Are You an Entrepreneurial Thinker: Genetics or just plain ...



Are You an Entrepreneurial Thinker: Genetics or just plain hard work?

Carol Frank

|Five Traits of Successful Business Starters |to be an entrepreneur, you’ve got to be able to live on the edge. To be looking |

| |where no one else is looking, where the rules have yet to be written. Where a |

|As a serial entrepreneur who has founded multiple companies over the years, I |market hasn’t yet been established,” claims Scott Walker, CEO of ProCore Labs, a |

|have often asked myself, “What drives me to start these businesses when so many |true serial entrepreneur. |

|people are content to sit behind a desk and work for someone else?” Given that | |

|the pet industry is full of entrepreneurial-minded people, many of you may ask | |

|yourselves the same thing. Was I born—or made—this way? |Take Challenges, But Don’t Gamble. The stereotype of entrepreneurs as bold risk |

| |takers—gamblers who bet the farm on a long shot—is more cliché than reality. |

|The Caruth Institute for Entrepreneurship at Southern Methodist University (and |“Long-term successful entrepreneurs are moderate risk takers,” White insists. “On |

|my alma mater) recently tackled this question in an informative article from |the average, gamblers are losers. It is more helpful to talk about entrepreneurs as|

|their alumni magazine. The director, Jerry White, has been teaching a class on |challenge takers, rather than risk takers.” |

|entrepreneurship at SMU for 30 years and certainly has formed his opinion | |

|regarding “born versus made.” He believes it is a combination of both genetic |Remain Disciplined, Not Distracted. Successful entrepreneurs stay very focused on |

|factors and learned skills/behavior. But regardless of where your |solving problems, and they assiduously avoid distractions from side issues. They |

|entrepreneurial flair comes from, Jerry White believes you share these five |face challenges head on, often reveling in the challenge of making game-changing |

|unique traits that successful entrepreneurs typically have in common: |decisions. Yet what many aspiring entrepreneurs may not realize is that coming up |

| |with a world-changing idea and developing a company is the easy part. The tough |

|Relentlessly Pursue Growth. A true entrepreneur pursues opportunities without |part involved the discipline of execution. In plain and simple terms: It’s All |

|regard to resource constraints. “If I need it, I’ll get it,” White emphatically|About the Execution. There are a million ideas out there—being a true entrepreneur |

|explains. “Entrepreneurship implies growth.” |is taking that idea and creating a viable, profitable company around that idea. |

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|Have Stamina. High performance entrepreneurs are typically realistic | |

|individuals who possess a never-ending sense of urgency. They don’t waste time | |

|agonizing over failure. Instead, they view circumstances as they exist and | |

|resolve to leverage them to their advantage (or write a book, which is what I | |

|did after suffering through the worst failure of my career). | |

| |Carol Frank of Boulder, CO, is the founder of four companies in the pet industry. As|

|Write Your Own Rules. Entrepreneurs typically have superior capacity to analyze|a Managing Director at SDR Ventures Investment Bank, Carol leads the team in |

|complex situations and think creatively to solve problems. They thrive well in |executing pet industry transactions including M&A, capital formation and strategic |

|chaotic environments (what’s more chaotic then a pet store?), and make sound |advisory services.  She is also the owner of BirdsEye Consulting, the consummate |

|decisions when confronted with conditions characterized by a scarcity of |source for pet sector consulting expertise in market research, licensing, executive |

|relevant information. “If you want |recruiting, and sales channel strategy. She can be reached at carol@ |

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