Quiz: Should You Be An Entrepreneur?

Are You an Entrepreneur?

15 Apr Quiz: Should You Be An Entrepreneur?

Most well-known entrepreneurs have the ability to inspire everyone, but they can intimidate as well.

We’re not all born with Steve Jobs’ creative genius or Bill Gates’ iron will. No worries, though. Like any other profession, entrepreneurs can be guided to success by harnessing crucial attributes. Entrepreneurs can — and do — emerge at any stage of life and from any realm. They come in all personality types and with any grade point average.

Often, it’s C students who become entrepreneurs! Contrary to conventional wisdom, you don’t have to be Type A to be an entrepreneur. Not every entrepreneur is an overachieving, hyper-organized workaholic — or an extrovert. You can be totally different and still launch a successful business. According to the experts, the straight-A students or Type A’s don’t take the risks necessary to become entrepreneurs (as easily as some others).

The best entrepreneurs tend to share a collection of characteristics, from the ability to tolerate risk to tenacity, that are crucial to a successful entrepreneurial venture. There is an analysis of 23 research studies (published under the title “The Big Five Personality Dimensions and Entrepreneurial Status”) that is a rather interesting read. The studies found that — not surprisingly — entrepreneurs have different personality traits than corporate managers.

Entrepreneurs score far higher on traits such as openness to experience (curiosity, innovation) and conscientiousness (self-discipline, motivation) and considerably lower on neuroticism. The last characteristic allows them to better tolerate stress, which is pretty much a daily companion for most entrepreneurs.

To simplify, one could say that you need a minimum of 7 traits to be a successful entrepreneur: Tenacity, passion, tolerance of ambiguity, vision, self-belief, flexibility and rule-breaking.

Starting a business breaks the rules. Why? Just 13% of Americans are engaged in entrepreneurship, according to a Babson College report. Being in the minority is the nature of entrepreneurship, which is where the supply of inner resources comes in.

Are these traits in you? There’s only one way to find out.

Take this “ENTREPRENEUR QUIZ” below — created by Daniel Isenberg and powered by DilogR — and find out if you have what it takes to actually be an entrepreneur.

For 15 years, Isenberg was an entrepreneur and venture capitalist in Israel, and has been an active angel investor in more than a dozen ventures in 10 countries.
Isenberg learned in his own years as an entrepreneur — and as Enterprise Education Professor of Entrepreneurship Practice @ Babson — that there is a gut level “fit” for people who are potential entrepreneurs.

Do you actually have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Take the quiz and find out.

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