Entrepreneurial Personality Traits – Do You Have What It Takes?
Are you an entrepreneur or want to be one? See if your personality lines up with these entrepreneurial personality traits!
Quick Links:
- TIP: How to tell if you have the core entrepreneurial personality traits [Infographic Download]
- Episode Overview – Is Entrepreneurship For You?
- Episode audio [Podcast on Spotify]
- Blog Post – Entrepreneurial Personality Traits – Do You Have What It Takes?
- Related Posts
TIP: How to tell if you have the core entrepreneurial personality traits
Time needed: 5 minutes
TIP: 5 Entrepreneurial Personality Traits – Do you have what it takes?
- Flexible
Being willing to wear all the hats. And also survive the roller coaster. And the failures and trying something completely new.
- Driven
Initiate projects, ideas and EVERYTHING on our own just because we feel like it. Sometimes to our detriment. But also keeps us going when something doesn’t work.
- Passionate
doesn’t matter if you’re actually an introvert, if you care enough about what you’re doing you’ll really talk to anyone
- Creative
unique ways of doing business as in we will literally make lemonade out of lemons. And sell it. And create an upsell… oh, and a franchise.
- Visionary
We believe in the vision, our calling, and don’t care if people think we’re crazy along the way. We know we will change the world.
What’s In This Episode
Do you have the core personality traits of an entrepreneur? According to a Harvard study, entrepreneurs all have certain personality traits. This week, we’re discussing entrepreneurial personality traits and using them as an opportunity to celebrate the people we are and/or want to be!
Entrepreneurial Personality Traits – Do You Have What It Takes?
We’re not crazy! I repeat we are not crazy! (Okay, maybe a little bit, but let’s be honest. We’re all mad here! But in a good way.) Did you know that all entrepreneurs have similar personality traits? Yes, entrepreneurial personality traits are a real thing. Honestly, I didn’t realize having particular characteristics to be an entrepreneur was a “thing.” So, I decided to do some research on the topic. To my surprise, I found a study by Harvard Business School that stated there are 5 core personality traits entrepreneurs have. While some things may sound a little crazy, we’ll discuss these personality traits and celebrate who we are and/or want to be! Let’s get to it!
An Interesting Study
Are you already an entrepreneur? Or are you thinking of becoming an entrepreneur but don’t know if you have what it takes? Well, I’ll let you in on a secret. You’ve got what it takes! Yup, that’s right! You just have to find the courage to believe in yourself.
Now while you don’t have to possess all of these personality traits outlined by Harvard, we’re going to utilize them as somewhat of a guideline. (And trust me, you’ll realize you’re fit to be an entrepreneur!) Let’s think of these traits as buckets. I’m sure that we all have specific characteristics that fit into each of these buckets. (I’d love for you to share if you have personality traits that align with these things!)
Within this study, the following traits are outlined to be the core entrepreneurial personality traits.
- Openness to experience
- Conscientiousness
- Extraversion
- Agreeableness
- and Neuroticism
Now, I can’t say I was entirely on board with these personality traits when I first read them. Especially the last one listed. Neuroticism? I know that sometimes, as an entrepreneur, we feel completely crazy. (If you say you never have, I call your bluff. There’s nothing wrong with it!) But surely we’re not neurotic, right? No, we’re not. In fact, neuroticism was used to explain how we, as entrepreneurs, often see the big picture. We are willing to do whatever it takes to meet our goal. So, sometimes people look at us and think we’re a little crazy. In a sense, I guess it fits.
Entrepreneurial Personality Traits
Now I know you all know that I love to look for patterns and processes, right? It’s kind of my thing. Well, in true Formula Done fashion, I’m looking for patterns! So, let’s see if these traits, or any of the characteristics I mention in this week’s episode of The Content Toolbox. (It’s right up above if you’d like to listen!) resonate with you!
The Harvard article spoke about many personality traits can fit into these categories. And while I do talk about different personality traits, these are just a couple of my favorites.
Visionary
As entrepreneurs, we have a vision of what we want our businesses (and lives) to look like. And we’re incredibly passionate about this vision that we have. So much so that it might seem a little crazy or neurotic to people on the outside. Our vision is fueled by our passion. We each started our businesses to help someone and feel devoted and dedicated to our cause. We have ideas to change the lives of others, and change their lives we will! So, if that means that along the way, people will think we’re crazy for being extraordinarily passionate about our calling, then so be it! I’d be happy to be called neurotic any day (so long as I’m working to make my vision a reality!).
Flexibility
One of the leading entrepreneurial personality traits is flexibility. Do you wear all the different hats in your business? Of course, you do! To me, flexibility falls into the openness to experience bucket. No one knows your business better than you. So, of course, you wear all the hats!
You’re open to change and able to pivot when you need to. Being flexible keeps you and your business evolving for the better. When opportunity knocks at your door, you’re open to slightly altering your game plan and trying something new. And although sometimes these changes cause failure, you don’t let them hold you down for long. You make a choice to get back up and try something else. Because again, you’re a visionary who’s driven by passion. Fear cannot stand in the way of you and your dream, so you become flexible and move along with grace. In the end, you’re always glad you did!
In The End
Ultimately, there is no right or wrong personality trait to determine if you can be an entrepreneur or not. Personality traits within each person resonate differently. And yes, while you’ll often find that you’re a lot like other entrepreneurs, no 2 people are exactly alike. Don’t let anything deter you from your vision. Your calling is yours for a reason, and you will make a difference in many people’s lives. So here’s to us and the creative, driven, flexible visionaries we are!
Related Posts
Personality Traits of Entrepreneurs: A Review of Recent Literature
Six Personality Traits Of Successful Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurs Reveal the 6 Personality Traits That Make Them Successful
The Best Leadership Traits that Make You a Hit With Your Audience
As an entrepreneur, what is your personality trait that stands out the most and does it fit into any of these buckets?
