5 Key Characteristics of a Successful Entrepreneur
I’ve heard a lot of great business ideas lately — and more than a few people announcing that now is the right time to go into business for yourself. I think that there’s a lot to be said for becoming an entrepreneur during a down economy — although the risks definitely go up. There are certain characteristics that can significantly improve the odds（n.可能性） of succeeding as an entrepreneur. Without these characteristics, though, it’s hard to do well even with the best of business ideas.
1． Discipline: To build an idea into a business, you have to have the discipline to spend time slogging（v.长时间辛苦工作）through the least fun parts of running a business, rather than taking that time to do something fun. When you’re the boss, there’s no one to keep you at work except yourself — and there’s no short-term consequences for skipping out early. 2． Calm: Things go wrong when you run your own business. Most entrepreneurs go through crises with their businesses — and more than a few wind up with outright(adj.彻底的，失败的) failures on their hands. But when you’re responsible for a business, you have to be able to keep calm in any situation. If an entrepreneur can handle failure without frustration or anger, he can move past it to find success. 3． Attention to Detail: As an entrepreneur, unless venture capital has magically dropped out of the sky, a small expense can be a killer. It’s attention to detail that can make a small business successful when it has competition and it’s attention to detail that can keep costs down. 4． Risk Tolerance: Even if a product tests well, the market can change, the warehouse can burn down and a whole slew of （大量）other misfortune can befall（v.降临）a small business. You need to know just how much you can afford to risk — and get a good idea of how likely you are to lose it. An entrepreneur has to be willing to accept pretty big risks, with some level of comfort. 5． Balance: You can take any characteristic too far. There’s a point at which attention to detail can become obsession (n.困扰) or calm can become unemotional response. As an entrepreneur, you have to be able to balance your characteristics, getting the most of them without going over the edge. If you are working for yourself, you have to decide how to balance your work and home life.
