Entrepreneurship Defined: What It Means to Be an Entrepreneur

 
Most simply defined, an entrepreneur is a person who identifies a need and starts a business to fill that void. But this basic definition provides little insight into the specific character traits and attributes that make a person thrive as an entrepreneur.
Before quitting your day job to pursue that idea that's been brewing in the back of your mind, consider if you have the necessary constitution to make it as an entrepreneur. Here's what 20 company founders and business leaders told Business News Daily about what they think makes a truly successful entrepreneur.

1. "Entrepreneurship is at the core of the American dream. It's about blazing new trails, about believing in yourself, your mission and inspiring others to join you in the journey. What sets [entrepreneurs] apart is the will, courage and sometimes recklessness to actually do it." – Derek Hutson, CEO of Datical
2. "Entrepreneurship is the persistent progression towards an innovative solution to a key problem. It's the constant hunger for making things better and the idea that you are never satisfied with how things are." – Debbie Roxarzade, founder and CEO of Rachel's Kitchen
3. "At its core, [entrepreneurship] is a mindset – a way of thinking and acting. It is about imagining new ways to solve problems and create value. Fundamentally, entrepreneurship is about ... the ability to recognize [and] methodically analyze [an] opportunity, and ultimately, to capture [its] value." – Bruce Bachenheimer, clinical professor of management and executive director of the Entrepreneurship Lab at Pace University 
4. "It is important to balance strong vision with a willingness to embrace change. The ability to listen, whether it be to the opinions of customers or employees, is also integral to success. While ... you must have the confidence to make your own choices, it is still incredibly important not to become detached from the people whose needs you are trying to meet. – Tirath Kamdar, founder and CEO of TrueFacet
5. "Being an entrepreneur is like heading out into uncharted territory. It's rarely obvious what to do next, and you have to rely on yourself a lot when you run into problems. There are many days when you feel like things will never work out and you're operating at a loss for endless months. You have to be able to stomach the roller coaster of emotions that comes with striking out on your own." – Amanda Austin, founder and president of  Little Shop of Miniatures 
6. "To be a successful entrepreneur you must have a passion for learning – from customers, employees and even competitors." – James Bedal, CEO of Bare Metal Standard
7. "To me, entrepreneurship means being able to take action and having the courage to commit and persevere through all of the challenges and failures. It is a struggle that an entrepreneur is willing to battle. It is using past experiences and intelligence to make smart decisions. Entrepreneurs are able to transform their vision into a business. I believe this process is at the core of any true entrepreneur." – MJ Pedone, founder and CEO of Indra Public Relations
8. "Being a successful entrepreneur requires a great deal of resourcefulness, because as an entrepreneur, you often run into dead ends throughout the course of your career. You need to be able to bounce back from losses if you want to be successful. There will be much more disappointment than progress when you first start off, and you need to have a short memory in order to put the past behind you quickly. It's imperative to stay optimistic when bad things happen." – Vip Sandhir, founder and CEO of HighGround
9. "Entrepreneurship is the ability to recognize the bigger picture, find where there's an opportunity to make someone's life better, design hypotheses around these opportunities, and continually test your assumptions. It's experimentation: Some experiments will work; many others will fail. It is not big exits, huge net worth or living a life of glamour. It's hard work and persistence to leave the world a better place once your time here is done." – Konrad Billetz, co-founder and co-CEO of Offset Solar
10. "[Entrepreneurs] have to be people-oriented. Your business will die without a good team to back you up. Study management techniques, learn from great leaders, review where you're succeeding and failing so you can help others improve. An entrepreneur has to be able to build a team that cares about their work, and to do that you have to care about how you create your team." – Jonathan Barnett, founder and CEO of Oxi Fresh Carpet Cleaning 



SOURCE:www.businessnewsdaily.com