Analysis of Characteristic Traits and Skills of an Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is a person involved in identifying problems facing consumers, seeking solutions to such challenges, and establishing an invention that can resolve the issue. All the financial risks incurred by having a company are all assumed by the business owner. An entrepreneur can employ staff to assist in taking care of the company. Moreover, an entrepreneur has sole control over the firm (Patel, 2011).

Differences between an Entrepreneur and a Manager

There are vast differences that exist between an entrepreneur and a manager. A manager is responsible for supervising work of other staff members within an organization. He ensures that each employee is given necessary tasks to undertake, and that work is completed within the set deadline. Moreover, a manager may assume a lot of roles and enjoy higher pay than other employees. However, the fact remains that he/she is still an employee and not the owner of the company. One crucial trait an entrepreneur possesses is passion. The main aim of establishing a company is to make profits. However, an entrepreneur is also entitled to incur losses. Setting up a business is usually very difficult as a lot of money, time, and efforts are required (Patel, 2011).

Motivational Drivers of Successful Entrepreneurs

For a business to be successful, the owner should ensure that he/she is dedicated to working hard. Business people don’t have managers to supervise and push them to complete specific tasks. Entrepreneurs usually communicate the dreams they want to achieve. This inspires employees to assist in the accomplishment of such goals. A good businessperson is always focused on what he/she wants. For instance, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, started the company with the knowledge that his business would focus on only one aspect of selling books online. As such, Amazon invested heavily in innovations that allowed it to advance its online customer experience. Amazon is now the leading online bookselling company since it was able to focus on its priorities which ensured that its mission was achieved.

An entrepreneur does not view the world the same way as other people do. Businesses are successful due to the ideas that are developed and implemented by owners who created them. Entrepreneurs are usually not satisfied at the point they have reached, and, thus, they always come up with new ideas to improve their businesses. Many businesses are usually faced with risks. This may discourage people who want to start their own companies. A successful entrepreneur is typically aware of such risks and always willing to go through various challenges to become successful. Problems for them are viewed as new opportunities for learning and improving businesses (Patel, 2011).

A successful businessperson should be optimistic and always focus on the future. A prosperous business is one which is goal-oriented, and people work towards the achievement of the set goals. Objective setting is usually not enough without planning. As such, an entrepreneur should be a willful person. For instance, Alibaba founder, Jack Ma, is currently worth billions of dollars. Even though his application for nearly thirty jobs were all rejected, he did not lose hope; Jack went on to found Alibaba. A reasonable investor should be mindful of people working for him. For instance, Howard Schultz, an Executive Chairman at Starbucks, made sure that his employees receive generous benefits.

It has been noted that creativity is a skill that each entrepreneur must possess. Creativity is crucial for success in business as the company gains a significant competitive advantage over its rivals. When an entrepreneur comes up with the idea that is efficient, he/she stands to gain an advantage over his rivals. New ideas have resulted in the improvement of the existing products. This ensures that the product can meet the demand of customers; it is meant to serve. It is often said that entrepreneurs are not born, but instead, they are made.

Many personal attributes possessed by entrepreneurs were developed during their tender ages, with their families playing a very crucial role. As such, the majority of entrepreneurs are raised by parents that own businesses. Education is also a vital tool in any business. Although it is not necessary for starting a business, it gives a good foundation for the growth of the company. Communicating with clients both in written and spoken form may prove to be difficult when one has not acquired education. Lack of knowledge is considered as a barrier to entrepreneurship. Age is a significant factor when starting a business. Investors who tend to start businesses at their young ages are more successful than ones that do so later on in their lives (Patel, 2011).

Steve Jobs was arguably one of the successful entrepreneurs ever known. His passion for hard work and attitude are the primary reasons why Apple is a profitable organization today. Steve was very abrasive. He would shout at his employees when they did not work according to his standards. During interviews, he would often embarrass candidates. Steve believes that anyone who does not like his personality is allowed to give his/her opinion and vice-versa. Though this was not a positive trait, Steve Jobs did not let anyone discourage him on his dream, thus making him the man we admire today (Allthatsinteresting.com).

Since childhood, Jobs viewed peace of mind to be very important. Jobs even took a trip to India for him to get spiritual enlightenment, and always liked to meditate. Steve Jobs was a perfectionist. He ensured that everything that Apple created met his expectations. He once rejected a prototype due to its weight. Steve Jobs believed in secrecy. Designers would be placed into small groups and often worked in different areas. Workers would be sacked without any notice if they gave out company secrets. Steve Jobs’ character traits ensured that Apple was very successful.

Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft Company, is also a successful entrepreneur. Bill Gates is a philanthropic person having started the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates likes reading as he views it as a way of learning new things. Bill Gates believed in himself and worked on his ideas even though people thought they would not be possible. Gates was daring as he lied to a company he had developed a software, which was not the case. This made him and his friend, Paul Allen, to improve the software quickly and presented it to the company. That was the first sale Bill Gates made, and Microsoft was later formed.

Despite all the success he enjoyed, his leadership style had a lot of adverse effects. Workers were often subjected to fear and verbal abuse. Steve Jobs was also against offering donations despite massive profits recorded by the company. Apple employees working overseas experienced long working hours, and others were even below the working age. Jobs also insisted that employees be let off without notice. As such, some of these radical measures he undertook were the reasons the board kicked him out of Apple Company.

Works Cited

Allthatsinteresting.com “10 Surprisingly Dark Truths About Steve Jobs And Apple”. All That’s Interesting, 2014. Retrieved from https://allthatsinteresting.com/steve-jobs-dark-truths

Patel, Deep, 2011 “10 Personality Traits Of Legendary Entrepreneurs”. Entrepreneur, 2011, https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/310026.