Do You Have What It Takes to Be an Entrepreneur?
Here are the results of a study on the most common behaviors, skills and drivers of serial entrepreneurs.
According to a a researched report by Target Training International,serial entrepreneurs are much more results driven than the rest of the US adult population. The study reports that 62% of serial entrepreneurs see it as a top priority to get a practical return on time or money spent. It’s a value that is viewed as primary by only 38% of U.S. adults, according to a study by TTI Performance Systems. Only 10% of repeat entrepreneurs rank the desire for personal power number 1, about the same proportion as the rest of the population, says the firm, a developer of assessment tools for job matching and other functions.
| Serial Entrepreneurs | US Adult Mean |
| 1. Utilitarian 62% | 38% |
| 2. Theoretical 21% | 15% |
| 3. Individualistic 10% | 9% |
These serial entrepreneurs potentially have three to five times the economic impact of a person who would normally be classified as an entrepreneur or small business person for the following reasons:
1. They have already experienced success and usually failure, too.
2. They tend to learn from both, developing the professional skills vital for success.
3. They have personal funds from previous ventures or have the ability to raise
funds based on past successes.
4. Their track record makes them more likely to create gazelle companies, which
tend to grow bigger, faster and thus employ more people than a typical start up.
5. They have demonstrated the ability to sustain a business past the first year,
into the high growth job
89% of our serial entrepreneurs fall into one of five categories:
| Serial Entrepreneurs | US Adult Mean |
| 1. Very competitive 33% | 12% |
| 2. High trust 18% | 20% |
| 3. Low trust 9% | 8% |
| 4. Quick to change 7% | 1% |
| 5. Rule breaker 22% | 12% |
Based on their behavior, these are words that describe a serial entrepreneur:
- Bottom-line organizer
- Forward looking
- Places high value on time
- Challenge oriented
- Competitive
- Initiates activity
- Challenges the status quo
- Innovative
- Tenacious
- Creative problem solver
- Motivates others toward goals
- Positive sense of humor
- Negotiates conflict
- Verbalizes with articulateness
- Independent
- Change agent
- Rule breaker
- Optimistic and enthusiastic
Serial Entrepreneurs exhibit above average mastery of the following professional competencies:
- Leadership – Achieving extraordinary business results through people.
- Goal Orientation – Energetically focusing efforts on meeting a goal, mission or objective.
- Presenting – Communicating effectively to groups.
- Employee Development/ Coaching – Facilitating and supporting the professional growth of others.
- Interpersonal Skills – Effectively communicating, building rapport and relating well to all kinds of people.
- Persuasion – Convincing others to change the way they think, believe or behave.
- Personal Effectiveness – Demonstrating initiative, self confidence, resiliency and a willingness to take responsibility for personal actions. Management – Achieving extraordinary results through effective management of resources, systems and processes.
- Flexibility – Agility in adapting to change.
- Creativity/Innovation – Adapting traditional or devising new approaches, concepts, methods, models, designs, processes, technologies and/or systems.
- Decision Making – Utilizing effective processes to make decisions.
- Negotiation – Facilitating agreements between two or more parties.
- Conflict Management – Addressing and resolving conflict constructively. The ability to resolve different points of view constructively.
- Futuristic Thinking – Imagining, envisioning, projecting and/or predicting what has not yet been realized.
View the full 11 page PDF report
Here’s more from Target Training International on the topic http://www.ttiassessments.com/blogs/keys-to-discovering-entrepreneurial-minded-employees