Do You Have What it Takes to be An Entrepreneur?

I’ve always been intellectually curious, never shying away from learning something new or doing the research to be better prepared.  But when I created Childs Farm, the baby and child personal care business in 2010, my learning curve was practically vertical.

I had to learn quickly, make decisions and inevitably, I had to fail.

Sometimes I failed fast, but often my failure lingered way too long.

I’m often asked whether it’s possible to know whether you have what it takes to become an entrepreneur and honestly, until you give it a go, you will never know.

The 8 Entrepreneurial Traits That Matter Most

These are the qualities I believe are crucial to success:

1. You’re a world-class salesperson

You can spot a true entrepreneur as soon as you meet one. We have this can-do aura about us, real energy and magnetism. We are also world-class salespeople. If we get caught wrong-footed with a question, we’ll say, “Great question! I don’t know, I’ll come back to you on that” and we will, usually the same day because we don’t hang about.

This comes down to exceptional self-belief and successful entrepreneurs have complete self-belief. We can’t allow ourselves to have a crack in our armour. If I don’t truly believe in what I’m doing, it’s as clear as day to potential investors or customers.

2. You’re willing to try anything

All entrepreneurs are constantly presented with tasks that will test their skillset, many of which they have never tried before or do not have any knowledge about.

When I launched Childs Farm, I became a Jack of all trades. Aside from mundane tasks such as packing boxes of stock, I also learned how to negotiate with retailers and handle investors. After spending countless hours troubleshooting accounting software and managing the books myself, I became so proficient at bookkeeping that I could easily have stopped what I was doing and set up a bookkeeping firm for other SMEs.

Most roles in business are not that complicated. Humans often make things complicated because we fear the unknown; however, it’s amazing what you can do if you try.

3. You’re goal-driven and decisive

By its nature, setting up your own business involves a significant level of uncertainty and risk. However, despite the enormous risk, the potential for catastrophic loss is never our focus. Our eyes are always on the prize: the goal of making the venture succeed, whatever happens.

Entrepreneurs don’t hesitate to go ahead with a decision. It won’t matter if it’s not 100% right. It will always be recoverable. The most important thing is to keep moving forward.

4. You care about the details

I know many entrepreneurs who are accused of being control freaks – me included. One of the most telling accusations is that we focus too much on the smaller details. But here’s the thing: the devil is in the detail.  In the case of Childs Farm, ensuring the labels and lid colours were identical mattered, as did the fact that the printed images aligned and that the wording wasn’t smudged.

High standards make exceptional products, which generate trust and should never be compromised.

5. You’re obsessed with value

Entrepreneurialism is all about delivering a service or solving problems, with limited resources. I was doing that in each of my entrepreneurial ventures. Once you know what the issues are, you can start plotting your way through, or around, them.

6. You’re driven, determined and resilient

Speak to any successful entrepreneur and you will discover it is a 24/7 endeavour. You will need to work when you don’t feel like it, but the good news is that you will want to work most of the time because you want your business to succeed and you will be addicted to it.

Things will go wrong. A lot. And that is where resilience comes in, which is, in my mind, one of the most important qualities of an entrepreneur.

Every entrepreneur I have worked with has had bad days. But they are resilient – they pick themselves up and find a solution.

7. You’re persistent

Working in retail means constantly trying to get the ear, or the eye, of a buyer, along with probably 1,000 other brands in their category. I spent four years trying to get the ear of one buyer. She was nonplussed by everything I tried and I’m sure she was thinking of taking out a restraining order on me because I was so persistent. By 2017, when Childs Farm was the fastest growing brand in the category, she had to list us because they were falling so far behind their competition.

The 9 Habits That Keep You Going

These are the behaviours I’ve found essential to surviving and thriving, as an entrepreneur:

1. Believe in yourself

If you don’t, no one else will. That’s partly confidence, partly being comfortable in yourself. The most successful founders I know have an overwhelming belief in what they are doing and why they are doing it.

2. Stay focused

Run your own race and keep focused on your finish line. Comparing yourself to others and what they’re doing is a complete waste of energy because everyone has different strategic goals and runs different races. Success comes from being laser-focused on your strategy, having the ability to pivot as required, but never losing sight of your finish line.

3. Keep a positive attitude

No matter your qualifications, it’s attitude that defines winners and brings opportunity. Being willing to unblock a loo can get you further than an MBA and standing out by your deeds, ingenuity and imagination brings reward.

4. Ask the right questions

Fourth. Life is a learning curve. You don’t know what you don’t know. So don’t be afraid to ask, but construct that question so it’s clear you’ve done your research before diving in. Asking someone to explain how to become a vet in the age of the internet shows a distinct lack of gumption.

5. Own your mistakes

Saying sorry prevents wars. Need I say more?

6. Smile

You’re never fully dressed without a smile. You’ll be amazed how much you can achieve with it. Enthusiasm for you, your business or brand will be infectious if you present it with joy.

7. Love what you do

Winston Churchill once said if you do something you enjoy, you’ll never work a day in your life, and it’s true. Successful entrepreneurs thrive off the energy and delight that their business gives them. Even when the sky is falling in, we will be relentless in finding a solution and when we do it’s grins all around.

Know your numbers. If you don’t measure them, how can you manage them?  Yes, get a great FD and in due course a CFO will be all over them too. But lack of understanding of what’s going in and going out can result in failure full stop.

8. Challenge and be prepared to be challenged

You will never know how robust your business plan is until someone gives the tyres an almighty kicking.  And how you and your team respond to being challenged will also determine your success.  See point 6!

And finally. When you’ve said your piece or made your pitch and got them on side and interested… shut up and sit down. Always leave them wanting and don’t be tempted to fill the silence. Be bold, be bright, be brief, be gone.

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