Are you born with an entrepreneur mindset or can you develop one?
It’s true:
Many people are blessed with the positive attitude of an entrepreneur early on in life.
But where does that leave the rest of us?
The answer lies in the brain’s ability to adopt new ways of thinking, resulting in actions that align with a business mindset and entrepreneurship.
In this post, we’ll explore 12 essential traits of an entrepreneur mindset that will make business a breeze.
Keep reading.
What is an Entrepreneur Mindset?
An entrepreneur mindset is a set of beliefs, values, and traits that encourage entrepreneurial behavior.
In our different types of mindsets post, we defined the entrepreneur mindset as the problem-solver and characterized by innovation and growth.
To expand further, most mindsets have two opposites of a spectrum. For example, the growth and fixed mindset.
The entrepreneur has the desire to start a business, share innovative ideas, and create products that solve problems. They value independence, innovation, and contribution.
The opposite is the employee or worker mindset. Although this isn’t necessarily the negative end of the mindset spectrum, there are pros and cons to both types.
For example, the employee might prefer the stability of a job and steady income but feel stuck and feel a lack of growth in their role.
Whereas the entrepreneur will prefer the freedom to choose their hours and the unlimited earning potential. But experience more uncertainty and stress in the early days of starting up.
Also, people with the entrepreneur mindset are often referred to as “unemployable” because their beliefs and values prioritize autonomy, innovation, and freedom, so employment can be the entrepreneur’s worst nightmare.
12 Entrepreneur Mindset Character Traits
The following characteristics tend to be the most common among all entrepreneurs. What’s great is that they can be learned. That means you can still become an entrepreneur if you were raised to adopt an employee mindset.
Let’s dive in.
1. Resilience
Resilience might be the most vital trait of the entrepreneur mindset. To be an entrepreneur requires strength, grit, and persistence to keep going, even when it gets hard.
It means recovering from setbacks without losing focus and vision of the bigger picture.
Entrepreneurs know that business success isn’t a straight line and that challenges are part of the journey.
For example, many of today’s most successful entrepreneurs have faced setbacks that might have looked impossible to recover from.
For example, Steve Jobs, was ousted from the company he co-founded and later returned to grow Apple into the company it is today.
JK Rowling was rejected by 12 publishers before Harry Potter & The Philosopher’s Stone was accepted.
The key to adopting resilience is to recognize that stress can be used to our advantage and make us stronger in the face of adversity.
2. Independence
Independence is another key attribute of the solopreneur and entrepreneur mindset.
Both value autonomy and freedom to choose the way they work and live their lives. They also feel a sense of personal will that drives them to live life on their own terms.
These people would prefer to spend 10 years working tirelessly on their business to have more freedom in the future.
Whereas the opposite mindset will depend on employment for a consistent paycheck.
Entrepreneurs see depending on other people as naive and irresponsible because they know that nothing is set in stone.
Anyone can lose their job, but the entrepreneur secures their future by putting faith in themselves.
Above all else, they are leaders and change-makers who want to be influential and self-reliant.
3. Responsibility
People with an entrepreneur mindset take responsibility for everything.
Holding an “if it’s meant to be, it’s up to me” attitude, they take full ownership of their lives.
But responsibility isn’t about being at fault or blaming yourself for things outside your control; it’s about being accountable for your actions.
It’s an inside-out principle, also known as an internal locus of control.
This entrepreneurial thinking puts you at the cause of your circumstances, not the other way around.
For example, spending money wisely is an act of taking responsibility for your finances.
Someone with the opposite mindset might blame things outside themselves. Instead, they can realize they have control over their thoughts and be more proactive in life.
4. Abundance Mentality
An abundance mentality is when you’re able to see opportunity in any situation. You believe that health, wealth, love, and success come from inside of you, not outside.
Many people think money, fame, and fortune are reserved for the lucky few or those in power. And that the reason they are poor is because there’s not enough to go around.
This is scarcity thinking. In other words, it is a fear of feeling insecure and not getting our needs met.
Those with an entrepreneurial mindset have learned to meet their own needs. Instead of hoarding resources for themselves, they focus on giving and serving others.
Abundance means you get what you give.
5. Action Taker
An action taker is someone who spends less time thinking about their goals and more time doing.
They are driven by feedback from what they learn in the process instead of reaching the destination for the sake of it.
This aspect of the business mindset is essential for getting results. Without consistent action, we can get stuck in techniques and fear of failure.
6. Innovative
Innovation is another huge attribute of entrepreneurial success. It refers to one ability to make radical shifts in the development of things.
Innovative people always look for ways to improve systems and processes to increase customer satisfaction.
In the world of business, this trait is invaluable when established norms start to hinder growth and progress.
Jeff Bezos says it best with his quote: “What’s dangerous is not to evolve, not to invent, not to improve the customer experience.”
7. Embrace Failure
People who don’t embrace failure maintain a fixed mindset. Specifically, they let fear control them.
Fear of failure, fear of rejection, and fear of discomfort.
On the flip side are those with a success mindset because they recognize that failure is on the way to success.
Entrepreneurs embrace failure because they know it provides feedback to reveal a better course of action.
8. Growth Mindset
A growth mindset is the opposite of a fixed mindset and is directly related to one’s perception of failure and success.
Those with a fixed mindset are concerned about their self-image because they believe their intelligence cannot change, causing them to feel inferior.
On the other hand, people with a growth mindset know that success comes from their ability to learn and improve.
Luckily, we can all adopt a growth mindset, thanks to neuroplasticity and the brain’s capacity to grow new neural pathways.
9. Long-Term Thinking
This characteristic is about the ability to delay gratification. This rare trait has become much harder to adopt in today’s technological landscape.
The internet, social media, food delivery, and mobile gaming are just a few ways to satisfy short-term cravings.
Bill Gates once said: “People overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in 10 years.”
What entrepreneurs do instead is sacrifice short-term rewards for long-term fulfillment. They think about where they want to be in 10 to 20 years and take action now.
10. Self-Esteem
Self-esteem is one of those elusive terms that many people misinterpret.
To put it simply, it is what drives a person to act based on their highest values. What most people do is mistake high self-esteem with other esteem.
This means external validation drives them based on others’ values, not their own.
In his book, The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem, Nathaniel Brandon defines it as:
- Self-efficacy: A sense of confidence in the face of life’s challenges.
- Self-respect: A sense of being worthy of happiness.
This incredible book continues to define six habits and attitudes that develop a person’s sense of worthiness:
- Living Consciously
- Self-Acceptance
- Self-Responsibility
- Self-Assertiveness
- Living Purposefully
- Personal Integrity
Develop these and you’ll find an entrepreneur mindset is much easier to develop.
11. Collaborative
Having a collaborative mindset is about teamwork and leadership. It means to work alongside others and develop win-win situations.
You know that achieving success will require other people instead of thinking it can be done alone.
When you’re open to helping others or joining forces with your competitors, you establish more credibility and reach mutual goals.
Those who avoid this valuable trait often fear competition and operate from a scarcity mindset.
12. Productive
Productivity is another essential skill every aspiring entrepreneur needs to develop.
It’s about being decisive and self-motivated. For example, when pursuing a new idea, it’s vital to use critical thinking to prioritize tasks effectively.
As Warren Buffett once said, “Knowing what to leave out is as important as knowing what to focus on.“
It’s about establishing boundaries with yourself and others in every entrepreneurial venture.
The Eisenhower Matrix is an excellent way to prioritize tasks and stay focused. It will help you develop the right mindset for what is most important in your business.
5 People with an Entrepreneur Mindset
One of the best ways to adopt an entrepreneurial mindset is to analyze and model successful business people.
Here are some examples for you to look into.
Steve Jobs
A defining characteristic of Steve Jobs by his friends was curiosity. Could this be the single trait that allowed the co-founder of Apple to succeed so well?
Quite possibly. To be curious is to constantly ask questions and challenge thinking that keeps us stuck.
Being curious will keep you ahead of the game and always hungry for knowledge, growth, and shattering the boundaries of what’s possible.
Oprah Winfrey
One trait that multi-billionaire Oprah Winfrey attributes to her success is self-awareness.
She claims that knowing one’s purpose and going after it is impossible without knowing oneself.
Indeed, many successful entrepreneurs aren’t truly happy. Therefore, it’s vital to go after goals that align with your highest values.
Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos expresses the importance and a “Day One” mentality. This philosophy emphasizes the Amazon co-founder’s focus on customer satisfaction and innovation.
Additionally, Bezos’ commitment to long-term thinking and resilience to taking risks has contributed to the exponential success of the world’s largest e-commerce brand.
An excellent book to get a deeper grasp of the way Bezos thinks is The Bezos Letters. It’s more like a blueprint for the business owner and entrepreneurship.
Jessica Alba
Jessica Alba is best known for her roles in TV series Dark Angel and movies such as Honey and Sin City.
But alongside her acting skills lies an entrepreneurial mind of a billion-dollar empire.
Namely, the launch of The Honest Company in 2012, which was valued at US$1 billion just two years later.
Alba attributes the keys to her success as resilience, humility, trusting her gut, and believing in herself.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s mindset may be the most eccentric of them all. The multibillionaire is the founder of SpaceX, The Boring Company, and xAI, CEO of Tesla, owner and CTO of X (formally Twitter), and co-founder of Neuralink and OpenAI.
It’s clear that Musk thinks differently from most people. However, attributes we can adopt include innovation, leadership, and first principles thinking.
The Entrepreneur Mindset in Conclusion
To become a successful entrepreneur you need to get into the entrepreneur mindset.
Developing one isn’t impossible; it simply takes commitment and consistent action to achieve your business goals.
Learning these 12 business mindset traits will help you get started. You can also benefit significantly from reading the best audiobooks for business.