Get RICH: The 4 Attributes You Need To Be A Successful Entrepreneur

At Transmit Startups, we're lucky to spend our days supporting people on their entrepreneurial journeys. Some people are right at the beginning of their journey when we meet them; some might already have launched one or more businesses. One thing we often get asked about, regardless of whether someone is just getting started or onto their second loan to support their company's growth, is what makes a successful entrepreneur.

In fact, we get asked this so often that we decided to do a bit of research amongst our team.

We started with a list of about 30 attributes that help someone to go on to be successful in business. We eventually agreed on the four key attributes that every successful entrepreneur we know has. The good news is these are all attributes you can develop, even if you don't think you have them in abundance right now.

What is success?

We should probably start by talking a little about ‘success’. Business success is entirely subjective and has more to do with the goals that you set yourself and whether you achieve them. What might surprise you is just how many entrepreneurs don't set themselves clear goals.

A "lifestyle business" is one set up by the founders to provide them with a certain level of income and no more. You may want to earn £20,000 from working 25 hours per week, and if you get to that point, that is your success. Or you might consider your business a success once you’ve reached £1m, £10m or £100m in sales.  Either way, success is personal to you and you alone.

Many people would consider high-profile entrepreneurs such as Karren Brady, Richard Branson or Levi Roots as successful, but have they achieved their goals? Only they will know. But you'll probably spot that they all demonstrate the four things all successful entrepreneurs need!

R is for Resilience

The first thing you’ll need if you want your business to be successful is resilience. They say that the only things in life that are guaranteed are death and taxes. The other thing you can guarantee if you start a business is that things will not go according to plan. 

You will be metaphorically tripped over, punched in the guts and have your heart broken more times than you’ve said “you’re on mute” on a Zoom call. You will be let down (and might end up letting other people down). There will be amazing days where things go better than you ever thought possible, abruptly followed by days that feel like Satan himself sent them. 

How do you deal with all of this? Resilience. 

Resilience is the ability to pick yourself back up if you’ve been knocked down and to keep going. It helps you see setbacks as opportunities to learn rather than the end of the world. It’s your bounce-back-ability; the good news is it will get stronger the more you use it.

Read our advice: Power up your personal resilience

I is for Intelligence

Before you get hung up on IQ scores or what degree you have or don’t have, what we’re talking about here is entrepreneurial intelligence. You could also think of this as ‘business smarts’. To be a successful entrepreneur, you need to switch between different tasks while remaining focused on the bigger picture.

Entrepreneurial Intelligence is equal parts creative, emotional, practical and analytical intelligence: 

• You need to be able to generate ideas (creative intelligence).

• You need to put yourself in your customers' shoes and understand your employees’ point of view (emotional intelligence).

• You need to be able to figure out how to implement new ideas or strategies (practical intelligence).

• And finally, you need to be able to assess a situation and work out why something was successful or not (analytical intelligence).

As your team grows, you should also consider the different types of intelligence you need and the people you employ.

Photo by Alice Dietrich on Unsplash

C is for Creativity

And before you say it, yes, you are creative. Being creative doesn’t mean being able to paint like Monet or whittle sculptures from stuff you found in the local park. Creativity comes in many forms, and - as someone who came up with a brilliant business idea - you are creative.

Being creative means challenging how things have always been done. It is a curious mind, solving problems and spotting opportunities. It’s about discovery.

Creativity is another skill you can develop, so if you don’t feel creative, it could signal that you need to practice more. Did you know that Mozart struggled with his compositions? How about Einstein, who took years to develop his most famous theory? And the artist Kandinsky took a whole five months (and drew 20 almost identical sketches) before painting his ‘spontaneous’ painting. 

Creativity results from hard work, learning the foundations and getting better at problem-solving. It’s also developed through play, time alone and time doing nothing (hardly the worst homework you’ve ever been given). If you want to build your creative muscles, these TED talks have some scientifically-proven ways to increase your creativity. 

H is for Hunger

The final secret ingredient for entrepreneurial success is hunger. You have to want it… like, really really want it. If you don’t, you’ll most likely quit if (when) things get tricky.

Hunger is about desire and determination (not desperation) and seeing something through until it is a success, or you have considered all options. Why did David Beckham become a successful international footballer? Raw talent? No. The hunger and determination to become as best as he could? Yes. He would put in extra hours when other players had left the training ground, practising free kicks and bending the ball.

We often see this with entrepreneurs who have invested their own money into their business. It’s called having skin in the game and makes them more determined to make their business successful. We also saw this throughout the Covid-19 pandemic: people who’d been made redundant or worked in industries badly affected by lockdowns threw everything they had at their business idea because they needed it to work; they didn’t have a backup plan.

Get RICH, your way

While developing these four attributes won’t make you rich overnight, they will help you build a business that you’re proud of. Whether it’s a business that lets you buy a Lamborghini or a company that lets you spend time with your family and friends, being RICH ultimately means being successful on your terms.

Main photo by freestocks on Unsplash