Entrepreneurship is a rare thing. Not everyone will have the diverse combination of traits and skills that make a successful entrepreneur - one who is dedicated to their innovations, with resolute persistence and passion that sets them apart from the competition and brings their ideas to life. 

It is true that becoming a successful entrepreneur is not as simple as it sounds. In the US, studies have demonstrated that the fail rate of new companies is 50% within the first five years (evidently not great odds). However, this isn’t to say that it is impossible. Think of any entrepreneur - whether you look at Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg or someone else, the success of an entrepreneur almost always comes down to the same key factors.

The Factors That Set a Successful Entrepreneur Apart From the Rest

When it comes down to it, there are really only a handful of things that make these people different from the rest. And, when you consider the significance of what some entrepreneurs have achieved with these general traits, taking them into consideration feels like a no-brainer. 

• Passion and enthusiasm
• Creativity and innovation
• Risk taking and self discipline
• Responsibility, preparation and foresight
• Determination and competitiveness
• Willingness to learn and adapt
  

It is all well and good to list these factors, but knowing how they can be put into action is where their real benefits lie. 

Passion and enthusiasm

Being passionate, enthusiastic, and excited about what you are doing might be the easiest or most difficult trait on this list to fulfill. Rather than developing a trait like this, it comes down to you as a person, and what your entrepreneurial plan and direction means to you. 

In the mind of an entrepreneur, passion should mean having a strong desire to work hard and succeed without it actually feeling like work. This isn’t to say that the journey of an entrepreneur is ever easy, but if you love what you do and your entrepreneurial goals overlap with your hobbies, working on your business in your own time and putting in the extra effort will come easily. This strong desire to work and succeed as an entrepreneur will play a huge part in rising above the competition and differentiating yourself from the others. 

Creativity and Innovation

While success depends greatly on your commitment to the task, creativity and innovation are almost just as important. You may be passionate about your idea, but if you can’t share this passion with others, how are you going to convince them that it is a good one? This is where creativity and innovation come in - these traits are paramount in ensuring that an entrepreneur can spot a gap in the market, differentiate, bring new ideas to the market, and present them in a way that resonates with the target audience. 

Not only do these factors underpin a successful idea and it’s communication; they also mean that when problems inevitably arise, either in day to day operations or regarding the feasibility of your product as a whole, you are able to come up with unique and effective solutions that continue to shape what you are creating.