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A successful entrepreneur possesses key characteristics that help his business grow and thrive. Extensive research by the Small Enterprise Research and Development Foundation reveals 10 Personal Entrepreneurial Characteristics (PECs) that lead to success. These are grouped into what are called the Achievement Cluster, the Planning Cluster, and the Power Cluster. Take a look at what they are and try to identify your entrepreneurial strengths and weaknesses.

Achievement Cluster

1. Opportunity-seeking

• Perceives and acts on new business opportunities
• Seizes unusual opportunities to obtain financing, equipment, land, work, space, or assistance

2. Persistence

• Takes repeated or different actions to overcome obstacles
• Makes sacrifices or expends extraordinary effort to complete a task
• Sticks to own judgement in the face of opposition or disappointments

3. Commitment

• Accepts full responsibility for problems encountered
• Helps own employees to get the job done
• Seeks to satisfy the customer

4. Risk-Taking

• Takes moderate risks
• Prefers situations involving moderate risks

5. Values Efficiency and Quality

• Always strives to raise standards and aims for excellence
• Strives to do things better, faster, and at lower cost

Planning Cluster

6. Goal-Setting

• Sets clear and specific short-term objectives
• Sets clear and long-term goals

7. Information-Seeking

• Personally seeks information on clients, suppliers, and competitors
• Seeks experts to render business or technical advice
• Uses contacts or information networks to obtain information

8. Systematic Planning and Monitoring

• Develops logical, step-by-step plans to reach goals
• Looks into alternatives
• Monitors progress and switches to alternative strategies when necessary to achieve goals

9. Persuasion and Networking

• Uses deliberate strategies to influence or persuade others
• Uses business and personal contacts to accomplish objectives

10. Self-Confidence

• Believes in self
• Expresses confidence in own ability to complete a difficult task or to meet a challenge

Additional Factors to Consider

You were able to pinpoint the entrepreneurial characteristics you possess as well as those areas you need to improve on to be able to run your business smoothly. Tapping your entrepreneurial skills are well and good, but you also have other factors to consider:

1. Personal Interest - you must be genuinely interested in getting into business
2. Knowledge/Talents - your skills and knowledge should be attuned to your chosen line of business
3. Training/Work Experience - you must have at least background training or work experience to help you run a business
4. Government Support/Assistance Programs – find out the possible assistance and support you can get from the government such as incentives, financing
5. Rate of Growth of Business – consider market trends, business growth, and market share
6. Other Considerations – also consider the return in terms of income, employment generation, services, and the like

This entry was posted on Monday, March 13th, 2006 at 08:25:18 PM and is filed under Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.