Entrepreneurs are resourceful. Their active imagination leads them down paths not tread by others, and they love blazing these new trails. Discovering ways to manage sticky problems in exceptional ways revs their engines and sets them apart, propelling them beyond their competitors and toward victory.


Fully Awake

Those who succeed in business prognosticate business shifts, anticipate developments, and then formulate and carry out plans ahead of their competitors. They understand that acting first, rather than reacting later, is the winning strategy. Instead of merely brainstorming, entrepreneurs follow through and figure out how to make things happen while the idea is still feasible.

Business front-runners are alert. Their all-inclusive consciousness allows them to put out day-to-day fires while taking into account the long-term forecast. These multi-taskers have a complete awareness of the state of their affairs, whether it relates to the account ledger, contract details, or employees’ motivation levels. The balance between giving the task at hand one’s full attention while simultaneously grasping and responding to the surrounding chaos requires the skill of an acrobat. Reading people’s personalities is vital because it aids in establishing new relationships and maintaining old ones.


More To Come

OK, that’s enough to absorb for the moment. Be sure to stay tuned in the coming months when we’ll address more characteristics of winning entrepreneurs, such as:

What A Concept
Just The Facts, Ma’am
No Hard Feelings
Steady As She Goes
Here’s To Your Health