We all have heard or read the story of the successful entrepreneur, coming from a poor family, struggling the majority of their young lives, then in early adulthood starting a small business venture, which eventually grew into a massive international corporation.

 

  We all know about a number of individuals who make a successful living from domaining, buying and selling digital goods or services on webmaster forums or flipping websites. Often these individuals generate an annual income exceeding hundreds of thousands of Dollars, and in few instances millions of Dollars.

 

  Looking at some successful Internet entrepreneurs, who have different backgrounds, different ways in which they started their ventures, different ways in which they promoted and managed their businesses, we have found one thing they all have in common – The Characteristics of a successful entrepreneur.

 

  Below are the characteristics, which set apart the successful entrepreneur from the other individuals failing in establishing a successful business. These are characteristics we can learn from and work on improving our chances in succeeding as a successful entrepreneur.

 

Entrepreneurs are Healthy and Energetic

 

Starting a new business often requires an enormous amount of time and energy from an entrepreneur. Spending long hours on your new venture is easier to do when you are healthy and fit. Because of this it is no surprise that entrepreneurs often pursue a number of sporting activities in their spare time rather than lying in bed catching a nap. The successful entrepreneur is willing to make certain sacrifices in his personal life in order to ensure that sufficient time and energy is spent in ensuring the success of his business venture.

 

Entrepreneurs are Self-Aware

 

Successful Entrepreneurs often know who they are, what they are good at and what they like to do. For the same reason they consist of a great self-esteem. They often choose a business venture that are based on their fields of expertise and knowledge and generally impress their clients with great service delivery, knowledge and experience.

 

Entrepreneurs are Goal-Oriented and Ambitious

 

In general entrepreneurs set highly specific, challenging goals for themselves and then take action to achieve them. While working towards achieving their goals, entrepreneurs invest the majority of their time, energy and resources in ensuring that these goals are successfully achieved.

 

Entrepreneurs are Knowledgeable

 

The motto of all successful entrepreneurs: Knowledge is power. In order to succeed in a particular business venture it is expected of the entrepreneur to know all aspects of that business, including competition, strengths, weaknesses and market trends for growth or decline. Often entrepreneurs grow their knowledge by investing time and money in further education. The majority of entrepreneurs spend reasonable time on a daily basis ensuring that they are up to date with world news and business trends locally and abroad, constantly identifying new possibilities for growth.

 

Entrepreneurs are Highly Focused and Self-Motivated

 

An entrepreneur is often on top of his ball-game. No person needs to tell an entrepreneur what needs to be done next. Very few people can contribute positively towards the growth of a successful entrepreneur’s business.

 

Entrepreneurs are Excellent Planners

 

In all instances entrepreneurs spend time in creating and following plans to reach their goals. Entrepreneurs constantly revise their plans and goals ensuring they are still in line with the business’s success.

 

Entrepreneurs are Realistic and Optimistic

 

In the majority of instances entrepreneurs accept that life will not always go as planned. Set backs often do not get entrepreneurs down and they are more likely to look for opportunities in making the best from a bad situation. Set backs are often considered as learning stones by entrepreneurs where the normal individual would have thrown in the towel.

 

Entrepreneurs are Independent and Self-Confident

 

In general entrepreneurial spirits are very discontent when they are working in large organizations, especially where their authority and control over production is limited. The majority of entrepreneurs, as stated, is in control and generally knows what is needed to achieve goals successfully.

 

Entrepreneurs have Perseverance

 

The majority of new small businesses around the world fail within the first year of existence. This is largely due to the lack of desire and determination to see through the very difficult initial stages of the business where large investments of time, money and energy bring minimal return. This is where the successful entrepreneur prevails by seeing through the bad times and being first in line to profit from the good times. Perseverance is the one characteristic that ensures survival of the new business venture in future.

 

Entrepreneurs are Willing to take Risks

 

There exists a common myth about entrepreneurs and their tendency to engage in very risky business decisions. Nothing is more further from the truth. Successful entrepreneurs generally carefully evaluate risk in terms of the potential rewards they face and the realistic odds of realizing such rewards. Entrepreneurs often rely on intensive research and business experience before engaging in any risky business decision.

  A customer walks into the store, browses through products and shelves, picks up items, inspects, considers the prices, chooses a product and takes it to the cash register to pay. Now if you want to sell your products online, then your site must be enabled for e-commerce, where you must have the following features:

 

• You need to provide plenty of content and product description like sizes, dimensions, colors and comparisons with other similar products. It must allow the customer to choose a product, get a clear pricing and shipping costs on the product, complete the transaction and get an order number, and/or invoice confirmation via email. Allow your customer to choose a shipping method.
• You must tell the customer if the item is in stock or delivered against order. Ideally, you should have an email contact or live help if the customer has a question. Most importantly you must respond immediately! If you want to provide your own live chat and help desk services on your website, specialized softwares are available for purchase.
• Be sure your customer service links are large and clearly marked, so your client does not have to dig around to find information.
• Provide an ‘about us’ section or a section about your policies. If you have privacy statements and customer satisfaction policies, your customer will feel better about shopping in your store.
• You probably want to have customer quotes and references on the storefront page, as well, to let your prospective client know that others are happy with your service.
• Provide an FAQ with information about your return-back policies, guarantees, shipping prices and insurance charges if any.
• If you are so inclined, you can offer a print catalogue if the customer prefers to order one from your storefront and shop in the privacy of their homes.
• Do not annoy your customers by presenting products that are marked ‘sold’ or pages that say ‘under construction’ or ‘coming soon’.
• Do add new content frequently, so your returning customers will not be bored by seeing the same products they saw four months ago.
• If your site has got a date tag or has current references, be careful to change these references frequently so you don’t give the perception that nobody is attending or reading your site.