25 Common Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs

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Since Voice of Reason Consulting’s tag line is, “We Turn Business Owners into CEO’s”, you can easily imagine that I was quite intrigued with this video and article by James Stephenson listing the “25 Common Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs”.

Stephenson maintains that there are certain musts that business owners have to develop and implement for their business to succeed. I’ve taken the liberty to reorder the list in what I think are the most important traits to have.

I’m curious what you think. Must a successful entrepreneur have all of these traits at once? Which ones are most important? I look forward to hearing your comments.

  1. Do what you enjoy.
  2. Take what you do seriously.
  3. Invest in yourself.
  4. Take time off.
  5. Get involved.
  6. Manage money wisely.
  7. Master the art of negotiations.
  8. Get and stay organized.
  9. Plan everything.
  10. Follow-up constantly.
  11. Be accessible.
  12. Become known as an expert.
  13. Build a rock-solid reputation.
  14. Limit the number of hats you wear.
  15. Build a top-notch business team.
  16. Grab attention.
  17. Project a positive business image.
  18. Create a competitive advantage.
  19. Level the playing field with technology.
  20. Design your workspace for success.
  21. Remember it’s all about the customer.
  22. Get to know your customers.
  23. Become a shameless self-promoter (without becoming obnoxious).
  24. Sell benefits.
  25. Ask for the sale.

 

 

 

Private Equity Growth Indicators

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A current theme that continues to occupy my interest is how private equity/venture and angel investors view businesses and judge CEO’s. In a recent post, I discussed a Stanford Business Graduate School study “How Do Venture Capitalists Make Decisions?” that showed that venture capitalists who are considering investing in entrepreneurial ventures, are most interested in entrepreneurs who are passionate, capable, experienced, and part of a strong team.

In this particular article in the Sales Benchmark Index Blog earlier this month, Matt Sharrers discusses the growth indicators a private equity firm expects. He points out that the end of first quarter is an ideal time for private equity firms to check each of their portfolio company’s growth rates, including sales and marketing performance.

According to Sharrers, private equity firms are most interested in implementing an agile sales and marketing strategy focused on results. Q1 is a decision making time to validate prior assumptions as well as the actual results, and most importantly make new decisions as necessary.

Leading indicators include whether sales and marketing are working in lock step and whether sales and marketing are enabled to hit their growth milestones.

Of course, private equity firms are very wary of red flags that exclude win/loss analyses, provide inaccurate market feedback, and show a lack of confidence in Q2 forecasts.

In particular, the CEO must demonstrate that sales and marketing are always in alignment, and there is always a clear plan to execute strategy and do it quickly. As I have often said, the CEO’s job is to provide value for the business, and you can rest assured that the job of the private equity firm is to ensure that value is being achieved.

10 Life Lessons

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One of my favorite “sales” blogs that I read as often as possible is by Jill Konrath who is a widely read business-to-business sales expert.

I like Jill’s blogs and newsletters because she focuses on driving more sales in less time, which is also a philosophy I practice as I help my clients successfully close business.

One of the things I admire most about Jill is her transparency. Her most recent blog entry is about the loss of her husband and the life lessons he taught her.

I found these ten life lessons truly inspiring and I was moved to want to make sure I practice them, and to share them with all of you.

  • Winning is always possible.
  • Be a cheerleader.
  • Always have fun.
  • Learn new things.
  • Create memorable experiences.
  • Choose your attitude.
  • Your job is not your life.
  • Do what’s right.
  • Treat others the way you want to be treated.
  • Be the best you can be.

As simple as these life lessons may appear, they do present a challenge that I can assure you I am ready for. I hope you are too.
As always, I look forward to your hearing what you think.