8 ms·

Are You An Entrepreneur? My five traits of an entrepreneur.

43 points by spencerfry 17y ago

spencerfry 17y ago
They are: Self-Motivation Persistence Plays Well With Others Attention To Detail Quick Thinking
- SlyShy 17y ago
  My question to you is: Are these ever not good traits for someone to have? I chuckle whenever I see this kind of post, because saying "having <positive trait> makes you better for <something>" is a non-statement--that's the definition of a positive trait. These analyses would be more interesting if they were about qualities that aren't pure benefit. Would having a short attention span be of benefit, because you constantly work on the most profitable venture and never get stuck on something without potential? Or are the drawbacks too great? Is it good to be controlling of employees, because you want something done exactly right, or is it too annoying?
- jacquesm 17y ago
  Self motivation could simply be greed or envy. You can be an entrepreneur just fine when you think slowly, are sloppy and do not play well with others. I don't even think it is a measure of success. For me that leaves persistence. Another one that is hard to define is 'start-up', I've seen it used here from one end of the spectrum (where I would use 'hobby project', 'trial balloon' or something like that) all the way to million dollar+ in turnover, funded and now self-sustaining entity (something that I would call a mid size company).
  - spencerfry 17y ago
    In no way can you be greedy, sloppy, slow, and not play well with others. Those are all traits that are going to lead to your eventual downfall. They're all negative traits that will prohibit your company from growing and ultimately being a success.
    - jacquesm 17y ago
      I can cite you off-hand at least 10 examples of not-so-nice people that made it big in business, I have a real problem finding more than 3 that I think are or were successful and that are very nice people. It may be just my experience. But the Dilbert series has to ring true to so many people for a reason.
      - gvb 17y ago
        Dilbert lives in a cube farm in a large corporation. Neither he nor his co-workers are entrepreneurs. Dilbert rings true because so many people live in cube farms and many entrepreneurs have escaped cube farms. Based on your other comments, it appears you live in or escaped from a cube farm yourself. Your comment "people that made it big in business" is telling... at the point someone has made it big in business, their business is likely to be big and they are not likely an entrepreneur any more.
        jacquesm 17y ago
        > Based on your other comments, it appears you live in or escaped from a cube farm yourself. Hilarious :) Would you mind citing the comments that gave you the impression I live in or have escaped from a cube farm ? > at the point someone has made it big in business, their business is likely to be big and they are not likely an entrepreneur any more. So, someone who has a large business is not an entrepreneur ?
        gvb 17y ago
        Would you mind citing the comments that gave you the impression I live in or have escaped from a cube farm? You said you were a boss and appreciate Dilbert. Good predictors, but apparently not flawless. ;-) So, someone who has a large business is not an entrepreneur? That is not a disjoint set, but it is a very small set. The qualities spencerfry talks about, I associate with small businesses. Spencerfry (now) says this explicitly in a comment on his web page.
        17y ago
jacquesm 17y ago
- somewhat independent - money earned outside of employment forms the basis for day to day life - looks towards creating value in equity or goodwill rather than take-home pay - long term view - re-invests a substantial portion of proceeds of previous successes in to future projects There are probably as many definitions of entrepreneur as there are entrepreneurs!
edw519 17y ago
I love posts like this and can never get enough of the good ones. Even if they say a lot of the same things, they are so important that they bear repeating. The more I read them, though, the more I realize that these "traits" are not really the cause of anything. They are the result of something bigger, something I describe like, "when you absolutely, positively must get that thing done". Once you adopt the attitude that you have to do something, you change. Sometimes you even surprise yourself. You find yourself doing things you couldn't previously imagine. You find yourself with much more energy when you least expect it, becoming the person you have to be to get done what must be done. The sentence that best describes this attitude is, "I am willing to do whatever it takes to get what I want." And the metaphor I love is, "At what point do you give up trying to teach your child to walk?" I believe we get Self-Motivation, Persistence, Plays Well With Others, Attention to Detail, Quick Thinking, and whatever else we need as soon as we decide that we have to do something. Then these character traits help us get it done. Personally, I can't imagine not doing my start-up. It's that important to me. Others have criticized this attitude by saying that you won't know when to quit when you should. Fine. I can live with that.
- jacquesm 17y ago
  I don't get it though, why does 'plays well with others' make one an entrepreneur ? Jack asses routinely score big. Sometimes bigger than their 'nice' counterparts. What about attention to detail ? The perfect is the enemy of the good, if you spend lots of attention to detail you'll never ship product. There is such a thing as 'too good'. I would say that there is an optimum level of attention to detail. More and it won't pay off, less and you will give the customer a less than good experience. Quick thinking ? I'd rather have 'good' thinking than 'quick' any day. Persistence is an absolute must, I can see that one. To keep going, especially in the face of disappointment or adversarial circumstances.
  - spencerfry 17y ago
    "Playing well with others" is very important if you're trying to build a large scale business with lots of employees. From my article: "If you want to build something large and successful, you'll need to know how to delegate tasks, step aside for others that know more than you, and generally be more of a leader and less of a know-it-all." Basically, I could have more crudely phrased it as "Don't Be An Asshole". Nobody likes working for one and it'll lead you down a path to failure.
EGF 17y ago
This is a great roundup of what traits you need. One other I will add is the ability to give and get feedback. This is slightly different than "plays well with others" because it is the ability to take and iterate on feedback from 1. your market, 2. your potential users 3. your friends and family and 4. everyone else. This is helpful in the early stages for product justification but also later on when larger decisions come up. You have to know how to seperate the advice from those that just don't believe you can achieve what you set out to do. This is turning into its own blog post so ill stop there...
ryanwaggoner 17y ago
I used to love posts like this, but now I see them for what they are: something to read so you feel good about being an entrepreneur, instead of actually starting or building your business. Here's my own version: Are you an entrepreneur? Do you have a business? Then congratulations, you're an entrepreneur. Don't have a business? Start one, and then you'll be an entrepreneur.
moron4hire 17y ago
only 5, huh?
gruseom 17y ago
Do entrepreneurs really ponder lists of traits of entrepreneurs in order to decide whether they are one?

43 points by spencerfry 17y ago

spencerfry 17y ago

They are: Self-Motivation Persistence Plays Well With Others Attention To Detail Quick Thinking

SlyShy 17y ago
My question to you is: Are these ever not good traits for someone to have? I chuckle whenever I see this kind of post, because saying "having <positive trait> makes you better for <something>" is a non-statement--that's the definition of a positive trait. These analyses would be more interesting if they were about qualities that aren't pure benefit. Would having a short attention span be of benefit, because you constantly work on the most profitable venture and never get stuck on something without potential? Or are the drawbacks too great? Is it good to be controlling of employees, because you want something done exactly right, or is it too annoying?
jacquesm 17y ago
Self motivation could simply be greed or envy. You can be an entrepreneur just fine when you think slowly, are sloppy and do not play well with others. I don't even think it is a measure of success. For me that leaves persistence. Another one that is hard to define is 'start-up', I've seen it used here from one end of the spectrum (where I would use 'hobby project', 'trial balloon' or something like that) all the way to million dollar+ in turnover, funded and now self-sustaining entity (something that I would call a mid size company).
- spencerfry 17y ago
  In no way can you be greedy, sloppy, slow, and not play well with others. Those are all traits that are going to lead to your eventual downfall. They're all negative traits that will prohibit your company from growing and ultimately being a success.
  - jacquesm 17y ago
    I can cite you off-hand at least 10 examples of not-so-nice people that made it big in business, I have a real problem finding more than 3 that I think are or were successful and that are very nice people. It may be just my experience. But the Dilbert series has to ring true to so many people for a reason.
    - gvb 17y ago
      Dilbert lives in a cube farm in a large corporation. Neither he nor his co-workers are entrepreneurs. Dilbert rings true because so many people live in cube farms and many entrepreneurs have escaped cube farms. Based on your other comments, it appears you live in or escaped from a cube farm yourself. Your comment "people that made it big in business" is telling... at the point someone has made it big in business, their business is likely to be big and they are not likely an entrepreneur any more.
      - jacquesm 17y ago
        > Based on your other comments, it appears you live in or escaped from a cube farm yourself. Hilarious :) Would you mind citing the comments that gave you the impression I live in or have escaped from a cube farm ? > at the point someone has made it big in business, their business is likely to be big and they are not likely an entrepreneur any more. So, someone who has a large business is not an entrepreneur ?
        gvb 17y ago
        Would you mind citing the comments that gave you the impression I live in or have escaped from a cube farm? You said you were a boss and appreciate Dilbert. Good predictors, but apparently not flawless. ;-) So, someone who has a large business is not an entrepreneur? That is not a disjoint set, but it is a very small set. The qualities spencerfry talks about, I associate with small businesses. Spencerfry (now) says this explicitly in a comment on his web page.
        17y ago

jacquesm 17y ago

- somewhat independent - money earned outside of employment forms the basis for day to day life - looks towards creating value in equity or goodwill rather than take-home pay - long term view - re-invests a substantial portion of proceeds of previous successes in to future projects There are probably as many definitions of entrepreneur as there are entrepreneurs!

edw519 17y ago

I love posts like this and can never get enough of the good ones. Even if they say a lot of the same things, they are so important that they bear repeating. The more I read them, though, the more I realize that these "traits" are not really the cause of anything. They are the result of something bigger, something I describe like, "when you absolutely, positively must get that thing done". Once you adopt the attitude that you have to do something, you change. Sometimes you even surprise yourself. You find yourself doing things you couldn't previously imagine. You find yourself with much more energy when you least expect it, becoming the person you have to be to get done what must be done. The sentence that best describes this attitude is, "I am willing to do whatever it takes to get what I want." And the metaphor I love is, "At what point do you give up trying to teach your child to walk?" I believe we get Self-Motivation, Persistence, Plays Well With Others, Attention to Detail, Quick Thinking, and whatever else we need as soon as we decide that we have to do something. Then these character traits help us get it done. Personally, I can't imagine not doing my start-up. It's that important to me. Others have criticized this attitude by saying that you won't know when to quit when you should. Fine. I can live with that.

jacquesm 17y ago
I don't get it though, why does 'plays well with others' make one an entrepreneur ? Jack asses routinely score big. Sometimes bigger than their 'nice' counterparts. What about attention to detail ? The perfect is the enemy of the good, if you spend lots of attention to detail you'll never ship product. There is such a thing as 'too good'. I would say that there is an optimum level of attention to detail. More and it won't pay off, less and you will give the customer a less than good experience. Quick thinking ? I'd rather have 'good' thinking than 'quick' any day. Persistence is an absolute must, I can see that one. To keep going, especially in the face of disappointment or adversarial circumstances.
- spencerfry 17y ago
  "Playing well with others" is very important if you're trying to build a large scale business with lots of employees. From my article: "If you want to build something large and successful, you'll need to know how to delegate tasks, step aside for others that know more than you, and generally be more of a leader and less of a know-it-all." Basically, I could have more crudely phrased it as "Don't Be An Asshole". Nobody likes working for one and it'll lead you down a path to failure.

EGF 17y ago

This is a great roundup of what traits you need. One other I will add is the ability to give and get feedback. This is slightly different than "plays well with others" because it is the ability to take and iterate on feedback from 1. your market, 2. your potential users 3. your friends and family and 4. everyone else. This is helpful in the early stages for product justification but also later on when larger decisions come up. You have to know how to seperate the advice from those that just don't believe you can achieve what you set out to do. This is turning into its own blog post so ill stop there...

ryanwaggoner 17y ago

I used to love posts like this, but now I see them for what they are: something to read so you feel good about being an entrepreneur, instead of actually starting or building your business. Here's my own version: Are you an entrepreneur? Do you have a business? Then congratulations, you're an entrepreneur. Don't have a business? Start one, and then you'll be an entrepreneur.

moron4hire 17y ago

only 5, huh?

gruseom 17y ago

Do entrepreneurs really ponder lists of traits of entrepreneurs in order to decide whether they are one?