Episode 27 - Are You An Entrepreneur?

Hello and welcome to Pocket Thoughts! On today’s episode we discuss if we are actually entrepreneurs. This is something we feel people to ask themselves before jumping into the world of entrepreneurship. We will give you all of the questions we asked ourselves before getting started as well as what warnings we have before becoming an entrepreneur. Be sure to keep up with our social media by searching Educating Entrepreneurs and find our blogs on LinkedIn and on our website at educatingentrepreneurs.com. Enjoy the show and have a fantastic week.

Show Notes

• 1:08 - Are you an entrepreneur?
• 6:08 - 6 Successful quality types for entrepreneurs
• 13:08 - There isn’t a one size fits all when it comes to entrepreneurship
• 17:39 - What stage/point do you consider yourself an entrepreneur?
• 23:36 - Entrepreneurship is a mindset, it’s the willingness to get out there and try
• 27:50 - Our failures with entrepreneurship
• 39:14 - If you’re not okay with it getting worse before it gets better you’re putting yourself in a tough spot
• 43:38 - As an entrepreneur you are going to have to take a lot of the responsibility and blame. Even if it was not your fault, you are the owner and you will need to get in front of the issue
• 44:11 - It’s not an IF you fail, it’s a WHEN you fail
• 56:40 - Wrap Up!

If you're not familiar with the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator (MBTI), you should be. It's one of the most accurate and valuable tools to help you better understand yourself, and identify your strengths and areas for growth. Although it's not going to jump out and tell you your passion, it may help you realize the entrepreneurial role that you may take in your future company (visionary, advisor, superstar, etc).

 

These Four Characteristics Are:

1. Extroversion (E) vs. Introversion (I)
2. Sensing (S) vs. Intuition (N)
3. Thinking (T) vs. Feeling (F)
4. Judging (J) vs. Perceiving (P)

After you take the personality test, you will be given a four letter personality type indicator depending on which side of the spectrum you fall for each characteristic. For example if you were high in extraversion, intuition, thinking, and judging, then you would be assigned the character type ENTJ.

 

The spectrums are simply just a measure of how much you like:

• To deal with people and things
• Facts and reality
• Logic and truth
• A life-style that is well constructed or one that goes with the flow

Some character types are more highly associated with successful entrepreneurs and managers than others, but your score doesn't mean that you can or cannot be an entrepreneur, it simply reveals the characteristics that you should strive for that will lead towards higher chance of success.

 

You might just be born to be an entrepreneur if you rank for one of these six personality types:

• ESTP - Known for taking fast action, thinking logically based on fact, and full of passion and energy. Only 4% of people fit this personality type, including famous novelist Ernest Hemingway.
• ENTJ - Natural born leaders known for ruthlessly pushing through to their goals through sheer determination and willpower. Steve Jobs was one of the 3% of the population categorized as an ENTJ.
• ENTP - Are seekers of knowledge and visionaries, and big dreamers. ENTP's like Thomas Edison will brainstorm a path to success and lead the team there. Only 3% of the population are ENTP.
• ESTJ - Making up no less than 11% of the population, ESTJs are well liked for their clear advice and guidance. These leaders great organizers and often lead by example and with honesty. Famous business mogul John D. Rockefeller was ESTJ.
• INTJ - These intellectual individuals are extremely ambitious, decisive, and curious. Elon Musk is a great example of an INTJ because he believes nothing is impossible with the right game plan. They make up only 2% of the population.
• ISTJ - Especially known for taking responsibility for their actions and executing work with accuracy and patience, these entrepreneurs always stick to their word. They make up 13% of the population including America's founder, George Washington.

These six personality types all have four underlying trends in common, they're often curious, creative, they take responsibility, and they're decisive.

 

Decisiveness

Notice how every single one of those personalities rank higher in "Thinking" over "Feeling". That's because according to a 2004 U.S. study the most successful entrepreneurs will pick a direction to take the business and stick with it. This makes them naturally less likely to be concerned with keeping harmony and more focused on achieving the objective.

 

Responsibility

These personality types also take full responsibility over their futures and themselves. Psychoanalyst Jonathan Alpert notes that "the entrepreneur looks at the situation and knows he has some control over the outcome". Rather than making excuses for why things don't get done, they will take on obstacles as a challenge and assume personal responsibility for achieving the goal. This is known as having a high "locus of control", which has been proven by dozens of studies to be highly correlated with success in business.

 

Curiosity

The classic saying "leaders are readers" couldn't be more true. Entrepreneur personalities are always seeking out new knowledge, which is why so many of them often have their nose in a book. According to a Gallup study of hundreds of entrepreneurial personality traits, being curious makes the top 10 list of "must-have" traits to be successful as an entrepreneur. If you aren't learning every day, this may be the #1 habit you should strive to develop in the near future.

 

Creativity

Business is an intellectual art to entrepreneurs. You'll constantly be forced to find creative ways to overcome obstacles and do things differently in order to stand out. Gallup's CEO Jim Clifton remarked on a study of the fastest growing companies that "to stay competitive, we have to lead the world in per-person creativity". Being a leader in business is like being a professional problem solver, it takes a lot of brainstorming and creative planning to make your dreams come true.

 

Once again, taking this personality test won't give you a silver bullet to discovering your passion, but it will help you understand which role you will eventually occupy in your company.

 

Free test at: https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test