Do You Have An Entrepreneurial Spirit? 10 Signs To Look Out For
There are two types of people in the world.
Entrepreneurs and everyone else.
How many times have you watched Shark Tank and thought, “Why didn’t I think of that?!” Those with an entrepreneurial spirit love to create things. This special group of people likes to live on their own terms. They are beings who have a flair for solving problems and coming up with out-of-the-box solutions to problems.
These individuals demonstrate a true passion for building something great from nothing and they are willing to push themselves to the limits to achieve big goals. However, the sad thing is that you might have what it takes to be an entrepreneur but never really knew if it was a possibility since you have never done anything you deem as entrepreneurial.
You might get tons of great ideas everyday, but do you ever wish to take your dreams further and actually turn your idea into a successful business? If you show most of these signs, believe us you are ready to take the leap from the 9 to 5 into entrepreneurship!
1. You Love A Good Challenge
If you harbor an entrepreneurial spirit, chances are you have a competitive nature and never shy away from a challenge, be it facing your fears, writing an inspirational book, or competing in a Spartan Race. Not only do you embrace challenges that come your way, you put in every ounce of your efforts to surpass your goals and grow your business.
This competitiveness gives you the motivation to hold steady in the face of adversity, which will come in handy during your startup phase. In fact, Ernst & Young conducted a survey of 65 entrepreneurs, in which perseverance turned out to be the most common trait of successful people.
2. You Are Always Questioning How Things Can Be Done Better
As Mark Twain once said, “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” Ordinary people tend to go with the flow and are content with how things are. They rarely bother to concentrate on how ordinary things can be improved. However, if you have an entrepreneurial spirit, you can’t help yourself from questioning why things are done the way they are or making efforts to change things for the better.
Even at your workplace, you always come up with new ideas on how existing products could be improved. You might be the first one to suggest how an app can be made better so it’s more user-friendly, or how a recipe can be tweaked so it’s healthier and time efficient.
3. You Are Highly Optimistic
An entrepreneurial spirit is synonymous with optimism. Instead of dwelling on your shortcomings or saying that you “can’t do” something, you find ways to actually do that thing, even if the odds seem against you. When you are starting your own business, the chances of success seem rather flimsy. But since the idea of big goals and aggressive challenges excites you, you will inevitably push the boundaries of what others deem impossible.
On the other hand, a pessimistic spirit will put a damper over your creativity and thwart your mind from coming up with new solutions and ideas. Pessimistic individuals while away their time fretting over the risks, setbacks, inabilities, weaknesses, and potential losses. This is the last thing you need as a young entrepreneur. Rising above the ever-present threats is what sets you apart.
4. You Are Curious
Perhaps you drove your parents crazy with questions like “Why is the sky blue?” or “Why can’t I eat cake for breakfast?” but curiosity is what made a lot of entrepreneurs very wealthy. What sets many successful entrepreneurs apart is their ability to challenge the status quo and find new solutions to everyday problems and innovative products that others haven’t thought of yet.
Curiosity is the key to becoming an entrepreneur. With your sense of wonder, you will be able to anticipate challenges even before they arise and then solve them in a way that others can’t.
5. You See The Bigger Picture
Entrepreneurs can’t afford to be bogged down by petty matters. If seeing the bigger picture comes naturally to you, you have an entrepreneurial spirit. As entrepreneur Zach Benson says, “being a visionary means having the conviction that you can make what you desire a reality.”
6. You’re Goal Oriented
Personal accountability, leadership, and persuasion are all the traits of successful entrepreneurs, but so is being goal oriented. Technically, goal orientation is the ability to stay laser focused on meeting an objective, mission or a goal. If you think that you are most productive when working hand-in-hand with others to achieve goals, or if you can do whatever it takes to overcome obstacles to reach goals, you surely have an entrepreneurial spirit.
7. You Are A Hustler
The most successful entrepreneurs embrace the hustle. Be it under any situation, these individuals are hardly ever outworked. The hustlers of the world are the ones who request the meetings that others think will be rejected, make decisions when so much is at stake, and make the phone calls that make other nervous. When these individuals see something they want, they become determined to realize their dream. Whether you already have a side hustle or are looking to get started, the struggle is within you.
8. You Are Persuasive
Maybe you were the kid who could always talk their way out of detention, or the captain of the debate team, or always the group leader on projects, your power of persuasion can be put to good use as an entrepreneur. A research founded that all serial entrepreneurs had a far greater power of persuasion than average humans.
From convincing potential clients that they need your product to proving how your services far excel your competitors, your success as an entrepreneur depends on how well you can persuade others to buy.
9. You Take Calculated Risks
Not only do they work with a “glass half full approach”, entrepreneurs are susceptible to a high tolerance for risk. However, in no way does it mean that they act impulsively or jump on trends blindly. Those with an entrepreneurial spirit make calculated moves, all the while keeping the prospect of failure at the forefront of their minds. They are highly decisive and are able to work autonomously.
10. You Are A Doer
An entrepreneurial spirit is a doing mindset. Such a go-getter mindset propels you to get what was planned done, and finish what you started. A lot of aspiring entrepreneurs are excellent thinkers and innovators, but without a “doing” ingredient in your mentality, ideas and viable opportunities count for nothing. This is because ideas are meaningless until they are acted on. You have to actualize your plans or see those jewels waste away.
We see plenty of young entrepreneurs with budding ventures fade into the background because of failing to materialize their ideas. This procrastination could stem from a pessimistic view of their ventures or a hesitation to take risks. Furthermore, a complacent character is a recipe for slow growth and even failure.
The truth is that you can never predict if your venture will fail or succeed. Only by executing it, will you test the waters, learn the tricks of the trade and become a better entrepreneur.
11. You Are Confident
It takes tons of confidence in your entrepreneurial dreams and yourself to be able to confront your fears and take action. Every entrepreneur has found themselves up against tremendous odds and surrounded by naysayers at least once in their lives. To only way to combat this is to truly believe in your product and your abilities to sell it successfully.
Like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, your thick skin and unwavering confidence will inevitably pay off when you’re going through the ups and downs of starting your own business.
12. You Are A Rebel
The most creative entrepreneurs are risk takers and rule breakers. Like we have already discussed, they challenge assumptions instead of taking things at face value and present radical new solutions to everyday problems. In fact, a study even found that a high percentage of entrepreneurs admitted to engaging in vandalism, shoplifting, use of marijuana, and other illicit activities in their youth. If you have a “break-the-rules” attitude too, you might be cut out to become a millionaire.
