" Most new jobs won’t come from our biggest employers. They will come from our smallest. We’ve got to do everything we can to make entrepreneurial dreams a reality. "
Ross Perot
Entrepreneurs are people. That being true, like all other people, entrepreneurs are unique individuals with differences in characters, desires and motivations. No two entrepreneurs that are exactly alike. But, in spite of this individuality, there are some traits that are common in all successful entrepreneurs.
What follows is a short discussion of the traits that are common among successful entrepreneurs. How do you measure up?
Reasonable risk-takers: There is never an absolute guarantee of success when beginning a new business venture. It may either succeed or fail. Regardless of even the best planning and management, unforeseen things can happen that may be disastrous for a business.
Entrepreneurs accept these risks, but successful entrepreneurs do not take foolish or unnecessary risks without good reason. They carefully evaluate the risk in terms of the potential rewards and the realistic odds of realizing those rewards. A successful entrepreneur would never enter into a venture where the odds were stacked high against them. And, they would invest the time and effort it would take to evaluate those risks they face and attempt to minimize them as much as possible.
While it is often true that the higher the risk, the greater the return, the successful entrepreneur would not willingly take on an impossible risk simply because the rewards are so tantalizing. They always remain grounded in practicality and what can realistically be achieved.
Self-confident: Entrepreneurs believe in themselves. They have confidence in their own ability to accomplish any goal they set for themselves. They believe in their ability to overcome the odds and succeed where others may fail.
Hard Workers: The desire to excel and succeed goes hand-in-hand with the willingness to work hard. Successful entrepreneurs are among the hardest working people on the planet and often work more hours than many big-business executives. In fact, the successful entrepreneur often does not separate his work from the rest of his life. His work is his life, and even when relaxing or socializing, a part of his mind is still working to one degree or another.
Goal Setters: It is inherit in the nature of the entrepreneur to set goals and then strive to achieve them. To the entrepreneur, this is the only practical approach to life. Planning and working toward achieving these goals are stimulating, and the entrepreneur is often happier with goals in front of him to work toward than he is when the challenge is over. Goal setting is a continuous cycle, where the accomplishment of one goal is the foundation for more challenging ones.
Accepts Responsibility: Successful entrepreneurs are willing to accept responsibility for the success or failure of their business ventures. They desire steady feedback on their performance, and are constantly measuring that performance. The most common measuring devices are the rate of profit growth and return on investment. The entrepreneur uses these and other measuring tools to evaluate his degree of success or failure.
When a degree of failure is reflected in these measurements, the successful entrepreneur accepts the responsibility himself, rather than attempting to shift the blame to someone or something else. They will turn these failures into positive feedback by analyzing the reasons for the failures and by learning from their mistakes. A failure to achieve a goal is turned into a positive learning experience, which can be used as a building block to success.
Innovative: Innovation is often vital to the success of the entrepreneur. The ability to be able to new approaches to old concepts or product ideas can be the difference between success and failure. The ability of an entrepreneur to be innovative in ways that benefit consumers can be a very big advantage in the marketplace and in the success of a business.
Of course, these traits are not found in equal portions among entrepreneurs. Nor are they distinctive units of behavior that can be clearly separated from one another. These
traits manifest themselves as a homogeneous blend within the individual personality of the entrepreneur. This is by no means an extensive profile of the successful entrepreneur, but it does provide
some insight into the common traits that these individuals have in common. 
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