Why Most “Do You Have What It Takes To Be An Entrepreneur” Articles Are a Waste of Time

Posted by Adam_Gottlieb under Self-Development
From http://frugalentrepreneur.com 4935 days ago

Go to most business-related sites and chances are you'll find a post or two about the qualities of a successful entrepreneur; you may even find a test to take. But are these lists really accurate or worthwhile?

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Written by ronika
4934 days ago

Great points, Adam. Completely agree that an entrepreneur/small business owner cannot be reduced to the sum of their parts. What works for some does not work for others. That being said, I would like add that(in my experience as a business owner) most successful entrepreneurs tend to have a heightened alertness to potential opportunities.

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Written by businessavante
4935 days ago

Excellent, Adam.

To use a Boxing analogy, lots of guys seem great at first - they may even seem unbeatable. But what happens the 1st times they're tested, when things don't go as usual - the guy Doesn't fall when you hit 'im w/everything you've got, and you're getting hammered instead? Some don't know what to do & get KO'd from sheer lack of experience in being on the receiving end (Tommy Hearns in the 1st Leonard fight is a classic example). Others "suck it up", hold out, and eventually fight back maybe for the win (called "heart" in Boxing - like Archie Moore-Yvon Durelle I in '58). I think a lot of people don't know how they'll ultimately react under serious pressure - whether succeeding is ultimately the most important thing - but at least in business, your not gettin' your clock cleaned!

Duncan

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Written by Adam_Gottlieb
4935 days ago

Great analogy, Duncan...

Aside from the technical qualities like strength, speed, physique, and skill, there are two things that make a really good boxer: 1. How he handles when he's getting smashed. It's not just about being able to defend himself; it's about what's going on in his head. A good boxer knows how to pick himself up- even of it doesn't happen in that round, or even in that fight. He still wants to keep fighting and he still believes that he can win. And 2. How much does he really want to win in the first place.

You're right, pressure and setbacks have a great way of forcing a person to see where he's really holding, and I agree that many people go into entrepreneurship full of hopes, but then quickly realize it's just not for them as the realities of running a business set in. Just hopefully for them they're not getting "cleaned" in other ways.

Adam

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Written by yoni67
4935 days ago

Although I did extremely well on the verbal and comprehension sections of the SAT, I BOMBED the math section...I think I got a 225 out of 800; most of the reason that I ended up going to WVU :)

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Written by yoni67
4935 days ago

My nightmare scenario was always:

Train A leaves the station traveling west at 77 mph. Train B leaves the station traveling east at 46 mph. At what time do they meet/

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

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Written by yoni67
4935 days ago

Adam,

Awesome article and great list. You are correct that we are told that there is a certain mold that we have to fit into in order to do something and succeed.

When I was in seventh grade, I still had an undiagnosed math disability. I still can't do simple math without a calculator. We had a guidance counselor in school who called my mother in and told her I was stupid. He said the only avenue for me would be a vocational career and even went so far as to suggest that truck driving would be a great career possibility for me. Again, the mold.

Being an entrepreneur does take qualities, but even with some of them the road to success is possible. What I think you really need is a dream and the proverbial fire in your belly. For me also, I fed off the energy of people telling me it could not be done. Writing is too competitive they would say, and the market is too saturated. Then there were the statistics of small business failure...they gave me even more motivation to prove something.

And then there are those who score a 100% on the entrepreneurial checklist and still don't make it.

Great thought-provoking article!

Yoni

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Written by Adam_Gottlieb
4935 days ago

Yoni,

It's amazing how these "molds" can affect how others view us as well as how we view ourselves. It's very hard to break a socially-accepted mold, even though many times it's appropriate.

The case of your seventh grade counselor is extreme... and dangerous (IMO, that person should not have become a counselor in the first place, let alone of kids).

My point: as much value as there is in seeking outside advice, corroberation, and yes, sometimes *even* those molds, at the end of the day, a person has to look inside to know where he should be going- whether in business or in life.

Thanks for sharing and commenting,

Adam

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