Whether you’ve been a victim of the credit crunch and want to create your own financial security, or you’re just fed up of working to line someone else’s pockets, the idea of being your own boss holds universal appeal. So why don’t more people strike out for themselves and take the entrepreneurial plunge?

For many it’s simply not knowing where to start, or worrying they don’t have ‘the right stuff’ to succeed that holds them back. For others it’s a fear of failure, or a belief that success has to mean making millions.
Experience shows there are several character traits successful entrepreneurs share, and by successful, we mean people who are happily doing what they love on their own terms, meeting their commitments and reaching their own goals. So if you have these five things, you’re half way there.

1. Imagination
Every business, invention, product or service in existence today originated in someone’s imagination. You don’t have to be a visionary or a pioneer, you just have to be able to clearly see what you want. Otherwise, how will you know what to do to get it? If you’re stuck at this stage, just ask, ‘what would my ideal working day look like?’ Spend some time daydreaming about the answer, and then write down everything that comes to mind. It may take a little time, but once you’ve clarified your dream job, you can set about creating it.

2. Goal Setting
Now you know what you want, set your goals and create a blueprint that will take you from where you are now to where you want to be. It could be a formal business plan or a simple checklist on the back of an envelope, it doesn’t matter. As long as you have a way to measure your progress, and a roadmap, given time you can achieve your goals.

3. Self-reliance
No one will light a fire under you and hold you accountable to your plan if you’re self-employed. You have to be able to take action on your own initiative, and accept the consequences. That doesn’t mean you have to do everything yourself. Building a reliable team and delegating tasks to people who are better than you at them will help you get to your goals quicker, but self-reliance will allow you to give credit to your team when things go right, and take responsibility for putting them right when things go wrong.

4. Self-discipline
If you’re going to stay focused on the task in hand, get up after every set-back and keep your ambition and drive alive, you’re going to need a healthy dose of self-discipline. You might have to work late into the night and miss a few family gatherings, or tighten your belt and live on next to nothing in the early days. Sometimes being an entrepreneur means working yourself harder for less pay than any boss would ever get away with. The good news is if you’ve picked the right business it won’t feel like work most of the time.

5. Realism
Did we mention there will be setbacks? If you’re a glass half empty kind of person you might throw in the towel when things go wrong because you can’t see how to put them right. On the other hand, at least a pessimist is likely to see potential problems before they occur and plan for them, where an optimist can be blindsided by the unexpected. As an entrepreneur, you need to cultivate a certain kind of realism, where you don your pessimist’s hat at the outset and imagine everything that could go wrong and create contingency plans. Then you need to take the optimists’ view that everything will work out and throw all your energies into making it happen until you need one of those plans.

So, if you can see what you want and plan how to get it, and then stick with that plan, relying only on your own resources but utilising others, planning for the worst and expecting the best, you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur. All you need now is that germ of an idea.

Dean Williams

Dean Williams is a design and marketing blogger working for Print-Print Limited, promoting business and building brands through quality print marketing. If you’re interested in small business promotion then please get in touch hello@print-print.co.uk