Characteristics of an Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurs have many of the same character traits as leaders, similar to the early great man theories of leadership; however trait-based theories of entrepreneurship are increasingly being called into question. Entrepreneurs are often contrasted with managers and administrators who are said to be more methodical and less prone to risk-taking. Such person-centric models of entrepreneurship have shown to be of questionable validity, not least as many real-life entrepreneurs operate in teams rather than as single individuals. Still, a vast but now clearly dated literature studying the entrepreneurial personality found that certain traits seem to be associated with entrepreneurs:

• David McClelland (1961) described the entrepreneur as primarily motivated by an overwhelming need for achievement and strong urge to build.
• Collins and Moore (1970) studied 150 entrepreneurs and concluded that they are tough, pragmatic people driven by needs of independence and achievement. They seldom are willing to submit to authority.
• Bird (1992) sees entrepreneurs as mercurial, that is, prone to insights, brainstorms, deceptions, ingeniousness and resourcefulness. they are cunning, opportunistic, creative, and unsentimental.
• Cooper, Woo, & Dunkelberg (1988) argue that entrepreneurs exhibit extreme optimism in their decision-making processes. In a study of 2004 entrepreneurs they report that 81% indicate their personal odds of success as greater than 70% and a remarkable 33% seeing odds of success of 10 out of 10.
• Busenitz and Barney (1997) claim entrepreneurs are prone to overconfidence and over generalisations.
• Cole (1959) found there are four types of entrepreneur: the innovator, the calculating inventor, the over-optimistic promoter, and the organization builder. These types are not related to the personality but to the type of opportunity the entrepreneur faces.

Other characteristics include

• The entrepreneur has an enthusiastic vision, the driving force of an enterprise.
• The entrepreneur's vision is usually supported by an interlocked collection of specific ideas not available to the marketplace.
• The overall blueprint to realize the vision is clear, however details may be incomplete, flexible, and evolving.
• The entrepreneur promotes the vision with enthusiastic passion.
• With persistence and determination, the entrepreneur develops strategies to change the vision into reality.
• The entrepreneur takes the initial responsibility to cause a vision to become a success.
• Entrepreneurs take prudent risks. They assess costs, market/customer needs and persuade others to join and help.
• An entrepreneur is usually a positive thinker and a decision maker.

An entrepreneur needs inspiration, motivation and sensibility.

Source : en.wikipedia.org