10 Traits Every Entrepreneur NEEDS To Be Successful

There are currently 582 MILLION entrepreneurs in the world and that number is growing every day. According to LendingTree.com, 44.5% of entrepreneurs will fail after 4 years and 56.8% will fail after 7 years. 

I believe these people didn’t “fail” but rather gave up because entrepreneurship is not always easy. It’s not a matter of “winning” or “losing” it’s a matter of not giving up and choosing not to settle with a life that’s “OK” or that’s “good enough”. 

You pursued entrepreneurship because you wanted more out of life, saw other people achieving the kind of success you wanted, and decided to go for it even if the odds were against you.

Today, I’m sharing with you 10 traits every entrepreneur NEEDS to be successful so you can build your inner resilience to stay strong even when the journey gets tough.

Let’s dive in!

Why Pursue Entrepreneurship?

Entrepreneurship is one of the most challenging, yet lucrative, journeys we can take in life.

It is meant for the bold and the brave. The people that want more out of life than grinding 8 hours per day for the next 40 years building someone else's dream (who’s an entrepreneur btw).

The reason people fail in entrepreneurship is that it’s hard.

As Ed Mylett said, “Entrepreneurship is the best personal development program you can get”.

Pursuing entrepreneurship will reveal where you’re strong and where you’re weak. You will meet a side of yourself you didn’t know existed. You will be challenged to grow faster (or slower) than you imagined.

You will also become a bigger person inside and out. You will achieve greatness in more ways than just income.

Most people pursue entrepreneurship and “fail” because they couldn’t handle the process of growth or the pressure of change that comes with the title.

Obviously, there are many characteristics that make a successful person, these are just 10 that I’ve personally developed over the years and that has kept me in the game long enough to succeed.

10 Traits Every Entrepreneur Needs To Be Successful

Willingness to Experiment - Even if you’re successful and things are working well, be willing to experiment. It can be better and you can make a bigger impact. Just be sure to have a good foundation of some kind (a job, proven business model, cash reserves, etc).

Enjoy Investing in Yourself (even if it could not work out) - You don’t know what you don’t know. The more we invest in ourselves, the more we can learn, share, and earn. Find joy in investing in courses, coaches, mentors, events, and experiences that will move you closer to your goals. 

Emotional Resilience - WHEN (not if) you fall on your face, get back up. Harrison Ford once said, “If you simply didn't give up, you would outlast the people who came in on the bus with you.”.

Passionate Love For People - Success comes from solving other people's problems. Find the problems lots of people face that you passionately want to solve for them.

An Uncanny Obsession With Winning - People will think you’re crazy but you need to be driven from within. Develop the mindset that it’s not over until you win.

Self Belief - Eleanor Roosevelt once said “All the water in the world can’t drown you unless it gets inside of you”. Your belief in yourself needs to outweigh the disbelief of the world around you.

Persistent Learning - Read and study every day. Consume something productive that moves you closer to your goal (book, podcast, video) before listening to music. 

Strategic Planning - Always have a plan whether it’s good or not. Don’t just wing it. Think before you act, execute, and follow through. By failing to prepare, you’re preparing to fail.” - Benjamin Franklin

Open-Mindedness - Listen to people (successful or not) and show empathy. You will build better relationships, create more connections, and find more opportunities and insight. You never know when a winning idea will strike.

Taking Inspired Action - Action is the separator between those who succeed and those who don’t. Act on the things that intuitively light you up from inside. If you “just know” it will move you closer to your goal, act on it. The person with the best ideas and resources that doesn’t take action will lose to the person who doesn’t have the same resources but acts on the things they learn.

Conclusion

Those are the 10 traits that have helped me stay in the game long enough to see success.

As I said, there are many traits that make up a successful person, these are just 10 that I have personally used in my life and that I know will serve you well.

ACTION STEP: Out of these 10 traits, which one stood out to you? Which ONE do you intuitively feel that, if you worked on it, would move you closer to your goal right now?

Write it down, make a plan, and act on it.