A long-time debate asks the question, “Are entrepreneurs born or are they made?” Although some entrepreneurs insist that genes played a role in their business success, most experts agree that the characteristics that make a successful entrepreneur are gained from experiences and lessons learned over a lifetime. The skills and strengths arising from military experience, such as leadership, organization, and the ability to work under pressure, lend themselves naturally to entrepreneurship, and as a result, Veteran-owned businesses tend to survive longer than non-Veteran start-ups.

Your personal skills are just one part of what it takes to succeed in entrepreneurship. Before you invest your time, energy, and money into business ownership, it is important to evaluate your motivations, strengths and weaknesses, personality, and other personal qualities that can help you decide whether you are cut out to be an entrepreneur.

The following questions, if answered honestly, should serve as a guide in determining your capacity for being an entrepreneur. Although there are no guarantees in business, successful entrepreneurs tend to share many similar characteristics. These questions are designed to provide you with a thorough framework for finding out if you could excel in entrepreneurship!


Why do you want to be an entrepreneur?

There are many reasons people take the plunge into entrepreneurship, but not all reasons are the right reasons for opening your own business. What are your reasons for choosing entrepreneurship?

:: Be your own boss.

Although this is the number one reason given by new entrepreneurs when making the change from employee to self-employed, there are a few important things to consider. Without a boss to punish you for coming in late, missing a deadline, or forgetting a call, do you have the self-discipline to get things done, to do them right, and to finish them on time? Without a boss to blame, are you willing to take responsibility for mistakes and fix problems yourself? If you eliminate the demands of your boss, will you be able to handle demands from customers and clients, suppliers and vendors, partners, and even yourself!

:: Tired of Monday thru Friday, 9-5.

If you are tired of the 9-5 grind, entrepreneurship may be the path for you. As an entrepreneur, you can usually set your own hours but that does not necessarily mean shorter hours. Many entrepreneurs are forced to put in 12-18 hours a day, six or seven days a week. Are you ready to work that hard, and is your drive for entrepreneurial success strong enough to get you through the long hours? You may be able to sleep in and work in the comfort of your home in your fuzzy slippers on occasion, but probably not initially and probably not all the time.

:: Looking for an exciting challenge and opportunities to learn.

Entrepreneurship is full of decisions that can affect your company’s success. Everyday is a new adventure, and you can learn from your mistakes as well as from your successes. Many successful entrepreneurs claim they are adrenaline junkies, motivated by the excitement of business ownership. That excitement requires risks, however, and you must know your own tolerance for risk. Entrepreneurship, as exciting as it may be, means putting everything on the line for your business. Sound too risky to you? Or maybe it sounds like just the adventure you are craving.

:: More money than you can make at your current job.

In most jobs, pay is determined by a ladder of job descriptions and responsibilities. The harder you work, the more money your company gets, but chances are you aren’t seeing those profits add up in your paycheck. Entrepreneurship is an escape from structured pay charts and minimal growth opportunities. As a small business owner, your hard work directly benefits you. Despite the potential of big payoffs, however, entrepreneurs sometimes have to work months—even years—before they begin to see those profits. Oftentimes, entrepreneurs take a pay cut when they start out on their own. Are you prepared to sacrifice your current level of pay until your business takes off and becomes a success?

:: You really want to become an entrepreneur.

This is perhaps the most important reason people should enter entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship takes time, energy, and money, but it also takes heart. It must be something you want to do in order to succeed, because it takes drive and motivation, even in the face of setbacks. If you are considering entrepreneurship just because you haven’t found anything else that suits you, make sure you are honest with yourself about whether or not you are ready to be an entrepreneur.


What are your skills?

After you have determined the reasons why you want to become an entrepreneur, you must look at your skills and see if they apply to entrepreneurial success. Many of the skills needed in entrepreneurship are those gained through military experience, including:

 - Leadership
 - Ability to get along with and work with all types of people
 - Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines
 - Ability to give directions and delegate
 - Good planning and organizational skills
 - Problem-solving
 - Familiarity with personnel administration and record keeping
 - Flexibility and adaptability
 - Self-direction
 - Initiative
 - Strong work habits
 - Standards of quality and a commitment to excellence

Think about your other skills that might help you become a successful entrepreneur. Are you good with money with a strong credit history? Do you have a high energy level? Do you see problems as challenges and enjoy trying new methods for success? Listing your skills will not only help you assess yourself as an entrepreneur, but it might also tell you what kind of business you should start!


What is your personality?

Your personality often helps determine what type of work best suits you. High energy people might enjoy a physical job; people preferring structure might find the corporate environment most suitable; and creative types might enjoy flexible jobs with relaxed policies. So what are the elements of personalities that tend to thrive in entrepreneurship?

 - Goal-oriented

 - Independent

 - Self-confident

 - Innovative and creative

 - Strong commitment

 - Highly reliable

 - Competitive

 - Desire to work hard

 - Problem solver

 - Good manager

 - Organized

 - Honest

 - Tolerance for failure, but a drive to achieve

 - Idea-oriented

 - Motivated by challenge

 - Calculated risk-taker

 - Courageous

 - Persistent

 - Adaptable

 - Positive

Even if you do not have all of these characteristics, you can still be a great entrepreneur. Every entrepreneur is a blend of skills and strengths. Think about the skills or traits you don’t have, and learn to improve them or work to overcome them on the road to entrepreneurship!


What kind of decision maker are you?

When you own your own business, decisions must constantly be made—most of them by you alone! Although not every decision must be made immediately, many will have to be. What kind of a decision-maker are you when you are forced to make a decision quickly and under pressure? Do you generally pass the decision off to someone else, or do you make it yourself, confident in your final decision? When you become the boss of your own business, you can no longer afford to pass off decisions. Decisions must be timely, and must be based primarily on what you think is best. Do you have the confidence to navigate your business through difficult choices and problems?


What kind of manager are you?

Management is extremely important in entrepreneurship, and is the number one reason why most small businesses fail. Although there is a general misconception that businesses fail because of insufficient funds, the truth is that they fail because their managers fail. In order to be a good manager, you must be flexible enough to change focus quickly from one task to another, and you must be able to wear all of the hats in your company. Although you may hire people to do certain jobs, you must be able to manage those individuals, assess their work, set performance standards, and contribute to their success.

Decision-making, as discussed above, is a critical component of an effective manager. So, too, is the ability to delegate work. One person cannot do everything, and in order for your business to grow, so must your staff. Do you feel comfortable assigning work to others, or do you cringe at the idea of evaluating your colleagues? As an effective manager you must also be able to set and follow structure. In order to have a successful working environment, your employees must have processes to follow, a structure for personal growth, and set ways to perform and report their work.


Can you handle both entrepreneurial successes and failures?

The final question you must ask yourself before deciding to become an entrepreneur is whether you can handle both the potential success of your business and potential failure. There are no guarantees in business and, like everything else, successful entrepreneurship takes an element of luck. Will you be able to bounce back quickly from minor setbacks, and continue your drive toward a successful business? Will you be able to let go of ideas that don’t work and try something new? If, in the end, your business does not succeed, will you be able to handle the failure? Even the most successful entrepreneurs will tell you that some of their ideas worked and others did not, and some of their businesses made it and some failed. The heart of an entrepreneur will learn from mistakes and try again. Are you ready to go on to the next step of becoming an entrepreneur?

Entrepreneurial self-assessment tools