Over the weekend of May 11-13, 2012 I was surrounded by hard working, existing and wannabe entrepreneurs. I was mixing it up with the best that Cebu (along with neighboring islands, and countries for that matter!) had to offer in the tech startup game, as we all celebrated the first ever Startup Weekend in the Queen City of the South!
I was asked to be a Mentor at the event, which was rather coincidental, as I picked up the Startup Weekend book on my way back from BlogWorld Expo in LA, in November 2011, where I spoke on the subject of bloggers working with virtual assistants to build their online brands and businesses – but, I didn’t get the chance to actually read the book until the beginning of the new year.
No more than a couple of weeks after I had finished the last page of the book, I was invited to take part in the first event, right here in my adopted hometown of Cebu City. Of course, I accepted.
The festivities of the weekend business opportunities got me thinking…
My Question
Throughout the course of my preparations for the weekend, I got to asking myself ‘What does it take to be an Entrepreneur?’, or more specifically, what are the ‘Important traits and characteristics of a successful entrepreneur?’. Hence today’s post…
If you have a strong opinion on this already, comment at will below (after reading my opinion, obviously!) – if not, then check out the video below, from the team behind Startup Weekend, for a little inspiration.
My Opinion
As far as I’m concerned, to become a successful entrepreneur you need to be someone that isn’t looking to make a quick buck. You need to be ready and willing to work your ass off – for years, quite frankly – to be able to achieve your dreams. You also need to truly understand the way people (your prospective customers!) think, as well as understanding what they want and need; the problems they have – and more importantly – how to create, package and present products and services that solve those problems.
However, without a doubt, the single most important trait of a successful entrepreneur, in my book anyway, is of originality.
If you’re not original you can forget it. If you’re not willing to brainstorm and mind-map until your ears bleed to come up with that one original idea that you know will solve a problem for a certain demographic, then you can also forget it.
Likewise, if you’re looking for a fast-track to success, diving in on a whim, potentially second-guessing things or worst yet, copying other peoples ideas, then you can also forget it. You’ll never be a successful entrepreneur.
Think about it. When was the last time you saw an insanely successful entrepreneur who wasn’t original? Who wasn’t innovative?
I’d love to hear what you have to say on this topic, so please comment below, and as always, thank you for getting involved and making the community here the hustlin’, bustlin’ entrepreneurial tribe that it is!
