The profiles that emerge from the biographies of many successful entrepreneurs are in many cases an example for the new generations.
Last update: 01 November 2021
The psychological characteristics of an entrepreneur are hidden among all the information that saturates the means of communication. From various points of view, being an entrepreneur is a novelty that is considered essential for success.
But how can we achieve success and become good entrepreneurs? In addition to this, in the current working environment it seems that an employee also needs the skills of an entrepreneur.
The generations who have recently entered the world of work and those who will enter it shortly are reflected in the biographies of great entrepreneurs such as Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. These models are an example that a great project does not have to have great means at the beginning.
However, the entrepreneurial path is often simplified by reducing it to a question of will or attitude. In reality, many other factors come into play such as luck or chance, which are also protagonists of the success of a business project.
Entrepreneurship: a change in the world of work
Phenomena such as globalization, the advancement of technology and the flexibility of work have produced drastic changes in the way people work.
Until a few years ago, people had their entire professional career in the same company, occupying the same job position for years.
Work was much more industrialized and less changeable. Today, the world of work requires that many places be occupied by so-called “nomads”.
The desire of young people
The new generations do not aspire to return to the past. They live in a period in which technological progress has been so fast as to allow the birth of new jobs and new ways of working. In this sense, it seems that the desire of young people is to be their own boss.
Today's young people have grown up with the idea of ​​being free and able to create and choose the places in which to invest their commitment and enthusiasm. In addition to this, awareness has increased on an undeniable fact: we spend a large part of our life working, so we want the conditions in the workplace to be acceptable.
In this sense, many ask themselves: "Why not be an entrepreneur?", "Why not create the conditions to become one?".
What is entrepreneurship?
Nowadays, we know that entrepreneurship mainly means starting your own business.
A common aspect is that to achieve this goal it is necessary to identify a market niche and create the right material conditions to exploit it by intelligently managing the resources available. Being an entrepreneur, in fact, means taking possession of an idea and developing a project.
The psychological characteristics of an entrepreneur
The entrepreneur is not only an idealist, but also a performer. He is a person capable of shaping his ideas and making them a reality.
In this sense, a successful entrepreneur is one who is able to enhance his ideas while respecting the conditions imposed by the circumstances.
Skills required include the ability to calculate risks and identify innovations that can work and discard those that don't.
A successful entrepreneur is a person who has learned to choose which battles to fight, postpone or discard.
The psychological characteristics of an entrepreneur: the skills of an entrepreneur
To develop and manage a project, in addition to having an overview, the entrepreneur must also have knowledge in various fields.
A very frequent criticism of the current educational system is that there are some study paths in which you learn concepts that are very far from what the market really requires.
In this sense, the technical skills, which we could include within the psychological characteristics of an entrepreneur and which would allow him to be successful, should be:
- Project development.
- Management of the working group.
- Economic and financial knowledge.
- Ability to sell an idea.
- Partner search.
- Teamwork.
The psychological characteristics of an entrepreneur: emotional skills
In a world where the offer is wide and the requests are ever greater, even the path of an entrepreneur has changed. Established entrepreneurs often note that frustrations and obstacles need to be addressed, especially in the beginning.
Curiosity, at times, manifests itself as discomfort. Paradoxically, the early stages of a project can be particularly difficult.
The following emotional and personal skills must be added to the psychological characteristics of an entrepreneur:
- The ability to overcome obstacles.
- Tolerance to frustration.
- Emotional intelligence.
- Openness to experience.
- Perseverance.
- Attitude to work.
- Risk management.
The key to emotional intelligence
Although it is difficult to establish the profile of the perfect entrepreneur, emotional intelligence is one of the most important aspects. This characteristic is given by the ability to adapt to any situation by responding on an emotional level in a fruitful way.
It is also a fundamental quality for managing a work group, contacting the right people and empathizing with those who accompany us in the entrepreneurial project.
It is, in fact, a way to interact effectively with the working environment which, in the case of a borrower, is very turbulent.
Work: Today's sacrifices will be tomorrow's results
Being an entrepreneur also means having the ability to sacrifice time, relationships and space. If you work as an employee, you just have to stick to the assigned tasks and then enjoy the time outside of working hours.
Being your own boss implies that when an essential task has to be done, it is you who must do it, regardless of day, hour or moment. Being an entrepreneur requires a 150% commitment.
Entrepreneurship, a way to advance in society
In the life of an entrepreneur, the rewards are rarely immediate. So, you need to be patient and keep building and producing while waiting for results.
In this sense, in the biographies of many successful entrepreneurs we find a common aspect: in the early stages of a project they had to spend a large number of hours of work without losing confidence in the possible results.
Not surprisingly, entrepreneurship is a mechanism for social ascent and a natural outlet for those who appreciate being autonomous.
Conclusions
Taking into account what has been said in this article, the psychological characteristics of an entrepreneur are based on the availability and commitment to carry out a project.
Likewise, in the ability to to bet on certain ideas, to make decisions and investing a variety of resources to achieve an uncertain goal.
