So you want to become an entrepreneur? Believe me, you are not alone. The idea of becoming an entrepreneur has a long history. Entrepreneurship has been around since ancient Babylon when business was governed by some of the oldest set of written commercial laws. The actual word “entrepreneur” is descended from the Latin word, prendere, and later, the French word, pendre, which means ‘to take”. Webster’s dictionary defines an entrepreneur as a person who runs a business at his own financial risk

By definition, any person can become an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurialism is a career option that anybody can pursue provided the right effort. However, to say that any person can become an entrepreneur does not necessarily presuppose that just anyone can be successful at it. So what does it take to achieve entrepreneurial success? Ultimately, I think that the winning combination is great entrepreneurial genes coupled with learned business tools. Successful entrepreneurs are visionaries who are innately able to see opportunities where others do not. However, recognizing opportunities is not enough to carry the entrepreneur through the inevitable challenges of starting a new venture. That requires capability, namely being willing and able to do what needs to be done. The following are several character traits and work ethics that are common among successful entrepreneurs.

• They are visionaries gifted with intuition for opportunity.
• They are overachievers with a passion for venturing.
• They are self-confident and highly competitive with an above average risk-taking tolerance.
• They are attuned to the importance of money and are careful about their finances.
• They are equally motivated by monetary rewards and the internal rewards of creating new ideas the solve real life problems.
• They are extroverted, sociable and charismatic.
• They have a good personal work ethic and are respected as fair players in the business world.

So, do you have what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur?

Personally, I believe that any person with a passion for their venture, desire to succeed and a willingness to work hard, take risks and forgo short term success for long term goals can be a successful entrepreneur.