Psychological portrait of an entrepreneur: character traits and qualities. Personal qualities characteristic of entrepreneurs An entrepreneur’s assessment of his business qualities

The main qualities of an individual entrepreneur distinguish him from ordinary people. They help him stand out among many competitors and achieve success.

Many scientific works have been written about the character traits that a successful businessman should have. Scientists have conducted studies of successful people to identify the main traits that make them special.

Special qualities of an individual entrepreneur

As a result of observing businessmen who have achieved success, scientists were able to identify their main features:

• a good businessman must be able to present himself and the product he is promoting to the market;
• a business person must be able to organize first of all himself, and then employees, if any;
• you need to constantly strive for success, not stop there, and be a leader in everything.

But these are not all the qualities that a successful person should have. What qualities should an entrepreneur have? These include risk taking, intelligence, acquired knowledge, and sociability.

Having identified the main traits that characterize successful businessmen, the researchers classified these main traits of an entrepreneur. This theoretical classification of the main qualities of a business person helps in practice. Each special trait of an entrepreneur makes him unique in his own way and helps him break into a particular field of activity. You can't do everything, but you can do one thing better than everyone else.

Researchers argue that the main driving force of a person is the need to self-actualize and achieve success in his business. Any businessman should have an active life position. This is a common trait of all successful people. But every businessman must have his own special qualities that will help him outperform his competitors. You need to know your strengths and weaknesses and actively use them to promote your business. But to do this, you need to know exactly what traits will help in business.

For this purpose, experts divide the main features into business and personal qualities of an entrepreneur. If personal qualities are inherent in any person, then business qualities are acquired in the process of activity.

The ultimate goal of business activity is to derive benefits. The personal qualities of an entrepreneur determine the ways to achieve this goal. Business skills are a tool to achieve a goal.

The main features of an entrepreneur come down to the fact that you need to be able to benefit from personal and business traits and skillfully combine them.

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Personal qualities of an entrepreneur

A business person must adequately assess his capabilities and his own business. He primarily acts as a person, an individual. Therefore, of all the traits of a businessman, the personal qualities of an entrepreneur stand out.

Entrepreneurial activity has its own characteristics. It is always associated with the risk of not receiving benefits; an entrepreneur must have firm confidence in his actions and success. To do this, he must have an analytical mind and the ability to calculate the economic situation several moves ahead. You need to be enthusiastic and not blindly copy your predecessors. A business person must be able to seize the initiative in the market. To attract customers, you need to stand out with something special: create a new product or service. Extraordinary, creative, imaginative thinking and an innovative approach to everyday things, searching for new ways to solve problems will help with this.

A successful person, at his core, must be a leader: have the will to win, strive for success, be purposeful. Must be able to organize the work of the enterprise, organize employees, if any, and himself.

In order to ensure long-term competitiveness and attract regular customers, a businessman must conscientiously perform the functions he has undertaken and sell a quality product.

In many ways, communication skills will help a business person achieve success. Only the ability to communicate with people will ensure the establishment of normal relationships with clients, suppliers, and government agencies.

It is advisable for a businessman to be curious, always try something new, constantly learn and be teachable. He must have the ability to take reasonable risks, adventurism within the framework of common sense.

A good entrepreneur is observant. He will always be able to adequately assess the situation on the market, think through changes in market conditions and skillfully take advantage of this, occupying his niche.

Intuition and luck play a huge role. You need to be able to anticipate the profitability of a particular operation, have a healthy distrust of counterparties, and be able to protect yourself from deception.

In a rapidly changing market economy, you should be able to quickly make decisions and quickly adapt to consumer tastes.

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What other qualities should an entrepreneur have?

Business researchers argue that success is a matter of personality and character. Character refers to the personal qualities of an individual entrepreneur. Success in business is significantly influenced by both a person’s innate personal traits and the acquired personal qualities of an entrepreneur.

In the course of long studies, it was found that successful people are characterized by the following personal qualities of an individual entrepreneur:

1. Hard work. You need to tirelessly move towards your goal.
2. Initiative. You should not expect clients to find an entrepreneur themselves. You need to act yourself. Study the market situation, look for a new market, engage in self-promotion.
3. Equilibrium. A businessman must be able to control himself, his emotions and maintain composure in any situation.
4. Independence. A successful person must be able to make decisions himself and take responsibility for them.
5. Energy. Only a person with an active lifestyle can attract attention and emerge from the shadow of competitors.

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Business qualities of an entrepreneur

In order to understand what business qualities an entrepreneur has, you need to watch him at work. Everyone has their own innate qualities, some are acquired in the process of activity.

Social and psychological factors influence the business qualities of an entrepreneur. Thus, the need to achieve success and recognition pushes people to open their own business. This is the only way to achieve self-realization and demonstrate personal and business qualities.

Natural abilities have a special influence on the business qualities of an entrepreneur. Intelligence and ingenuity will help you find start-up capital and open your own business. Reaction speed and adaptability will help out in constantly changing business conditions.

In the modern world, in addition to good natural abilities, there is also a need for education and professionalism. An entrepreneur must constantly learn and be able to apply acquired knowledge in practice. The business qualities of an entrepreneur largely determine the direction of his activities.

The question of what set of personal qualities an individual must have in order to become a successful entrepreneur cannot be answered unambiguously, however, the historical experience of the development of civilized entrepreneurship allows us to make some generalizations. Thus, civilized and successful entrepreneurs must have the following traits: to be honest, competent, purposeful, proactive, to show leadership, to respect the opinions of others, to have a positive attitude towards people, to constantly learn, to be willing to take risks, to be able to overcome environmental resistance, to be persistent in achieving the set goal, have a sense of responsibility, perseverance, great willpower, have creativity, be hardworking and have high performance, be able to attract the necessary partners, have a commercial and financial mindset, be able to legally obtain what is due to him and other qualities.

It is characteristic that in developed countries even government bodies give their recommendations on this problem. Thus, the US Small Business Administration (Small Business) believes that an entrepreneur must have the following five most important characteristics that guarantee him success in the most risky enterprise: a) energy, the ability to make it work; b) the ability to think; c) the ability to build relationships with people; d) communication skills; e) knowledge of engineering and technology.

Am I starting a business myself?

How good am I with people?

Do I have sufficient physical strength and emotional potential to successfully conduct business?

How well do I plan and organize my affairs?

Is my desire to stick to my goal strong enough?

How will running a business affect my family? Of practical interest are studies conducted by the American firm McBer and Company with the support of the American Agency for International Development and the US National Science Foundation, which made it possible to identify 21 personal qualities that are constantly demonstrated by successful entrepreneurs. The most important personal characteristics of entrepreneurs are listed below:

Opportunity seeking and initiative (sees and seizes new or unusual business opportunities; acts before events force it);

Tenacity and perseverance (willing to make repeated efforts to meet a challenge or overcome an obstacle; changes strategies to achieve a goal);

Risk taking (prefers challenging or moderate risk situations; weighs risk; takes action to reduce risk or control outcomes);

Focus on efficiency and quality (finds ways to do things better, faster and cheaper; strives to achieve excellence, improve efficiency standards);

Involvement in work contacts (takes responsibility and makes personal sacrifices to get the job done; gets involved with or instead of employees);

Goal-oriented (clearly expresses goals; has a long-term vision; constantly sets and adjusts short-term goals);

The desire to be informed (personally summarizes information about clients, suppliers, competitors, using personal and business contacts for these purposes to keep oneself informed);

Systematic planning and monitoring (plans by breaking large tasks into subtasks; monitors financial results and uses procedures to track work progress);

Ability to persuade and network (uses careful strategies to get things done and persuade people, and business contacts as a means to achieve his goals);

Independence and self-confidence (seeks independence from the rules and control of others; relies on oneself in the face of opposition or lack of success; believes in one's ability to complete difficult tasks).

Of course, the above personal characteristics are not genetically acquired; they are developed by a person in the process of entrepreneurial activity and are largely determined by the personality of the individual, his aspirations, and the business environment.

Most researchers of the problem of the personal qualities of entrepreneurs come to the conclusion that these are people with a penchant for finding and implementing new ideas, inventions, technologies, people of constant initiative and creativity, irrepressible energy. They are ready to take reasonable, strictly calculated risks, because without risk there is no entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurs are people who are able to work constantly and hard, learn from the mistakes of others, and learn lessons from their own mistakes. These are people who are confident in their abilities, so they are constantly learning, studying all the problems related to their business. Successful entrepreneurs understand that constantly expanding knowledge is the basis of entrepreneurship. The tool, the main lever for the development of entrepreneurship, is innovation. These are brave people, but their courage is limited by the level of reasonable aspirations.

What personal qualities must an individual have to become an entrepreneur and achieve success? This question cannot be answered unequivocally. Numerous researchers of this pressing problem in Western countries highlight various character traits, skills and knowledge.

M. Storey, author of the monograph “The Fastest Growing Companies in the USA. A Look from the Inside,” reflecting on the qualities of entrepreneurs, tells what difficulties they face. This is a constant restructuring of your business, making changes and improvements, the ability to start over, the ability to overcome the inertia and routine of the environment and other difficulties. The ability to overcome the resistance of an aggressive external environment is especially characteristic of Russian civilized entrepreneurs, which is objectively connected with the past (and present) public mentality, the underdevelopment of market relations and the vulnerability of Russian citizens from a host of officials, racketeers and robbers.

In order to test your abilities in entrepreneurial activity, your entrepreneurial mentality, it is recommended to accurately and objectively answer the following questions:

1. What functions, responsibilities (not positions) have you performed in recent years?

2. Are you active? active? are you proactive?

3. Are you able to cope and cope with adversity or misfortune? Are you able to lose, lose everything and still start your new business all over again?

4. What are your hobbies, what are your passions? Can they be applied to your business?

5. Are you straightforward and frank?

6. Are you aggressive?

7. Can you be flexible if you encounter insurmountable circumstances? Do you give in to power?

8. Do you have an analytical mind? Are you able to get to the root, to the very essence of the problem, and then solve it?

9. Are you a trader by nature? Are you able to trade? Have you ever actually sold anything? Would you like to go from one door to another to try?

10. Are you ready to sacrifice anything personally, to make personal sacrifices for the sake of your new company?

11. Are you a creative person? Do you have imagination, are you capable of invention?

12. Can you recognize your market niche?

13. Are you able to use everything at hand to start your own business?

14. How do you cope with failure? Can you turn this failure into your future market success?

15. Can you be persistent? Do you go back again to achieve your goal?

16. Do you know how to work with people?

If you answered positively to the above questions, you can organize your own business and become an entrepreneur. Of course, this process also requires certain conditions: initial capital, reliable partners, having at least a minimum of experience in managing your own enterprise, the ability to plan, control your business, etc.

Participants in a conference on entrepreneurship, which was held by Stanford University in the 90s, came to the conclusion that the desire for excellence, as well as such entrepreneurial qualities as impatience, reluctance to delegate something to someone else, play a key role in successful entrepreneurial activity. energy, the desire to work hard and also completely indulge in entertainment, the ability to highlight the essence of the problem. As we see, these are not so much qualities as the motives of behavior of entrepreneurs, which are largely related to personal characteristics.

M. Storey, assessing the traits of successful entrepreneurs who lead fast-growing companies, writes that entrepreneurs work when others are sleeping, travel when others are sitting at lunch, plan when others are having fun. They find it difficult to tell the difference between Saturday night and Tuesday afternoon. The common characteristics of all high-growth entrepreneurs are persistence and determination. An entrepreneur is very rarely a timid and shy person. His integral feature is the ability to take reasonable risks, but at the same time he must remember that money is not the main motivating factor of an entrepreneur. The person who sets his goal to achieve only large profits will certainly bring his company to financial collapse.

To the question “Who are successful entrepreneurs?” M. Storey gives lengthy answers, among which I would like to highlight the following:

They have a vision or dream that they pursue daily;

Boundless faith in their products or services;

They are constantly striving to do something;

They are inventors;

They are impatient and irritable, they always lack time;

They are tenacious and persistent;

They are focused on profit;

They are focused on success, planning for several years ahead;

They know their strengths and weaknesses better than anyone;

They are not afraid to start all over again;

Money is not their main or only motivation;

They do everything themselves;

They understand the meaning of subtle changes and their impact on business success;

They want to grow;

Understand the primary role of the consumer;

They don't think they're taking a big risk;

They are practical;

They ask for what they really want;

They are very market sensitive;

They are difficult to intimidate;

They are used to being alone;

They are contradictory, stubborn and capricious.

This is who successful entrepreneurs are. Of course, it is difficult to agree with all the characteristics, because some of them, for example, stubbornness, capriciousness, are contradictory and, in our opinion, cannot contribute to the success of an entrepreneur.

However, most of the above-mentioned qualities and motives of behavior are inherent in many Russian entrepreneurs.

In conclusion of this chapter, we present the principles that had developed in Russian entrepreneurship by the beginning of the 20th century: 1. Respect authority. Power is a necessary condition for effective business management. There must be order in everything. In this regard, show respect to the guardians of order in the legalized echelons of power.

2. Be honest and truthful. Honesty and truthfulness are the foundation of entrepreneurship, a prerequisite for healthy profits and harmonious business relationships. A Russian entrepreneur must be an impeccable bearer of virtue, honesty and truthfulness.

3. Respect property rights. Free enterprise is the basis of the well-being of the state. A Russian entrepreneur is obliged to work hard for the benefit of his homeland. Such zeal can only be demonstrated by relying on private property.

4. Love and respect the person. Love and respect for a working person on the part of an entrepreneur generates reciprocal love and respect. In such conditions, a harmony of interests arises, which creates the basis for the development of a wide variety of abilities in people and encourages them to express themselves in all their splendor.

5. Be true to your word. A business man must be true to his word. “Once you lie once, who will believe you.” Success in business largely depends on the extent to which those around you trust you.

6. Live within your means. Don't get carried away. Choose something you can handle. Always evaluate your capabilities. Act according to your means.

7. Be purposeful. Always have a clear goal in front of you. An entrepreneur needs such a goal like air. Don't get distracted by other goals. Serving two “masters” is unnatural. In an effort to achieve a cherished goal, do not cross the boundaries of what is permitted. No value can replace moral values.

Of course, modern Russian entrepreneurs do not adhere to the above principles in their business activities, but a significant part of them are civilized and law-abiding subjects of economic relations.

Control questions

1. Which individuals do not have the right to engage in business?

2. What types of legal entities are entrepreneurs?

3. Name the basic rights of entrepreneurs.

4. What responsibilities do entrepreneurs have?

5. What are the main personal qualities of civilized entrepreneurs?

6. On what principles was Russian entrepreneurship based at the beginning of the 20th century?

7. Characteristic personal qualities of successful entrepreneurs.

8. Name the rights of entrepreneurs-taxpayers.

9. What responsibilities do you know as entrepreneurs-taxpayers?

10. What qualities characterize the ideal type of entrepreneur?

11. Basic principles of activity of an individual, which are the basis for engaging in entrepreneurial activity.

12. Name the distinctive features of commercial and non-profit organizations.

An entrepreneur or business entity According to the adopted legislation, there may be citizens of the country who are recognized as legally capable in the manner prescribed by law (not limited in legal capacity).

Let us give an unconventional description of an entrepreneur proposed by the Soviet economist, Professor V. Bogachev: “An entrepreneur is a poor fellow and an eternal debtor: an irrepressible optimist who has chosen a life career in which he will more than once have to change his object and, perhaps, the sphere of his business, probably go broke and try to get back on his feet again. Unmerciful self-exploiter without a standardized working day and vacations, not allowing himself, even if successful, to spend more on his own consumption than a qualified hired worker.”

Business is work that requires constant effort. What makes a businessman work actively is his main interest - the desire to make a profit, the desire to have more than was invested in the business. The difference between invested funds and the return on them in a simplified sense is called profit. The profit is used for the further development of the business; the businessman spends part of it on himself, since without satisfying personal interests, business is impossible.

Civilized business gives a large number of people the opportunity to get honestly rich. For example, in the United States there are more than two million millionaire businessmen and a significant number of people who want to earn their millions in entrepreneurship.

From doing business, entrepreneurs want and can get:

- the ability to make decisions independently;

Employment;

Job satisfaction;

A chance to realize yourself as an individual.

Concerned with the idea that something is missing in the world around him, the entrepreneur begins to reflect on this topic. The result of his thoughts may be the idea of ​​​​creating a new product, developing an original service, or changing an existing product production system. Very often it is the entrepreneur who sees a specific niche and finds how to fill it. This is how his business is born.

Not every person can become an entrepreneur. There is something that allows some people, but does not allow others, to integrate into the process of entrepreneurial activity. What lies behind this “something”? Education and open-mindedness? Luck, chance, luck? Appropriate actions taken at the right time, in the right place, in the right form? Of course, both, and the third, or rather, an effective combination of them. But this is not enough. There is also the entrepreneur himself with individual qualities and characteristics that become decisive in his development as an entrepreneur. It is known that many graduate from the most prestigious educational institutions in the world, but not all of them become successful entrepreneurs or businessmen.

In Russia during the transition period, an entrepreneur was any business person who operates in the non-state sector of the economy (the owner of a commercial store, for example). Although, according to the world classification, the characteristic of an entrepreneur is unlikely to apply to him.

The appearance of the term “entrepreneur” is associated with the economist Richard Cantillon (1725). He developed the first holistic concept of entrepreneurship for his time. Later, Jean Baptiste Say (1767-1832), argued that “an entrepreneur is economic agent, which combines factors of production, “drags” resources from areas of low productivity and profitability to areas in which they can give the greatest result (profit, income).” Consequently, entrepreneurship is an economic activity carried out through a constant combination of factors, aimed at the efficient use of all resources and obtaining the highest results. He pointed to the active, innovative nature of entrepreneurship, associated not only with the search, but also with the need to create new combinations of production factors. His ideas were later developed by Thunen (1783-1850), a German economist, founder of the theory of allocation and a pioneer in the study of marginal productivity. He described the entrepreneur as " inventor and researcher in its field" as "a contender for residual (after compensation for production costs and taxes) risky and unpredictable income."

The term “entrepreneurship” was popularized by the English economist D. Mill (1806-1873) in his work “Principles of Political Economy.” He characterized the entrepreneur, first of all, as innovator.“The task of entrepreneurs is reform and revolutionize production through the introduction of inventions, and in a general sense - through the use of new technological capabilities for the production of new or old goods, but in a new method due to the discovery of a new source of raw materials or a new market for finished products - up to the reorganization of the old and the creation of a new industry.”

“Entrepreneurs,” writes Schumpeter, “we call economic entities whose function is precisely the implementation of new combinations and who act as its active element.” Entrepreneurs are special type of people, and their activities are a specific problem, since they perform functions of creating something new, and doing something new is objectively more difficult than doing something familiar and tried and true. At the same time, the social environment resists the attempts of everyone who intends to introduce something new.

The uniqueness of the behavior of an entrepreneur, according to I. Schumpeter, lies in two points. First, this behavior has an object; being an entrepreneur means do not do what others do; Secondly, do not do as others do, and this requires qualitatively different abilities than the ability to simply make assessments within the normal circuit. An entrepreneur performs a special function in the social economic process.

Schumpeter explored the problem entrepreneur's motives.

- First of all, this the dream and will to establish your own private empire

- The second group of motives is related to the will to win.

- The third group of motives is related with the joy of creativity.

I. Schumpeter believed that for the development of entrepreneurship it is necessary two main factors: organizational and economic innovation and economic freedom. He was an opponent of state intervention in business activities and a defender of free enterprise.

According to the famous American scientist P. Drucker, innovations are a special tool for entrepreneurs, a means by which they use change as an opportunity to realize their business and service visions. Therefore, the tasks of entrepreneurs include a targeted search for sources of innovation, as well as changing their signs indicating the possibility of achieving success.

Drucker formulates four entrepreneur strategies , allowing you to succeed:

Rush in first and deliver a massive blow;

Attack quickly and unexpectedly;

Find and capture “ecological niches”;

Measure the economic characteristics of a product, market, or industry.

Only specialists in a certain sector of the economy, people are knowledgeable, intelligent, active, disciplined, and have personal qualities that allow them to cope with the unfavorable conditions that inevitably arise for doing business, i.e. able to overcome the resistance of the environment (especially the external, very aggressive one).

It is necessary to develop competition among entrepreneurs, limit monopolistic activities, as well as government intervention in free enterprise.

“An entrepreneur, starting his own business, should not be afraid of the most varied work - intense mental and emotional activity and hard physical labor. When “growing” a business, an entrepreneur must fully master it - study the laws, find out all the details of the upcoming work, find out the current practice in this area, understand what material resources, jobs are needed and... constantly work and work. Only on these conditions will he be able to manage your business with a firm hand,” noted V.I. Eroshin.

Once an entrepreneur enters the world of business not as a consumer, but as a supplier of goods, many new and contradictory opportunities will open up before him. When making decisions, he brings benefit or harm to the business, treats people fairly or not too honestly, ennobles the environment or pollutes it.

“Skillful business management is the art of turning boring problems into interesting ones, involving many people in solving them. When business is handled ineptly, problems appear in such a way that people try to avoid them. Interesting problems give you energy to solve them, boring ones deprive you of it.”

The history of economic development shows that new firms are created in any conditions and even more actively - during periods of crisis situations, inflation, decline in production, lack of special legislation and the necessary infrastructure, uncertainty of the future, when the degree of risk is especially high. Anyone undertaking a new business under such conditions must rely only on himself. By starting his own business, a person seeks to increase control over his future, combine work and personal life, extend his lifestyle to the business environment and, of course, strengthen his financial situation.

In a market economy, the entrepreneur is a key figure. The success of his business depends on his ability, desire and desire to take risks, willingness to take advantage of opportunities, and search for new ideas to expand his activities. Many successful businessmen believe that at the beginning of their business, too much money is an incomparably more serious problem than a lack of it, that for success in business something else is more important, something that is embedded and consolidated by the previous life within a person, in his personality and character.

In the modern sense business qualities concept entrepreneur includes:

• readiness and ability to find a free (for now) economic niche by analyzing the market and the degree to which it is filled with goods, products, services in terms of the range and quantitative characteristics of each assortment unit;
• readiness and ability to create your own productive structure aimed at producing goods, products, services, the supply of which to the market will fill the discovered niche and will allow it to be retained in the future;
• the ability and ability to correctly assess the situation on the market, all current and upcoming changes, to identify market needs that are “in the air”; these needs can: be obvious, but not yet satisfied by anyone; to be not completely satisfied or completely satisfied with someone. However, even in the latter case, there is an opportunity (through the production of another product) to satisfy them more fully, better, more efficiently;
• the ability to make initial entrepreneurial calculations based on the results of market and market research, on the basis of which the entrepreneur concludes whether this idea is worth pursuing;
• willingness and ability to make a business decision based on the principle of maximizing both one’s own income and consumer benefits;
• the ability to manage the implementation of an entrepreneurial project, that is, to formulate goals and objectives, develop measures to stimulate the participation of subordinates, colleagues and partners in achieving such goals;
• the ability to be the first to discern and understand a new technical, technological or scientific-technical idea and, at the level of imagination, to “play out” obtaining the final result, a product with the possible use of this idea; the ability to enter into the communication process with all the necessary people, organizations, and government structures.

Innovation- a basic characteristic when describing an entrepreneur, but it can manifest itself in different forms. First of all, it should be noted that he rarely acts as an inventor. An innovative entrepreneur most often knows how to effectively use the results of inventions, finds, discoveries made by someone. He knows how to analyze these new products in relation to the desire to produce something new, original, which will undoubtedly arouse the interest of the market and consumer.

Thus, the main form of innovation (and the most reliable) is the production of a new product for the market based on a specific invention, that is, on the basis of the division of labor and the organization of cooperation chains: someone invents, and someone uses these inventions in production.

If a person is a thinking being, then an entrepreneur must have more in-depth (compared to the average level) thinking, the ability to analyze and notice everything new that appears in life and in his field of activity. Such qualities are necessary in order to implement the basic principles of entrepreneurship - innovation and novelty.

An entrepreneur must notice, look for and think through specific forms of using new ideas. The famous American entrepreneur Carnegie, for example, was not the author of inventions, but he knew better than others how inventions belonging to other people could be used in steel production. True, there are other examples. Thus, G. Ford not only knew how to use new ideas, but was also their author.

An important feature of an entrepreneur is ability to predict , how the implementation of new ideas in the production process will be perceived by the market. The ability to combine two components in one process - the introduction of a new product and the market reaction - is the key to the future success of an entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurship is, first of all, a thought process, but since each of us has our own apparatus, a stereotype of thinking, in relation to this area of ​​​​business activity, the successes of each entrepreneur are different.

But the level of success cannot but reflect the level of thinking, although this alone is not enough - a large (and sometimes very large) role in this case is played by luck, luck, etc., accompanying only those who have learned and can think. The main task of the learning process comes down to trying to help each individual develop his own stereotype of thinking. On the basis of thinking, the individual constructs in his consciousness his own picture of the world as the initial basis for the analysis of any phenomenon or fact that characterizes the surrounding reality.

Thinking in entrepreneurship is embodied in the form business design- the starting point of any planned business operation or business process. From this point of view, entrepreneurship is a form of combining unique knowledge and a specific market situation to ensure a strong position in the market. It involves searching for new opportunities by reforming or revolutionizing production to transfer it to a more efficient level of operation through the introduction of innovative (technical, scientific, technological, organizational or managerial) achievements.

An entrepreneur is a generalist in the business world. He must have knowledge in economics, politics, law, psychology, sociology and be able to organize the interaction of specialists from different fields in order to achieve a common goal. He has to deal with accounting and personnel management, negotiate, know what insurance is, delve into production technology, have a good understanding of the system of market relations, predict the dynamics of demand and supply of various goods for years to come.

A person in this profession has to be able to do a lot himself, especially in the first stages of creating his own business. He simultaneously needs to be a manager and a courier, a supplier and an accountant, a lawyer and a secretary, an economist and a record keeper, a personnel psychologist who selects his team, an advertising specialist and simply a nice, creatively thinking and very active person.

An entrepreneur is an internally relaxed and self-confident person. He is sociable, knows how to maintain friendly relations with people, acts competently and calmly in a conflict situation, maintaining efficiency and a clear vision of the strategic goal. Lee Iacocca found it damning to hear a comment about a manager: “He doesn’t know how to get along with people,” believing that such a person’s career in business was over.

A true entrepreneur is a person prone to independence and freedom. He chooses entrepreneurship largely because he wants and can be a leader in his business. And we are not talking about the primacy that is determined by the position, official rights and responsibilities officially granted to a person. A businessman must be able to influence others without resorting to direct orders.

An important personality trait of an entrepreneur is the ability to form a team An entrepreneur rarely implements his ideas alone. The winner is the one who is able to create the right team that can effectively influence the process of implementing an entrepreneurial idea. In this regard, the entrepreneur faces difficult tasks - what type of specialists are needed, what personal qualities they should have, whether they can fit into the psychological climate that the entrepreneur is constructing.

A person is engaged in business, and the effect of any activity depends on the person, and above all on level of work culture.

Of particular importance in the activities of an entrepreneur is ability to be creative. Creativity is required both when developing a business idea and during its implementation. From this point of view, entrepreneurship can be characterized as the art of organizing and carrying out a business.

One (perhaps the most important) quality of an entrepreneur is especially important - his readiness and ability to make decisions. This quality can be called in another way - ability to take responsibility. Indeed, when making a decision, an entrepreneur takes responsibility for its consequences not only to those who help him implement the idea, not only to his partners, but also to his future. However, the process of accepting responsibility is at the same time a process of taking (accepting) risk. Therefore, the ability and willingness to take risks- also qualities characteristic of an entrepreneur. Perhaps it is precisely this requirement or a fairly clear awareness of such a requirement that explains the phenomenon of the entrepreneur.

However, all personal qualities and characteristics that have been analyzed can remain at the level of potencies if the person does not have one more ability to mobilize, by which we mean the ability to bring all possibilities into an active state, i.e., into a state of readiness for action.

Mobilization (or organizational) abilities, which many researchers attribute to innate human properties, include the ability to mobilize:

• yourself, that is, to concentrate on some idea, action, fact or event;
• necessary resources in the right form, quality and quantity;
• existing connections, contacts, relationships.

There is a well-established opinion in the world that entrepreneurial layer in any society is quite subtle. According to estimates, such activities can be carried out at a high professional level by: no more than 8% of the amateur population. Entrepreneurship requires certain personal qualities of a businessman, like any other profession.

The personal characteristics of an entrepreneur may be associated with his natural predisposition to conduct business professionally or be the result of special training and acquired experience, and most often represent a combination of both. From a philosophical point of view, entrepreneurship can be characterized as a special mood of the soul, as a form of business romance, as a means for a person to realize his inherent potentials.

Summary

1. An entrepreneur is a generalist in the business world. The concept of his business qualities includes: the readiness and ability to find a free market niche, create his own structure aimed at producing a product that will fill the discovered niche and allow it to be retained in the future; the ability to correctly assess the situation, identify market needs that are “in the air.”

The psychological portrait of an entrepreneur has long been one of the most popular topics in people’s business and financial lives. Why is he given so much attention? The answer is quite simple - in most cases, we subconsciously copy the behavior of people who have achieved success.

Character traits and personal qualities of an entrepreneur

Every aspiring entrepreneur wants to be sure that he has exactly the same character traits and personal qualities that his successful predecessors had. That is why the psychological portrait of an entrepreneur is so important to him.

Entrepreneurship is a type of economic activity of a human individual, which is based primarily on independent initiative, the desire to implement one’s idea and increase one’s fortune.

That’s right, increase your fortune. Some budding entrepreneurs may argue that money is not the most important thing, but it turns out that it is the catalyst for innovative ideas and allows you to develop your abilities.

But any economic activity implies the presence of at least two people. That is, we can say with confidence that entrepreneurship is characterized not only by economic, but also by social activity. And it is the successful activity of an entrepreneur within society that determines the level of his success.

Entrepreneur Character Traits

What should an entrepreneur be like? Let's try to put together those character traits of an entrepreneur with the help of which he must achieve success.

• Self confidence. Some psychologists believe that this is one of the most important character traits of an entrepreneur. No amount of good qualities will help a person succeed in business if he lacks self-confidence. People who have this character trait are not affected by failures and mistakes. They, as a rule, do not need anyone's support or approval;
• Equilibrium. Expressed in the ability not to panic in severe stressful situations. A good entrepreneur must assess any situation qualitatively and be able to cope with any problems that arise;
• Enthusiasm. This character trait of an entrepreneur will allow you to find positivity even in the most difficult situation, support your team in difficult times and, most importantly, are not afraid of change. The latter, by the way, plays an important role in business. The ability to assess the situation and accept innovation is an integral part of successful financial prosperity;
• Leadership. Well, where would we be without this character trait? A successful entrepreneur is a leader of his team who is not afraid to take responsibility for others.
• Communication skills. The ability to win over colleagues and partners plays a very important role in entrepreneurship. A person who can easily communicate with people, win them over and gain their trust is doomed to success.
• Integrity. This character trait presupposes the presence of certain, sometimes even exaggerated, requirements both for oneself and for the people around him. Such an entrepreneur strives to do everything in the best possible way, not to miss the slightest detail, and earns respect from partners and business colleagues.
• Practicality. A true leader must be logical and specific. He must always evaluate the specific situation and understand what decisions need to be made in a particular case.
• Creativity. The desire to self-actualize and bring their ideas to life has always been a distinctive feature of entrepreneurs. They are a source of innovative ideas and proposals.
• Adventurism. Still, an entrepreneur must have some desire to take risks. Quite often in business you have to make risky decisions, without which you will not achieve a positive result;
• Determination. It is a very important factor for achieving your goals. Setting a goal and striving to achieve it is what every entrepreneur needs.

Personal qualities of an entrepreneur

In addition to character traits, a successful businessman must also have the personal qualities of an entrepreneur that allow him to always be on top.

So what qualities should an entrepreneur have?

• Inquisitive mind and observation skills– these are the personal qualities of an entrepreneur that are simply necessary in order to find new ideas in the daily routine of life and look for non-standard approaches to increasing their capital;
• Analytic mind allows the business owner to assess the chances of success of an idea, analyze the mistakes made and, based on the experience gained, make amendments to his economic activity;
• Developed intuition will give you the opportunity to avoid the wrong step in starting your business. Sometimes the ability to intuitively determine the future situation can more than once save an entrepreneur from committing short-sighted actions or, on the contrary, allow him to get a good jackpot where this was not originally planned;
• Healthy mistrust– a quality that should be present in every owner of a successful business project. Unfortunately, in the current financial world there are too many people who, through deception and treacherous actions, will want to harm you. Therefore, as they say, “trust, but verify”;
• Fast decision making. The world around us is too energetic and changeable for us to think and reflect for a long time. Sometimes your future depends on the speed of decision-making;
• Strategic planning ability allows you to properly organize the development of your business activities;
• Ability to make non-standard decisions. Sometimes actions that do not follow the pattern allow you to gain an advantage over competitors and successfully develop economic activity;
• Commitment to self-learning allows the entrepreneur to acquire new skills and knowledge, without which it is now impossible to develop his business;
• Concentration of attention Focusing on solving a problem, rather than finding the culprits, are also important qualities of a good entrepreneur.

Who are all these people? Drawing a portrait of an entrepreneur: Video

There are no perfect people or shortcomings of successful entrepreneurs

With all the above-described wonderful qualities of the psychological portrait of an entrepreneur, it is worth noting that they are also characterized by some negative features:

• tendency to overestimate expected or achieved results;
• craving for short-term solutions;
• often the inability to change their views in the face of increasing complexity and expansion of the organization.

TOPIC 16. ENTREPRENEUR AS A SELF-ORGANIZING SUBJECT OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITY

16.3. Business and personal qualities of an entrepreneur

According to research, 7-8% of the population has entrepreneurial qualities. An entrepreneur is first and foremost an innovator. Typical business qualities of an entrepreneur are the following:

The ability to generate business ideas, receptivity to innovation, the ability to see new ideas and anticipate their use in production;
- the ability to find your niche in the market, make initial entrepreneurial calculations and create your own production;
- the ability to adequately assess the market situation and predict changes in market conditions;
- the ability to take responsibility and make decisions based on the principle of maximizing one’s own profit and consumer benefits;
- ability to manage production, ability to form a team;
- the ability to maintain business communications with all necessary people, organizations, and government agencies;
- ability to take reasonable risks. The personal qualities of an entrepreneur are: the ability to create, self-confidence, the ability to seize the initiative in the market, organizational skills, the desire for success, the will to win.