Entrepreneurship is a major driver of the national economy. Economic well-being is created by small businesses pioneered by individuals who are insightful and have an entrepreneurial mental attitude. Keep in mind that many of these small businesses then develop into medium and large-scale businesses. This is natural because successful entrepreneurs prove to us that they have many opportunities to realize creativity, high self-confidence, and have the ability to manage their own lives. Therefore, successful businessmen, political leaders, economists and educators believe that encouraging the growth of an entrepreneurial culture will maximize economic well-being for himself and community groups on a local, national and global scale. This article aims to explore what are 15 mental attitudes of successful entrepreneurs.
An entrepreneur views that no success comes instantly. Success can only be achieved through a long process. According to Scarborough (2012:4-5) entrepreneur is one who creates a new business in the face of risk and uncertainty for the purpose of achieving profit and growth by identifying opportunities and assembling the necessary resources to capitalize on those opportunities. Entrepreneurs usually start with an idea – even a simple idea – and then allocate the resources necessary to turn the idea into a sustainable business.
Researchers have gone through the time and effort of the last few decades to study entrepreneurs and try to portray entrepreneurial-minded personalities. The results of their research conclude a set of mental attitudes necessary to become an entrepreneur as follows:
- Desire and willingness to take initiative; entrepreneurs feel a personal responsibility for the results of the business they started. They prefer to control resources and use them to achieve their predetermined goals. They want to step forward and build a business based on their creative ideas.
- Preference for moderate risk. An entrepreneur is not a person who takes risks wildly, but takes risks into account carefully. Therefore, they are not gamblers. Entrepreneurs often have a different perception of the risks that occur in business. A target may be viewed too high and even impossible to achieve from another point of view, but entrepreneurs have the view that the target is reasonable and achievable. Successful entrepreneurs are able to reduce risk, and one of the best ways to reduce risk is to make a good business plan.
- Confidence in their ability to succeed. Entrepreneurs usually have abundant confidence in their ability to succeed and they tend to be optimistic about the chances of achieving business success. Entrepreneurs face many obstacles when starting and running a business, and a healthy measure of optimism is an important component in achieving success.
- Self-reliance. Entrepreneurs do not shy away from the responsibility of making their business successful. This is what makes it possible why many entrepreneurs survive to build their businesses even if others see the idea crazy.
- Perseverance. Although when things don’t go as they planned, entrepreneurs are unyielding. True entrepreneurship follows the Japanese proverb “Fall seven times, get up eight times”. That is, never give up if you experience failure.
- Desire for immediate feedback. Entrepreneurs like to know how they work and are always looking for reinforcement or improvement. They consider it important to get various inputs from other parties.
- High level of energy. Entrepreneurs are more energetic than ordinary people. That energy is perhaps the most important factor towards an extraordinary effort to run a start-up. Long working hours – often between 60-80 hours per week, and hard work is a rule rather than an exception. Therefore, building a successful business requires high stamina.
- Competitiveness. Entrepreneurs tend to show a competitive attitude. They enjoy the competition of games and sports and always want to get a score.
- Future orientation. Entrepreneurs tend to dream big and then draw up a plan to realize the dream come true. They have the ability to look for opportunities well. They look forward and care less about what was achieved yesterday when compared to what they can do tomorrow. Anticipating new business opportunities, entrepreneurs observe the same events as everyone else, but they see something different.
- Skill at organizing. Building a company from scratch is like putting in pieces of a puzzle. Entrepreneurs know how to put the right people and resources together to carry out a job. Combining people with work effectively makes entrepreneurs realize the vision into reality.
- Value of achievement over money. A common misconception about entrepreneurs is that they are moved because they just want to make money. On the contrary, achievement is the main motivation for entrepreneurs.
- High degree of commitment. Running a successful company requires a total commitment from the entrepreneur. Business owners often devote themselves fully to their business. That commitment helps address the mistakes that threaten their business.
- Tolerance for ambiguity. Entrepreneurs tend to have a high tolerance for uncertainty, ever-changing situations, the environment in which they do business. The ability to anticipate this uncertainty is important, because they always make decisions with new information, sometimes causing conflicts obtained from various unfamiliar sources.
- Flexibility. Entrepreneurs have the capacity to adapt to changing consumer demands and their business. In the ever-changing world of the economy, rigidity will lead to failure. When society, its people and their tastes change, entrepreneurs always want to adapt their business to those changes.
- Tenacity. Obstacles, hardships and defeats usually do not hinder entrepreneurs from achieving vision. Successful entrepreneurs have the power to conquer the obstacles they face.
If you have fifteen entrepreneurial mental attitudes mentioned above anyone and whatever your profession is, then success will be easy to achieve.
