Entrepreneur has become quite the buzz word.  Have you noticed?  EVERYONE is an entrepreneur these days.  

But are they really?  What makes for the true spirit of an entrepreneur? 

They Take Risks . Oxford defines “entrepreneur” as:

a person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so

Many people do the first part of starting a business.  It’s the second part that separates the true entrepreneur from the wannabes.  You will take some risks.  End of story.  Some never go there because they are so risk averse.

They Don’t Give Up Robert Herjavec of Shark Tank fame says:

97% of the people who quit too soon are employed by the 3% who never gave up.

This is not to disparage those who really try and fail after hanging in there or running into some serious challenges.  Frankly, there are some situations and timing that can be challenging.

I started a financial advisory in 2000 which was the beginning of the first 3 year recession since 1937.  It was very tough.  I felt like quitting several times. But I didn’t and I was able to sell that practice in 2011. Why? I didn’t quit when it felt bad. The timing was difficult when I started, but I learned the value of continuing when adversity raised it’s ugly head.

They Leverage Other People’s Time There’s a significant difference between those who merely work as a “mechanic”, as Michael Gerber called them in his book, The E-Myth, and a true entrepreneur.

A mechanic is someone who is self-employed, but is merely an operator of the same thing he/she did before. An entrepreneur has others do the work of the business. The distinction here is that a mechanic is like a carpenter who used to work for someone else who started his own business but still uses hammers and nails. The entrepreneur hires other carpenters and eventually leaves the hammering and nailing to others.

They Are Resourceful I can’t emphasize this one enough.  Things often appear unsurmountable.  The problems seem to be black and white. They seem to be unsolvable.  The true entrepreneur finds a way to solve their problems.

I’m reminded of a client of mine who  is truly an entrepreneur.  In his first business he ran a plant that created custom vents for heating and cooling.  His business was often on the edge and didn’t always have the cash flow he really needed.  At one point, there was a huge strike of truckers which threatened to shut down his business because he couldn’t get some supplies he sorely needed to continue. What was he to do?

He leased a big truck and drove it to Canada himself.  He picked up enough supplies to ensure his business continued when it was on the brink.  He later sold that business to a major hardware company for millions of dollars.

They Are Optimistic Another way to say this is they see the vision of what they hope for.  Optimism isn’t  about not feeling the pain of adversity.  It is a passionate holding to the faith of  what they started.  

The true spirit of entrepreneur is one of finding a way. They  take risks, They are resourceful.  They are optimistic. And they don’t give up.