[tekmoney]

I thought up this list while talking to a friend today. Post your top 5 qualities to have to be a great entrepreneur!

1. Integrity - Can people trust you? I feel that this is the top quality to have as an entrepreneur. If you can't keep your promises and are always doing something different than what you say, you're not going to have friends for very long. I think that being successful is all about long term relationships. Its a big world out there, so for one man (or woman) alone, the odds are against you without people you can fall back on or count on.

2. Reliability - I feel that a lot of people in this world are not reliable. There are a lot of promises made, but most of them come too late, or don't come at all. When you're busy, you can't rely on someone who is always late or underdelivering for you, and visa versa. You must always deliver what you promise on time, every time! There are people counting on you!

3. Ability to Problem Solve - Great sales people feed off of "No". They love hearing no so they can squash any doubt. Great entrepreneur's should feed off of problems. Most people will try to avoid problems, but entrepreneurs face them head on. They love the challenge of trying to figure out how to run their business better, or solve a problem that exists in the world today.

4. Unwillingness to Give up - the book "think and grow rich" pretty much is dedicated to teaching people how to never give up. The average millionare goes bankrupt 3.2 times in their lifetime. The greatest sports stories always happen when the odds are against the under dog! Giving up means that you've thrown in the towel, so there are no more chances to succeed. But no matter how bad the pressure and negativity is, if you truly believe in yourself, and you don't give up, then eventually the opportunity will arrise where you will break through and succeed.

5. Being a Creature of Good Habits - This applies to everyone. Humans are creatures of habit. the people who die of heart and lung disease die because they're obese or they smoke. Those are bad habits that have been "stoned" into their brains and they can't shake them, then its too late. If you're a person who has developed good habits (I'm being very Tony Robbins here), then you can accomplish anything. Habits are all about setting goals. If your goal is to earn 100,000 this year, then you must break down your goal in a daily, acheivable routine that you follow everyday. If you've set everything up right, then you've gotten to your goal before you know it. If your habit is to read an hour a day, then you're reading 50 more books a year than the average American.

That's it for now. I'm wired on coffee and just felt like writing. You can agree or disagree

[Bestmiler]

thats a good start but there are obviously more. however those are 5 important qualities

[akula]

good start

this approach to analysis may have a snag because people can open the dictionary, get a list of flattering qualities and then find some facts to justify these qualities being important to entrepreneurship

the better approach is to go inverse and identify all qualities which DO NOT make good entrepreneurs

This approach is better because a) if the quality is positive, everyone will agree that it's good (who wouldn't agree that "Ability to Problem Solve" is not important?) and b) because it's more practical. any one can say "I'm a good problem solver/reliable/persistent ets, so it is unlikely that people will make change to their behaviour if the guidelines are positive (i.e. DO this) and opposed to negative (DO NOT do this)

anyway...qualities that are NOT good for entrepreneurship

1. Space Invaders Entrepreneurship: I've found that companies who are started by entrepreneurs with no prior experience is that particular industry, do not fare very well

Do not do what you do not know

If the decision is about doing something familiar and boring, versus new and exciting, stick with the mundane

Curb the enthusiasm

People with "pie in the sky" ideas do not make good entrepreneurs

Stick to what you know

[ramone_johnny]

Where the hell was creativity in that list?

RJ

[akula]

that's exactly my point

in its current form the list can go on forever, unless it's inversed

then there is a limit

[ramone_johnny]

Akula,
Theres an issue with your Skype image mate - I cant see it and its pushing the table border over.

http://youngentrepreneur.com/forum/i...c/im_skype.gif

RJ

[narcotiks]

they are definately good qualities to have. you have to remember though, entrepreneurs get to where they are because they have a thorough understanding of their industry. its no use being a mechanic without experience. having experience will give you that extra edge over your competition.