Chapter 2 – Lesson 1

Character Traits Common to Successful Entrepreneurs

Basically, there is no specific formula as to exactly should be the character and competency of a person in order to
become successful entrepreneur. However, several studies reveal that there are character traits and competencies
which are common among successful entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurial Character Traits

Character trait in this lesson refers to the mark or attribute that distinguishes an entrepreneur from ordinary small
business owner.

Based on studies conducted by the Small Enterprise Research and Development Foundation (SERDF) of the
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) there are ten entrepreneurial characteristics group into three major clusters:
1. Achievement cluster
2. Planning cluster
3. Power cluster

ACHIEVEMENT CLUSTER - consists of entrepreneurial character traits that are directly related to entrepreneur’s
desire to be an achiever in the field of entrepreneurship.
Successful entrepreneurs constantly set the things to be achieved and repeatedly find ways to achieve them. The
entrepreneur who belongs to the achievement cluster is,
A. An opportunity-seeker
A business opportunity-seeker is an entrepreneur who
1. Sees and acts on new business opportunities; and
2. Seizes unusual opportunities to obtain financing, equipment, land, work, space or assistance.

B. Committed
A highly committed entrepreneur displays full commitment to the work or endeavour that he/she is undertaking.
He/She does not entertain negativism or scepticism.

Commitment is directly connected to interest. Lack of interest means lack of commitment.

C. Persistent
Trails, sacrifices, and failures challenge the entrepreneur to be persistent. The terms “quit” and “surrender” are not
included in the vocabulary of successful entrepreneurs. They exhaust all possible means to keep their business afloat
in the market. Being humans, they may feel down or discouraged at times, but they keep on moving forward.

Persistence is the foundation of commitment.

D. Risk-taker
There are types of risk-takers:
1. An aggressive risk-taker is not scared to take any risks in business.
2. A moderate risk-taker is more calculative in taking risks. He/She analyzes the situation before taking the leap.
3. A conservative risk-taker is not very eager to take any kind of risk. He/She is satisfied with managing a small
business and a regular clientele.

The entrepreneur weighs pros and cons of a particular business opportunity before taking the risk. Though an
entrepreneur is an risk-taker, he/she still takes all precautionary measures before engaging in a particular business
endeavour.
E. Efficient and quality-oriented
A successful entrepreneur highly values efficiency and the concept of quality in all business undertakings.
He/She:
1. Always performs the required tasks in accordance with existing standards of excellence or continuously improves
on his/her past performance and
2. Strive to do things better and faster with minimal cost.

The concept of efficiency in an entrepreneurial endeavour is related to the cost involved in the production of goods
and services. The basic rule is that you should incur the lowest minimal cost of production of goods and services
without sacrificing quality to make them competitive in market.

The concept of quality, on the other hand, deals with defects. Successful entrepreneurs generally work for zero
defects in their products and services.

PLANNING CLUSTER
The planning cluster is a set of characteristics of successful entrepreneurs that basically supports the character traits
in the achievement cluster.

The plan serves as the blueprint of the actions to be undertaken by the entrepreneur. The entrepreneur who belongs
to the planning cluster is:
A. Goal-setter
The basic concept of planning is setting goals and objectives. Goals and objectives are the guiding points that direct
all actions, efforts, and struggles of the entrepreneur. Although goals and objectives may appear similar, goals are
long-term while objectives are short-term.
SMART Principle (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound)

B. Information-seeker
Entrepreneurs constantly make decisions that will affect the operations of their business ventures. These must be
based not on their whims and comprises but on specific and relevant economic, financial and industry data.
Successful entrepreneurs, in other words, primarily seek a strong basis to make sound decision.

The usual constraints or limitations encountered in the gathering of information are data banks that:
1. are incomplete, dated and irrelevant;
2. are costly in maintenance; and
3. lack personnel to maintain them

A successful information-seeker
1. Seek relevant information on target customers, supplier of raw materials, and competitors;
2. Verifies available information from various sources, both private and public, like printed materials and agencies;
3. Seeks opinions and advice from experts in the business field;
4. Find other possible ways to make sure that the desired information is complete.

C. Systematic in planning and monitoring

The term systematic implies that there are rational and logical approach in performing the activities.
Planning simply refers to the setting of goals and objectives. Monitoring, on the other hand, refers to the evaluation
of the activities and adopted courses of actions whether they are carried in accordance with the plans.

Planning and monitoring are inseparable entrepreneurial activities. Planning serves as the preventive course of
action, while monitoring acts as the corrective course of action.
A successful entrepreneur adopts a systematic and coordinated planning and monitoring activities where he/she
1. Gathers all the qualitative and quantitative information before formulating the plans,
2. Develops a logical step-by-step approach in the formulation of plans,
3. Monitors the progress of activities and switches to alternative strategies when deemed necessary, and
4. Evaluate constantly the alternatives in achieving the goals.

POWER CLUSTER
The power cluster includes a set of character traits that reflect the degree of the interpersonal relations maintained
by successful entrepreneurs in the community. It establishes the relationship of the entrepreneurs with the suppliers
of raw materials, financial institutions, customers, competitors, the government, the employees, and all other
stakeholders.
The power in this discussion refers to the ability of the entrepreneur to maintain the highest degree of
interrelationship in the business community and influence others over to his/her line of reasoning.
In simple terms, the power cluster refers to the relationship and image of the entrepreneur in the community. An
entrepreneur in the power cluster is

A. Persuasive and positive networker

Successful entrepreneurs are persuasive and can easily influence and win over to their side the other stakeholders in
business such as customers, suppliers, and prospective creditors. They are able to establish good and positive
networking with almost all the players in the business community.
As a persuasive and positive networker, the successful entrepreneur usually;
1. Adopts specific strategies that will influence and convince the others while maintaining the highest degree of
respect; and
2. Make use of positive contacts in the business community in order to meet the goals and objectives of the business
endeavour.

B. Self-confident

Successful entrepreneurs are known to have a high level of self-confidence. They project a favourable image of
themselves which is founded on respect and good deeds in the business community. Entrepreneurial self-confidence
is actually a manifestation of the entrepreneur’s strong trust or belief on himself/herself.

Building self-confidence does not happen overnight. It is not also a spontaneous activity relative to a particular
business endeavour. Instead, it is a gradual process where the past correct experiences have significant contributions
to the present.
Chapter 2 – Lesson 2

Skills and Core competencies in Entrepreneurship

Possessing these character traits is not enough to finish the entrepreneurial journey. It is only the initial step.

ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS

Without the required skills, a person can hardly succeed in a particular business endeavour, perform the specialized
tasks, or even truly become a successful entrepreneur. Hence, skills play a significant role in the practice of
entrepreneurship.

Skills are considered as the personal abilities to do things well. They come from the totality of knowledge, practice or
experience, and aptitude of a person.

Entrepreneurial Skills-refers to the set of cognitive, technical, and interpersonal skills required in the practice of
entrepreneurship.

COGNITIVE SKILLS
Refers to the mental ability of the entrepreneur to learn new things, generate ideas, and express knowledge
in oral and written forms.

The cognitive skills of a entrepreneur includes the following:

1. Ability to understand written materials
2. Ability to learn and apply new information.
3. Ability to solve problems systematically
4. Ability to create new ideas
5. Ability to innovate new products and procedures or methods

 Problem-Solving Skill
-can help the entrepreneur in making decisions quickly, which is essential in the competitive world of
business.
Problems are common in the life of an entrepreneur as he/ she manages the day-day operations of the
business venture.
In making business decision, the entrepreneur adopts the scientific approach instead of making an intuitive
decision.
The scientific approach in solving business problems involves:
1. Defining the real problem
2. Gathering information about the problem
3. Formulating alternative solution
4. Evaluating alternative solutions
5. Selecting and implementing the optimal solution, and
6. Evaluating the decision.
TECHNICAL SKILLS

The result or final output of cognitive skills may not be very effective unless put into reality through the application
of technical skills. For entrepreneurs, these skills relate to their knowledge and proficiency in a specialized field like
computer technology, accounting, marketing, operations research, engineering, medical fields or other related
technical fields.

The technical skills of an entrepreneur include proficiency and ability, among others, in the following areas:

1. Information Technology
2. Feasibility study and business plan preparation
3. Technical writing skills
4. Marketing
5. Management and finance

Since the technical skills is highly mechanical in character rather than theoretical, they must be studied and learned
in the most practical way, hands on. Learning by doing is the best approach in enhancing technical skills.

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

Interpersonal skills are basically the relationship and interaction of the entrepreneur with the workers, suppliers,
creditors, prospective customers, and other members of the business community.

The interpersonal skills of an entrepreneur may include, among others, the following:

1. Skills in verbal communication

2. Skill in non-verbal communication
3. Skills in listening
4. Skills in leading
5. Skills in negotiating

To become a successful entrepreneur, it is vital to acquire, develop, and enhance entrepreneurial skills involving
cognitive, technical, and interpersonal skills.

CORE COMPETENCIES

The harmonious combination of entrepreneurial concepts and principles, entrepreneurial character traits, and
entrepreneurial skills define the entrepreneurial competency.

Entrepreneurial competency provides competitive advantage in the venture and becomes the core competency. The
entrepreneurial core competency, therefore, is defined as the combination of entrepreneurial concepts and
principles, entrepreneurial character traits, and entrepreneurial skills that provide and become the ultimate source
of competitive advantage of the entrepreneur.

The competitive advantage refers to strategic position and condition of the entrepreneurial venture that

1. Provides the necessary attributes to outperform the competitors,

2. Distinguishes the venture to competitors,
3. Achieves superior in the industry, and
4. Produces a product or develop production method that can hardly be copied by competitors.

The competitive advantage generally establishes the solid foundation of sustainability of the entrepreneurial venture
in the heart of the competition.