What are the qualities of a good entrepreneur?   Is it the entrepreneur or the idea that leads to success?

Just to be sure we are thinking of the same definition, here’s a standard one  from dictionary.com:

“A person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk”

There are many well known and broadly communicated success stories of people who started a business with minimal resources and became huge successes. ( Apple, Microsoft, Blackberry, etc.)

What is not as widely publicized are the  details of the failures – that is to say what was tried and how it failed.  Of course from a big picture perspective  the failure rate for entrepreneurial start-ups is pegged around 90% ish (depending on whose study you read)  so the likelihood of succeeding is known to be low and readily available in public media.  However, the stories of what did people try and why did it not work are usually not the topic of books, articles, talk shows, etc.  (I guess general in our culture failure is not celebrated).

Stories about lack of success are the opposite of the success stories, however, both examples can help understand what kind of skills, values and approaches form the underpinning of successfully building a business.  It would also help put some perspective on how much of success was attributed to good ideas and how much to the entrepreneur themselves.

The athlete model

While I don’t have a bunch of data or reference points proving my own view, I still believe the majority of the success lies with the entrepreneur themselves.

Consider successful athletes at the top of their sports.   Those in the top ten are probably equally skilled and capable but the athlete that rises to the very top succeeds through motivation and drive.  They vision the win and then they win.  Of course this is not an absolute philosophy but I wager that on the whole it the most critical success factor – believe in yourself, don’t doubt, don’t question – just proceed.

My favorite summary of this attitude is the simple quote from the Yoda character in the Star Wars film series – “There is no try, just do or do not. ”

Is there a point to this post?

Today’s message is short, brief and pointed – trust in yourself, if you think you can, then you can!