9 Essential Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs

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I’m currently reading a book titled, “The Complete TurtleTrader: How 23 Novice Investors Became Overnight Millionaires,” by Michael Covel.

This book is a true story about Wall Street legend Richard Dennis, and his disciples, the Turtles. Dennis made millions of dollars on Wall Street by investing according to a few simple rules. He gets into a debate with his partner about whether his successful techniques can be taught to anyone, or whether trading is a skill that someone must be born with.

He runs a classified ad in the Wall Street Journal, looking for recruits to pass along his knowledge. These recruits, who later became known as the Turtles, were a diverse set of individuals with a wide range of backgrounds. Dennis spent two weeks teaching the Turtles about his investment rules and philosophy, and then they started trading his money in the market.

The Role Intelligence Plays in Success

This book has been an interesting read with a number of takeaways, but a particular passage stood out to me. Towards the end, the author is talking about why some of the Turtles stood out from the rest. They all came from different backgrounds, received the same teaching, and were all relatively successful in making money through these methods. Why then, did some succeed more than the others? Was it simply intelligence? Covel argues that it’s more than that:

“It might be comforting to think that intelligence alone accounted for the Turtles’ trading success, but that would be an excuse. Intelligence ensures absolutely nothing in the long run; success requires something more.”

He goes on to explain that the difference between the Turtles who went on to have the most success after the conclusion of the program, versus those who failed, came down to an understanding and application of entrepreneurial skills.

Essential Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs

Nancy Upton and Don Sexton, professors at Baylor University who studied entrepreneurs, identified nine essential qualities possessed by entrepreneurs which the book references:

1. Non-conformists – They have a lower need to conform which indicates a strong sense of self-reliance. They march to the beat of their own drum, stand out from the crowd, and are strong individuals. They don’t feel the need to be like everyone else.

2. Emotionally oblivious – They aren’t necessarily unfriendly, but emotion is not what drives their decision making.

3. Sky divers – Lower concern for physical harm, self-care sometimes gets put on the back burner.

4. Risk takers – More comfortable taking risks than most other people.

5. Persuasive – They have the ability to share their ideas and convince others of the validity.

6. Autonomous – Higher need for independence.

7. Change seekers – This separates them from 99% of all other people. They seek out change and aren’t content keeping the status quo.

8. Energetic – Higher need/ability to work longer.

9. Self-sufficient – Don’t need as much sympathy or reassurance, but still need support networks.

Do any of these traits stand out to you or surprise you? If you find yourself nodding along with this list, it’s possible that self-employment or freelancing might be the right fit for you. For others, it may be harder to remain disciplined, focused, and productive without a boss and co-workers around to help push them.

Mentorship

One of the most successful traders also mentioned how pivotal Dennis’ mentorship meant to him:

“An honest, humble mentor is the best thing going. Learn from other people. Do the right thing every day, focus on what you’re doing , and let the cards fall where they may.”

We can’t control our circumstances, including the intelligence we’re born with. However, we can control our work ethic, effort, and putting the time in to learn marketable skills. These list of traits that help make successful entrepreneurs is a great place to start.

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