You’re bound to make more than five mistakes as a neo-entrepreneur (young and fresh entrepreneurs who are less experienced than their older, more established counterparts), especially during the startup years. Entrepreneurship means going through a lot of uncharted territory and interestingly enough, many of these mistakes stem from characteristics that make a person an entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurs who succeed tend to share the following traits:
- Flying solo – Many entrepreneurs like to work alone or be completely in charge. This sometimes conflicts with research showing that entrepreneurs are highly social people. A successful entrepreneur is one who learns to balance these factors well.
- Highly motivated – A good entrepreneur is highly self-motivated and passionate about his or her ideas. They must also be good at motivating others to push themselves in order to meet goals.
- Constantly creative – Successful entrepreneurs keep on coming up with new ideas and don’t rest on their laurels. Instead, they are constantly conducting market research, analyzing consumer reactions and coming up with new ways to improve the business.
- Eager to learn – Coming up with new ideas all the time means keeping on top of trends, industry developments and market shifts. To be successful, an entrepreneur needs to undergo continuing education, attend workshops and conferences, and have the self-confidence to admit mistakes and learn from others.
- Ethical – Entrepreneurs eschew get-rich-quick schemes, understand the value of regulations and adhere to ethical business practices.
- Resilient – They aren’t afraid to fail and understand that risks are part of starting a business. They’re willing to take the risk and if it doesn’t pan out, learn from the mistakes and start over again.
However, mistakes can and still happen. Here are 5 of the major ones that come up over and over in articles, studies and analyses of entrepreneurial activity.
