What characteristics do successful entrepreneurs share?

"Having a great concept is not enough. An entrepreneur must be able to develop and manage the company that implements his or her idea. Being an entrepreneur requires special drive, perseverance, passion, and a spirit of adventure, in addition to managerial and technical ability. Entrepreneurs are the company; they tend to work longer hours, take fewer vacations, and cannot leave problems at the office at the end of the day. They also share other common characteristics as described in the next section. Studies of the entrepreneurial personality find that entrepreneurs share certain key traits. Most entrepreneurs are\n\n• Ambitious: They are competitive and have a high need for achievement.\n\n• Independent: They are individualists and self-starters who prefer to lead rather than follow.\n\n• Self-confident: They understand the challenges of starting and operating a business and are decisive and confident in their ability to solve problems.\n\n• Risk-takers: Although they are not averse to risk, most successful entrepreneurs favor business opportunities that carry a moderate degree of risk where they can better control the outcome over highly risky ventures where luck plays a large role.\n\n• Visionary: Their ability to spot trends and act on them sets entrepreneurs apart from small-business owners and managers.\n\n• Creative: To compete with larger firms, entrepreneurs need to have creative product designs, bold marketing strategies, and innovative solutions to managerial problems.\n\n• Energetic: Starting and operating a business takes long hours. Even so, some entrepreneurs start their companies while still employed full-time elsewhere.\n\n• Passionate. Entrepreneurs love their work, as Miho Inagi demonstrated by opening a bagel shop in Tokyo despite the odds against it being a success.\n\n• Committed. Because they are so committed to their companies, entrepreneurs are willing to make personal sacrifices to achieve their goals.\n\nMost entrepreneurs combine many of the above characteristics. Sarah Levy, 23, loved her job as a restaurant pastry chef but not the low pay, high stress, and long hours of a commercial kitchen. So she found a new one—in her parents’ home—and launched Sarah’s Pastries and Candies. Part-time staffers help her fill pastry and candy orders to the soothing sounds of music videos playing in the background. Cornell University graduate Conor McDonough started his own web design firm, OffThePathMedia.com, after becoming disillusioned with the rigid structure of his job. “There wasn’t enough room for my own expression,” he says. “Freelancing keeps me on my toes,” says busy graphic artist Ana Sanchez. “It forces me to do my best work because I know my next job depends on my performance.”"