Are You An Entrepreneur?
With all the buzz about everybody being an entrepreneur these
days wouldn’t it be nice if you could really find out if you
have what it takes?
Sure it would.
The following profile was adopted over a period of several years
of research from successful entrepreneurs worldwide to assist
would-be entrepreneurs determine if they have the traits to
undertake a new venture.
Can we describe what an entrepreneur is? Simply, an entrepreneur
is one who undertakes something new or remakes something old and
eventually succeeds. Entrepreneurs may fail, and often they do,
before they get it right. But there are no entrepreneurs who are
failures. Entrepreneurs only look upon a failure as a stepping
stone. One door closes, another opens.
Do YOU have the entrepreneurial mystic?
This assessment is the result of analyzing the character traits
of successful entrepreneurs. It measures entrepreneurial
readiness whether one considers s/he is an entrepreneur. Much
study and research by academics around the world has gone into
attempting to determine who is, or can be, an entrepreneur.
Unfortunately, not one reliable predictive model has
successfully been developed, nor is it likely one will beyond
identifying the traits and trying to measure up to them.
This all seems pointless however even if one has the traits
because it does not guarantee any measured individual will
become an entrepreneur. Just having the traits does not
guarantee SUCCESS and yet success is required to earn the title
of Entrepreneur. If, for example, an individual assessed has all
the apparent attributes of a so-called entrepreneur but fails in
the new venture they undertake, the mantel of the true
entrepreneur can never be worn because the word “Entrepreneur”
is embodied in the word “Success”. (www.CEFE.org)
Rate each of the following eleven characteristics as you believe
it relates to you using the following scale.
+2 = I am very strong in this characteristic +1 = I possess this
characteristic 0 = I don’t know -1 = I have very little of this
characteristic -2 = I do not possess this characteristic
TRAITS: CIRCLE ONE CHOICE in EACH TRAIT Creative: +2 +1 0 -1 -2
TakeRisk: +2 +1 0 -1 -2 Self-Confident: +2 +1 0 -1 -2 Dynamic:
+2 +1 0 -1 -2 Like to Lead Others: +2 +1 0 -1 -2 Market Savvy:
+2 +1 0 -1 -2 Resourceful: +2 +1 0 -1 -2 Persevere: +2 +1 0 -1
-2 Optimistic: +2 +1 0 -1 -2 Knowledgeable: +2 +1 0 -1 -2 High
Energy Level: +2 +1 0 -1 -2 TOTAL SCORE: ____
Total your score for the eleven characteristics. Add the pluses
and subtract the minuses. Your score will fall between –22 to
+22.
A high positive score demonstrates you have the characteristics
needed to succeed as an entrepreneur while a low or negative
score demonstrates the opposite. Your current job, experience,
and motivation have much influence. Fairly passive or low scores
can move to fairly positive or high scores with just the loss of
a job. Displaced persons are among the most successful of
entrepreneurs regardless of prior traits. They earn the title,
if for no other reason, than they have nowhere else to turn.
One thing we do know is that regardless of what your score is,
without a passion to succeed at all cost, the title of
entrepreneur and the notoriety that goes with it, will forever
elude your grasp.