Many successful entrepreneurs have failed in the past.
Steve Jobs was fired from Apple Computers before he became its co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer in 1997. Jobs is widely recognised as a pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s, along with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.
Walt Disney, whose company was valued at $88.18bn in 2015, was reportedly fired by a newspaper editor for not having good ideas and no imagination.
Therefore, experts advise entrepreneurs to be persistent and build essential traits that would help them succeed in the respective ventures.
According to business experts, a powerful sense of passion and interest in the business will drive excellent performance.
In addition, they say being resilient will enable every entrepreneur to overcome challenges and bounce back when faced with setbacks, because entrepreneurship is associated with ups and downs.
Building sustainable ventures is a decision an entrepreneur has to make alone, because no one was born with all the traits but the ability to develop them is a step in the right direction.
Experts have highlighted the traits that entrepreneurs need to possess in order to start and successfully run their businesses.
Ability to take calculated risks
Businesses, especially start-ups face many kinds of risks while some can be avoided, others are unavoidable.
Experts note that good business practices can play a role in minimising the losses new and existing business may suffer from some risks, however, they note that risks cannot be totally eliminated.
A business consultant, Mr. Akinola Oyediran, says that entrepreneurs should be able to confront the risks they face in business and adopt preventive measures to minimise financial losses.
According to him, entrepreneurs are risk takers and should be able to make important business decisions that have high potential of huge financial returns quickly.
“They should be willing to part ways with a job that offers a plush salary and benefits to pursue their idea or business. They should learn of the losses they may incur and purchase the appropriate business insurance to mitigate it,” he says.
Ability to welcome criticism
While most businesses fail because they are regularly criticised, Oyediran says entrepreneurs should be able to endure criticism, because they are unavoidable.
Oyediran observes that the processes involved in building a business is characterised by many challenges, but successful entrepreneurs will always devise means to use every bit of criticism to make themselves better and stronger.
He says, “Prominent business leaders are criticised many times especially when they introduce a new business idea unexpectedly. However, they utilise the criticisms positively, leverage it and adapt it to their benefit.
“Listen attentively when you are being criticized, correct your mistakes and improve on your business performance. Successful leaders know how to identify valid criticism and adapt in order to succeed.”
Have a business focus
Experts say focus is the key to building a successful venture. Successful business managers have testified to the effectiveness of having a focus.
Oyediran says being able to focus implies that the entrepreneur directs all business operations towards achieving set goals, either long-term or short-term.
He says it could also involve defining a product type or a service delivery that is unique thereby creating a niche for the business in the market.
He advises entrepreneurs to build good and lasting relationships, and do everything in their power to help clients get the results they promised.
Have confidence
In order to attract clients and investors into business, experts say business managers need to know the worth of their businesses. According to them, the ability to communicate this convincingly to prospects will lead to massive influx of different business ahen other businesses start to show interest in partnering, entrepreneurs have to be careful in taking decisions so as not to lose focus of their primary objectives. On the other hand, he says taking up the opportunities investors have to offer is a means of diversifying and expanding the venture into other horizons.
He says people who have confidence are able to put in extra efforts to develop their venture. On the other hand, he says people without confidence shy away from marketing opportunities and their ventures may remain dormant as a result.
“Do away with your inadequacies and rather focus on your strengths and make them better. You need to constantly remind yourself of the good qualities you possess,” he says.
Be known as an expert
Business advisors say being known as an expert is another style of prospecting for new business, however, it is in the reverse.
They say instead of finding new and qualified people to sell to, these people will seek you out for your expertise; and the more people seek you out to tap into your expertise, the more the selling and referral opportunities.
In consultancy, which involves solving problems for other businesses, Oyediran says expertise has to be developed.
“Businesses can only consult with you if only they are convinced that you have more accurate information and can render assistance, therefore professionalism is important,” he says.
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