FACTORS PAPER BY AB

Alvin G. Bilolo

FACTORS PAPER

To become a business entrepreneur is such a challenge! There are lots characteristics that one aspiring person should have in order to succeed in this particular field. Everybody has a chance of becoming one, probably an equal chance were given to all but not all take the opportunity, but not all succeed. Every person should possess specific and unique qualities necessary based on the business that they wanted to establish. As I evaluate myself I was able to identify several characteristics that I already have and those that I do not have yet for me to become successful entrepreneur.

Discipline

As defined in Wikipedia, discipline is the assertion of willpower over more base desires, and is usually understood to be synonymous with self control. Every entrepreneur should have discipline in their businesses. I believe that I already have some sort of discipline enough to be an entrepreneur, but this should still be developed.

According to an article in under30ceo.com entitled 10 qualities of a successful entrepreneur, this is the capacity of an individual to focus on making their business work and eliminate any hindrances or distractions to their goals. Successful entrepreneurs are disciplined enough to take steps every day toward the achievement of their objectives. I personally see this as a challenge since it is really hard to establish discipline. Yet, I believe that as we all go along in the business we can learn to nurture and hone discipline.

Open Mindedness and Optimism 

Every entrepreneur should be confident that they will succeed in the business that they have just started. We should be optimistic of the result of our operations and should treat every event and situation as an opportunity for improvements. I am a person who treats every problem as a challenge. Actually, I do not use the word ‘problem,’ I use the word ‘challenge’ instead since I believe that there are lot of opportunities in every circumstance. Things and experiences won’t just pass on our life; they are the spice that makes us a better person, makes us a better entrepreneur of our time.

It is vital that we are open minded of the things that surround us. I believe that there are a lot of external factors that may affect every business and those factors may open ways for innovation. If we remain to be open minded, we’ll be able to look through different things in its better perspective.

Competitive and Creative

As defined in www.thefreedictionary.com, competitive is related to having or showing determination and energetic pursuit on doing something. As entrepreneur we must always look for ways on how to improve our own performances. Since I am working as a financial analyst for a multinational company, it is necessary that we maintain that characteristic of being competitive at work. We are inclined in looking for process improvements and optimizing our own processes. This entails being competitive and creative in specific processes. This also calls us of establishing connections between seemingly unrelated events or situations. Being creative means coming up with a solutions that are synthesis of other items.

To be competitive also mean that we must upgrade our knowledge of doing business. With so many innovations in our environment, we must upgrade our thinking so as not to be left behind. This is also one of the reasons why I am taking an MBA course. As much as possible I want to remain competitive and creative in business.

Determination

According to an article from under30ceo.com, entrepreneurs who are determined are not thwarted by their defeats. They look at defeat as an opportunity for success. This is a unique characteristic that only successful entrepreneurs posses.

There are a lot of ups and downs in the business, but if we have the quality of being determined to pursue our goal no matter what circumstances we may experience, we may then succeed. I admit that I personally need a lot of improvement in this factor. I am determined to achieve my goals but there are times that I feel the effort that I exert do not worth it.  I really need to develop my patience and focus on my goal. I’ve got the key word here – FOCUS. Only if we focus in something will we be able to achieve our goal. If we are determined to finish the race that we have started, then we can really be a successful entrepreneur.

Strong People Skill and Work Ethics

Entrepreneurs should know how to handle people. They are the person who knows how to motivate employees and leads them in the organization. I am still confused if handling people is considered as skill or it comes naturally from a person. Since I started working, I am blessed that I was among those persons who were seen and recognized as an employee who knows how to handle people. For only three years at work and almost a year and a half in my current process I am already considered as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) of our team. From my latest discussion with my team leader, he told me that those external factors and organizations where I am a part of contributes a lot to who am I right now. I have learned how to handle people well.

We must also possess that strong work ethics. We should come to work on time and ensure that we finish whatever we are to accomplish within the day. I think this is what we called DEDICATION at work. It is important that we love what we are doing because this is a great factor for dedication. This factor is very evident to other people. People that surround us can easily identify if we have work ethics. This is something that can be developed through discipline. I personally discipline myself to maintain work ethics. I have this mindset that I should be a good example not only to my co-employees but also to everyone inside and outside my organization. This mindset produces the work ethics within me to come out naturally.

Passion

This is the most important trait of a successful entrepreneur. This is defined as the eager interest or admiration for a proposal, cause, or activity, or simply love by Wikipedia. Every person who has a passion in what he is doing succeeds. Whether it be in business or a professional career, as long as you love what you are doing you will eventually flourish.

I love what I am doing right now. I love my work and I have a passion for it. A lot of people ask me why I stay on my current job while there are a lot of high-paying jobs outside. Maybe they are right that there are greener pasture out their but the question is what kind of work will I be doing there? If it is not related to my field and if I have no passion for it then I would rather not take it! It will be hard for me to work for something that I have no passion to. I believe that the very secret to every entrepreneur’s success is that they LOVE what they are doing.

I am an entrepreneur by nature. I can still remember that during my childhood days I already have that passion of having my own business. I’ve started a mini ‘fish ball’ stall in our garage when I was in high school and eventually grew up to a mini store when I was in college years. I have engage myself in various entrepreneurial activities and even in several business plan competitions way back in college. I am in several marketing businesses while at work and even earn passive income up to now because of it.

I have envisioned that someday, because of the factors innate within me and those developed through times, I will be a successful ENTREPRENEUR. 3