There are many versions of what people think an Entrepreneur should be or represent.
But here is my take on what are the critical elements or characteristics an Entrepreneur will display.
1. Creativity
Businesses start from an idea or skill, but usually because the goal is to be their own boss and independent.
The Entrepreneur is the ideas person, they have the vision of what the problem is that they are going to solve. They are the ones that have thought outside the box to make themselves, their product or service unique.
2. Structure
No matter what business you own, there will always be 5 pillars required as the foundation.
a. Sales
b. Marketing
c. Production
d. Finance
e. Administration
Every business, small through to large, needs to have all these pillars to thrive, without one of them the business will fail.
An Entrepreneur will build a plan around each pillar to ensure not just the survival but ability of the business to thrive and something that investors would want to be a part of.
3. Planning
We all have dreams, or visions, an entrepreneur will take that dream and see if it is viable and profitable.
Is it worth investing any more time and energy?
Most business owners put their heart and soul into their business. But unfortunately, not many of them plan their business. Therefore, don’t get the payback they were hoping for, but then again how do you know if you have got there when you haven’t mapped out point B on the journey.
4. Leadership
Each business needs direction, a plan. But most small business owners put one foot in front of the other, with no clarity around direction which is not leadership, that is just the blind leading the blind.
An Entrepreneur has the idea, the plan, the drive to build the business, the ability to communicate their vision, the requirements and directions. The 5 elements of the business have been thought out and planned which makes it easier to execute and communicate which shows leadership.
5. Always Learning
Most business owners start a business with their unique skill or trade and think that is the major component of the business and that’s all they need. And yes, that is the revenue producing skill but as mentioned before there are another 4 equally important components to the business to make it profitable.
An Entrepreneur will always be wanting to know more, have a better understanding of what is required, but not necessarily gain the particular skill like making the actual widget or being the Salesperson. They will contract in the skills they need in the business that are not their strong suit.
I have built a business course to help Entrepreneurs understand the numbers and what questions to ask themselves about the profitability of the business and a product. It shows you how to build a budget that then flows into the Cashflow. This is not about the skill of bookkeeping but actually planning the finance part of your business. It also looks at how the other components will get feedback from the numbers.
Click here if you wish to try the first Module of the Business course for free.