By Tony Simms

Everyone's dream is to be their own boss. Being able to set your own hours, decide your own dress code, and keeping all the profits you make is a dream come true. It's the dream that motivates people to become self-employed.

Wait one moment, before you quit your day job or buy that brand new house, ask yourself if you have what it really takes to be rich?

To answer, let's see how you rate on these five characteristics. Can you / do you:

* Stick with something even when you don't yet see results? The day you officially start your business will be one of the most exciting days of your life. You'll probably run on adrenaline for the next several days if not weeks.

However, once the excitement wears off, the reality sets in. You're actually working the same amount if not longer hours than you were at your other job. But now there's no boss trying to motivate you to do better, no talk of bonuses or raises or rewards of any kind. Can you still move forward without an immediate reward?

If you understand that a lot of hard work now will pay off in the long run, then you might have the right personality to be an entrepreneur.

* Let go of a losing idea? Trust me on this: When you spend days and weeks working on an idea, it will feel like your baby. And really it is, because it certainly is your brainchild.

Some people believe in this so strongly that they throw good money after bad, never give up their bad idea, and go out of business. If you know when it's time to give up a bad idea, you might have what it takes to be an entrepreneur.

Can you continue on even when people doubt or laugh at you? Although on some level it's important to care what others think, if you care too much you'll never enjoy true success.

Are you confident in your abilities and your idea? If so, then you might make a good entrepreneur.

* Know the value of the products/services you provide? Here's a big problem: Sometimes beginning entrepreneurs work like dogs for pennies. And a lot of times this happens because they don't value the solutions they're offering. The beginning business person thinks, "Gee, I wouldn't pay that much for this product, so I better keep the price low."

If you don't show your customers that you value your own work, they have no reason to value it either. Provide a high quality service or product and people will pay you what its worth. Of course, they will never overpay you.

If you know what your products/services are truly worth, versus what you'd be willing to pay or what you'd like to charge, you might have what it takes to be a good entrepreneur.

Can you be a problem solver?

This is among the most important, but overlooked, things about being an entrepreneur. Without a boss to solve your problems, it's entirely up to you and there's no one to blame if the decision you make is wrong.

But there's a more important reason to be a good problem solver. All products or services exist to solve a problem; your customer's problem. If you can't solve your customer's problem, then your customer will never be your customer. Once you know how to spot and solve your customers problems, then you'll be a great entrepreneur.

If you like this article, there are seven more traits of successful entrepreneurs. There's also a FREE self assessment test to help you discover your inner entrepreneur. You can also use this special link How To Be Successful to claim a free Silver Membership at SuccessUpgrade (normally $27.00)

About the Author:

0 comments