Business enterprise - EduqasThe characteristics of an entrepreneur

Entrepreneurs often share a range of characteristics, these include:

• initiative – the willingness to take responsibility, get things done and plan ahead
• organising the business – organising business resources such as employees, money and products
• beinginnovative – developing and creating new products and ideas
• hardworking – willing to work hard in the business, often doing many tasks or working long hours
• risk-taking – all business start-ups come with an element of risk and many people do not wish to take these risks
• communication – entrepreneurs have to be able to talk and present their ideas to many different stakeholders, eg employees, banks, investors and customers
• determination – entrepreneurs have to be resilient and willing to keep going in order to turn their ideas into real products for customers
• decision making – entrepreneurs have to be decisive and make many key decisions such as where to locate their business and who to employ
• leadership – entrepreneurs are not followers, they are innovators who can take an idea and develop it and inspire employees to work and stay with them
• identifyinggaps in the market – being able to spot where their products or services will fit and make a profit