Summary: Entrepreneurs have some traits in common. They also have some common problems. Here is what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur.

The destiny of a person is written the day he or she is born.  Entrepreneurs have certain traits which they may or may not realise till very late in their lives. The reasons for venturing into the fascinating world of entrepreneurship may be varied but the problems that these entrepreneurs and their startup's face are by and large the same.

Once you take the decision of setting up your own firm in the field of your passion and your expertise, the initial journey of selecting name, registration, taking necessary approvals etc is very exciting and gives a different kind of adrenaline rush. It’s the feeling you get just before you are about to enter into a pool for swimming.

The first problem that an entrepreneur faces is that of generating funds for the business so as to sustain the first six months of the expenses when the revenue is not expected to match the cost of day to day running expenses like salaries, rent of premises, promotion of business, etc. The planning for this has to be done beforehand by forecasting these expenses in advance and planning how to utilise the funds that one must have generated by means of savings, funding from a promoter or family or bank loans.

The second problem faced by an entrepreneur is recruiting the right people for his business. The level of the skill set required and the salary we plan to give to that person have to be perfectly matched so that the employee becomes an asset for the company. Initially, an entrepreneur might take on a load of various responsibilities himself so as to cut on salary costs which might be rightly justified initially but eventually, an entrepreneur has to chalk out a tight KRA (Key Responsibility Areas) for himself so that he does not stray away from his core responsibilities of growing his business using his people skills and the thorough knowledge of his business in order to attract more and more clients for the business.

The next problem that an entrepreneur faces is to justify the cost of its service or product viz a viz the competition in the market. One has to be innovative with the conceptualization and presentation of one's product or service so that it can give some extra value to the customer who is using it. Even before venturing into the business, one has to plan as to how our offering in the market will have some uniqueness from the run of the mill things being already offered in the market at cheaper prices. Either our product has to be unique or it has to have a cost advantage than the existing products so as to make it lucrative for the consumer.

Lastly, the working atmosphere that an entrepreneur creates for its employees determines the level of satisfaction & commitment an employee gets & gives to the job. A positive working environment also ensures low attrition rate and higher productivity of the employees. An entrepreneur has to be a problem solver who does not panic with ease because it is he or she who is at the helm of the ship and has to take all the crucial decisions which may alter the course of the business in the long run. Having the qualities of patience and having a defined goal go a long way in making a person a successful entrepreneur. 

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