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15 Signs You're an Entrepreneur
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JULY 22, 2014
From the August 2014 issue of Entrepreneur
Pressed to describe the stereotypical
entrepreneur, which words would you use?
Passionate? Dedicated? Optimistic? Sure,
those apply. But insecure and troublemaker
are more accurate, according to 'treps who
know a success when they see one. Do the
following traits, characteristics and quirks
describe you? Well then, you might be an
entrepreneur (at heart, if not yet in practice).
1. You take action.
Barbara Corcoran, founder of The Corcoran
Group, co-star of TV's Shark Tank and author
of Shark Tales: How I Turned $1,000 into a
Billion Dollar Business, says people who have
a concept but not necessarily a detailed
strategy are more likely to have that
entrepreneurial je ne sais quoi. "I hate
entrepreneurs with beautiful business plans,"
she says.
MARCIA LAYTON
TURNER
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Barbara Corcoran
Image credit: Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com
Corcoran's recommendation? "Invent as [you] go," rather than
spending time writing a plan at your desk. In fact, she believes that
people with life experience have an active problem-solving ability and
think-on-your-feet resourcefulness that can be more valuable than
book smarts alone. Those who study business may be prone to
overanalyzing situations rather than taking action.
2. You're insecure.
"Many entrepreneurs judged as ambitious are really insecure
underneath," Corcoran says. When evaluating potential investments,
she adds, "I want someone who is scared to death." Those who are
nervous about failing can become hyperfocused and willing to do
whatever it takes to succeed. If you feel insecure, use that emotion to
drive you to achieve your business goals.
3. You're crafty.
"One of my favorite TV shows growing up was MacGyver," confides
Tony Hsieh, CEO of Las Vegas-based Zappos, "because he never had
exactly the resources he needed but would somehow figure out how
to make everything work out."
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Always resourceful: Zappos chief Tony Hsieh.
Image credit: Flickr/Delivering Happiness Book
A lifelong entrepreneur, Hsieh has done everything from starting a
worm farm to making buttons and selling pizzas, so he admires
MacGyver's "combination of creativity, optimism and street smarts.
Ultimately, I think that's what being an entrepreneur is all about--
playing MacGyver, but for business." It's not about having enough
resources, he explains, but being resourceful with what you do have.
4. You're obsessed With cash flow.
Before founding Brainshark, a Waltham, Mass.-based developer of
technology for business presentations, Joe Gustafson bootstrapped a
venture called Relational Courseware. "All I ever thought about was
cash flow and liquidity," he says, admitting, "there were seven times in
[the company's] eight-year history when I was days or hours away from
payroll and didn't have enough cash to make it."
How did he respond? "In the early days, you could step up and put
expenses on your personal credit card, but that can only go so far," he
says. "You need cash--even if you have the best company and the best
receivables in the world--to fight the battle one more day." Other
strategies he recommends include working with a partner who can
provide cash advances on projects and maintaining close
communication with suppliers.
5. You get into hot water.
Stephane Bourque, founder and CEO of Vancouver, British
Columbia-based Incognito Software, says true entrepreneurial types
are more likely to ask for forgiveness than permission, forging ahead
to address the opportunities or issues they recognize, even without
approval from higher-ups.
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were not necessarily appreciated by his bosses and often were
interpreted as unwanted criticism. Now, he says, "I wish my employees
would get into more trouble," because it shows they are on the
lookout for opportunities to improve themselves or company
operations.
6. You're fearless.
Where most avoid risk, entrepreneurs see potential, says Robert
Irvine, chef and host of Food Network's Restaurant: Impossible. True
'treps are not afraid to leverage their houses and run up their credit
card balances in order to amass the funds they need to create a new
venture. In some ways, he says, they are the ultimate optimists,
because they operate under the belief that their investments of time
and money will eventually pay off.
7. You can't sit still.
Entrepreneurs have unbridled energy that fuels them long past the
time when their employees have gone home. They are eager, excited
and energized about business in a way that makes them stand out.
Irvine would know: He owns a restaurant in South Carolina, is opening
another in the Pentagon and has a line of food and clothing products,
on top of hosting his TV show.
8. You're malleable.
"If you have only one acceptable outcome in mind, your chances of
making it are slim," cautions Rosemary Camposano, president and
CEO of Silicon Valley chain Halo Blow Dry Bars. If you are willing to
listen, your clients will show you which of your products or services
provide the most value.
Her original vision for Halo was part blow-dry bar, part gift shop, "to
help busy women multitask," she explains. But she quickly learned that
the gift shop was causing confusion about the nature of her business,
so she took it out, replaced it with an extra blow-dry chair, and things
took off. Smart entrepreneurs constantly evolve, tweaking their
business concepts in response to market feedback.
9. You enjoy navel gazing.
Without direct supervisors, entrepreneurs need to be comfortable
with the process of evaluating their own performance, says Laura
Novak Meyer, owner of Pennsylvania's Little Nest Portraits. That
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outpaced by competitors. Little Nest surveys every client to ask for
opportunities for improvement, and Meyer has worked closely with a
business coach for the past five years to identify personal areas where
she needs to improve.
10. You're motivated by challenges.
When confronted by problems, many employees try to pass the buck
or otherwise wash their hands of the situation. Entrepreneurs, on the
other hand, rise to the occasion. "Challenges motivate them to work
harder," says Jeff Platt, CEO of the Sky Zone Indoor Trampoline Park
franchise. "An entrepreneur doesn't think anything is insurmountable
He looks adversity in the eye and keeps going."
Candace Nelson, founder of Sprinkles Cupcakes, agrees. Despite
naysayers who questioned her idea for a bakery in the midst of the
carb-fearing early-2000s, she persevered and now has locations in
eight states. In fact, she was one of the first entrepreneurs in a
business that became an ongoing craze, sparking numerous copycats.
11. You consider yourself an outsider.
Entrepreneurs aren't always accepted, says Vincent Petryk, founder of
J.P. Licks, a Boston chain of ice-cream shops. They may be seen as
opinionated, quirky and demanding--but that is not necessarily a bad
thing. "They are often rejected for being different in some way, and
that just makes them work harder," Petryk says. When his former boss
didn't approve of his off-duty research into ice-cream quality, he went
out on his own to develop a made-from-scratch dessert in bold flavors.
Rather than copying what most other ice-cream shops were doing,
including buying from the same well-known suppliers, Petryk forged
his own path. His early competitors? All but one are no longer in
business.
12 . You recover quickly.
It's a popular notion that successful entrepreneurs fail fast and fail
often. For Corcoran, the trick is in the speed of recovery: If you fail,
resist the urge to mope or feel sorry for yourself. Don't wallow; move
on to the next big thing immediately.
13. You fulfill needs.
Many people recognize marketplace holes, but it is the true
entrepreneur who takes them from cocktail napkin to reality, says
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of women began asking for advice and input from co-founder Angela
Jia Kim, she and Dawn created a new product: Savor Circles. These
mastermind groups connect four members who give each other
tailored input and expertise; even better, they provide Savor the
Success with a new revenue stream.
14. You surround yourself with advisors.
Actress Jessica Alba, co-founder and president of Santa Monica,
Calif.-based The Honest Company, which sells baby, home and
personal-care products, notes that "it's important to surround yourself
with people smarter than you and to listen to ideas that aren't yours.
I'm open to ideas that aren't mine and people that know what I don't,
because I think success takes communication, collaboration and,
sometimes, failure."
"Success takes communication,
collaboration and, sometimes, failure."
--Jessica Alba, The Honest Company
In other words: True 'treps don't hire yes men; they talk to those with
experience and conduct thorough research, gathering as much
information as they can to make informed decisions rather than taking
a shot in the dark.
15. You work and play hard.
"Entrepreneurs fall down and pick themselves up until they get it
right," says Micha Kaufman, who snowboards and sails in addition to
running Fiverr, the fast-growth online freelance marketplace he
co-founded.
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You know the type: Micha Kaufman of Fiverr.
Photography by Yanvi Edry
Like in sports, the key to success in business is staying super-focused,
the CEO notes. During Fiverr's launch, instead of trying to deal with
"an endless number of potential challenges," Kaufman and his team
focused on "the single biggest challenge every marketplace has:
building liquidity.
Without liquidity, there is no marketplace. It's like worrying about the
skills needed for frontside-360 jumps before getting on a snowboard
and learning the basics."
Entrepreneurs Passion Personality Traits Insecurity
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