Becoming an entrepreneur takes the right skills and determination to succeed in the long term. There’s no standard formula for this. Having a business degree may not even be necessary in some cases, as long as one makes an effort to learn the skills of the trade along the way.
One study focusing on serial entrepreneurs showed that people who were successful in setting up two or more companies practiced similar approaches.
Study on Serial Entrepreneurs
Authored by Saras D. Sarasvathy of the University of Virginia’s business school, the study found that a determined attitude is a very important factor. Specifically, the study revealed a four-step approach to setting up a business. It is about taking action, learning along the way, building the business and repeating the same steps overtime.
Researcher Saras Sarasvathy noted that successful entrepreneurs are first of all persistent in that they have a strong desire to start a new business. They have their eyes and heart focused on it prompting them to give their best efforts to this particular endeavor.
Secondly, these business owners were found to take small steps in the initial stage of their operations. Unlike the other entrepreneurs who tend to move too fast as they start their business, those who often succeed are those who take one small step at a time towards reaching their objectives.
Thirdly, the author of the study pointed out that determined entrepreneurs always find time to stop and review what they have learned along the way. They take time to evaluate and analyze the things that have occurred in the initial stage of their business considering everything from the positive to the negative.
The fourth step these successful business owners often do is to repeat the process particularly of taking that small step to build the enterprise and learning.
We wanted to find an entrepreneur and see how the research supports real life experiences.
We were able to interview Sanjay Govil. Govil is the founder and chairman of Infinite. Infinite is a provider of Platformized business solutions and next-generation mobile technology. He started Infinite in 1999 on $1000 investment. The company has since had one of the most successful IPOs in 2010 on NSE, and the BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange). The company boasts a revenue of $280M+ in 2014. With this impressive pedigree, Govil embodies the entrepreneurial spirit that startups today are looking to channel. Govil seconds the thought of Paul Brown, co-author of a whitepaper entitled “Just Start: Take Action; Embrace Uncertainty and Create the Future” which was published by Harvard Business REview Press, that indeed, attitude plays a very important role in a person’s chance for success regardless of the field he or she is pursuing.
Govil adds to these thoughts saying that there are 4 Ts to entrepreneurship that future business leaders should keep in mind. They include:
Tenacity- Have belief in the offering portfolio of their business
Technical skill- Possess the technical skills to produce the optimal product
Trusted- Be a trusted partner to your customer. Be a trusted employer to your team members
Team – Build a loyal team that understand the business strategy and has the ability execute accordingly
Other Vital Traits
For his part, startup business expert Jason Bowser believes that strong leadership qualities are essential for anybody wishing to become a successful entrepreneur. In his article published on Minority Business Development Agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bowser pointed out that strong communication skills, a positive work attitude, creative imagination and confidence make a great leader and allow him or her to earn the trust and respect of his team.
A business owner who is highly self-motivated is also sure to hurdle the challenges that he or she may encounter along the way. This type of person normally goes out of his way to take the necessary action to attain the goals of his enterprise. Failures do not stop him or her from pursuing his desires for the business and creating new ideas to come up with unique offerings to his target market.
Another trait that entrepreneurs possess is their competitive spirit. In the business industry where competition is the norm, determined business owners embrace the challenges they face to grow their business and are open to competition throughout their journey.
Originally posted on November 4, 2014 @ 12:17 am