Passionate, Independent,

Insensitive? You May Be an

Entrepreneur
If you could learn whether you were cut out for entrepreneurship before you started up,
would you?

For some, ignorance is surely blissful. After all, many entrepreneurs say theyre glad they
didnt know how hard starting up was before they did. Others, however, may want to know
sooner than later if they arent built for entrepreneurship or if they have weaknesses that
they can work on.

A team of three academics at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fla., dreamed up a test that
measures the degree to which students of entrepreneurship are utilizing an entrepreneurial
mindset. The test, dubbed the Entrepreneurial Dimension Profile, or EDP, uses a 72-
question survey to measure 14 variables including independence and passion. Based on
this information, the EDP also offers guidance on how to improve upon those skills.

After polling 330 entrepreneurs and corporate managers, the team found significant
differences in each of the 14 variables, with entrepreneurs scoring higher on each one,
except for interpersonal sensitivity, where they scored significantly lower than non-
entrepreneurs.

Think you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Check out these 14 variables and see
how you stack up with famous entrepreneurs who exemplify them:

Independent
Co-founder of both micro-blogging platform Twitter and mobile-payment system Square,
Jack Dorseys reserved personality has been well-documented in the media. Yet, his
unwavering vision for Twitter, along with Square in the face of naysayers demonstrates his
independence.
Independent entrepreneurs as you might have guessed like rolling solo, preferring to work
by themselves and set their own direction. They tend to like the freedom to choose their
priorities and are confident in deciding what to focus on.

Need help in the independence department? The EDP

suggests making a few, small decisions without talking to
others. If it bodes well with your team, try going bigger next
time.

Preference for little structure

Being a fan of little structure, Googles co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin allow for
employees to allocate 20 percent of their work
time, or one full work day, to pursue special
projects not related to their usual workload.

Entrepreneurs favoring little structure in their work

environment, tend to prefer flexibility when
addressing issues and dont do well when problem-
solving requires a step-by-step procedure, says the EDP.

Need help in the structure department? The EDP suggests seeking out situations where
the structure isnt well-defined and giving it a go. Also, if you choose to go down the route of
allowing for little structure and it gives you a bit of anxiety, write down your feelings.
Nonconformist
Co-founder and former CEO of Apple Steve Jobs never took the well-traversed road,
instead he paved his own path with an unflappable
vision, making Apple one of the most successful
tech companies.

Nonconformist entrepreneurs like Jobs tend to

stand out in a crowd, march to their own drum and
act in unique ways. They have no problem
challenging popular viewpoints and going against the grain.

Looking for some help in the nonconformist department? Start by being more open-
minded, says the EDP. Before you judge a new concept, ask questions and engage with
others to have a discussion about it.

Risk-taker
Facebook Mark Zuckerberg has seemingly played fast and loose with the social-networking
giant on a number of occasions. Two notable examples:
Taking his company public with little in the way of sales
and acquiring the revenue-deficient photo app Instagram
for $1 billion.

Risk-taking entrepreneurs tend to, well, take more risks

to get a startup off the ground, especially if there is potential for a significant payoff. They
accept the fact that the success rate may be low but prefer not to play it safe.

Need help in the risk department? The EDP suggests to change your outlook. Instead of
thinking of a terrible outcome, focus on the upside of risk. And begin by making small bets
and working your way up to bigger ones.
Action-oriented
Serial entrepreneur Richard Branson is known for disrupting industries that need innovation.
For example, with no experience in the airline industry,
Branson decided to launch Virgin airlines after observing
poor customer service in the market. And then there was
that one time he crossed the Atlantic in a hot-air balloon.

Action-oriented entrepreneurs tend to be doers, not

thinkers. They are likely to be quick decision-makers, impatient and will show initiative.

Need help focusing on being more action oriented? The EDP suggests if you
continually put off tasks, try breaking a large project into smaller ones. Also, if you have
trouble making decisions, remember it isnt final. You can select the best option and try it
out. If it doesnt work, you learned what went wrong and can use it to make a better choice
the next time.

Passionate
Businesswomen Martha Stewarts passion for home and lifestyle has helped her amass an
empire in publishing, ecommerce, broadcasting and
other ventures under Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.

Passionate entrepreneurs are completely obsessed with

the mission of their startup, along with standing behind
its values. Even though passion tends to be an overused
word in startup land, it is needed to launch a startup and keep it going in good times and
bad. As the old adage goes, if you love what you do, youll never work a day in your life.
Need help becoming more passionate? This may require a little soul searching. The EDP
suggests blocking time off in the day to figure out what makes you tick. Think about
situations where you became so focused on the project, you lost track of time, you didnt
want to quit and you could do it all day long. Those are the passions worth pursuing.

High-achiever
Businesswomen Oprah Winfreys over-achiever mentality helped her go from hosting talk
show AM Chicago to becoming one of the richest women
in the world.

Over-achieving entrepreneurs like Oprah tend to have a

strong desire to attain very high milestones and want to
be the best at what they do. In order to get to their
desired goal, these entrepreneurs are willing to make some sort of sacrifice to get ahead.

Need help in the achievement department? The EDP suggests choosing an area you
arent quite comfortable in and volunteer to work on it. Also, look to build up other skills that
arent needed at your everyday job, like coding.

Focused on the future

As fo-founder of electric-car company Tesla and founder of space-transport business
SpaceX, Elon Musk not only has the future on his mind
but his constant innovations have helped keep his
companies on the forefront of technology advancements.
Future-focused entrepreneurs are less likely to concentrate on the immediate details and
more likely to plan for the long-term.

Need help thinking about the future? If you get tied up in the day-to-day activities, have a
plan. The EDP recommends creating steps and milestones that will help you get towards
your end goal and continue to revisit it.

Idea generator
Co-founder of software company Microsoft, Bill Gates continued desire to disrupt the
computer industry has provided fuel for innovative products, like Windows and Xbox.

Idea-generator entrepreneurs tend to be brainstorming

fanatics and can approach problems in various and new
ways. Not only do they excel at coming up with the most
ideas, but also the best ones.

Need help in the idea-generator department? One way the EDP suggests to broaden
your thinking is by reading. Pick up a book about an unknown industry or subject or turn
your attention to content focused on innovation and creativity.

Ability to execute
Founder and CEO of mega-online retailer Amazon Jeff Bezos ability to execute turned an
online marketplace for books into a company that
generated $4.2 billion in cash flow last year. Bezos has
been behind such initiatives as Prime shipping,
subscriptions, rentals and its cloud computing services.
Executing entrepreneurs are masters at turning ideas into reality. They are known for
getting tasks done and are able to take a mission or goal and create an actionable plan to
achieve it.

Need help with execution? If you are having trouble in this area, make sure you have
established steps to get to the end goal, the EDP says. And if you are overseeing a team,
ensure everyone knows their responsibilities and what is expected of them.

Self-confident
Co-founder and CEO of enterprise-software company Oracle, Larry Ellison does not lack in
the self-confidence department. In a 2008 Charlie
Rose interview, Ellison said, Who am I winning for? Am I
winning for Oracle shareholders or is it simply a matter of
personal vanity? Ill admit to it. Mea culpa. An awful lot of
it is personal vanity.

Self-confident entrepreneurs are satisfied with who they

are and are optimistic they are able to achieve goals based on their talents and ability to
execute.

Need help in the self-confidence department? The more people accomplish, the better
they feel. Start out giving yourself small goals and work towards them. Once you can check
tasks off your list, you will start to develop a pattern leading to success.

Optimistic
When purchasing the social-media-marketing manager Buddy
Media, founder and CEO of cloud-computing
company Salesforce Marc Benioff was optimistic about its
technology adding value to the companys success.
Optimistic entrepreneurs tend to see the glass half full, not half empty. They generally
believe everything will turn out okay and obstacles can be overcome.

Need help in the optimism department? Start actively paying attention to your negative
thoughts. When one enters your mind, focus on it. Is what you are telling yourself really
true? Also, be careful of over generalizations. Instead of telling yourself you are awful at
pitching to investors, try to isolate the thinking to a specific situation. Maybe you just had an
off day presenting to VCs.

Persistent
Founder of hosiery company Spanx, Sara Blakelys persistence helped turn the company
into a multi-million dollar business. Her first big break
came after she lured Neiman Marcus buyers into a
dressing room, put on her product and convinced them
they needed to buy Spanx. And it worked.

Persistent entrepreneurs keep on trucking along, even

when faced with challenges. When doors get slammed in their face, their startup faces
setbacks and failures occur, they remain motivated.

Need help in the persistence department? According to the EDP, if obstacles get you
down, make sure you surround yourself with an energetic team to get you back into the
groove.

Low interpersonal sensitivity

The co-founder of social-gaming site Zynga Mark Pincus has a reputation for
being difficult to work with, as he can be more focused on product than feelings.
In terms of the EDP, this is the single variable that entrepreneurs did not score high on.
Apparently, entrepreneurs arent so sensitive, as they
tend to concentrate so much on getting their startup off
the ground and making it a success, they pay less
attention to other peoples emotions.

Need help becoming more sensitive? Keep in mind,

everyone is in this together. Some entrepreneurs are
perceived as being insensitive, as they are considered
results-oriented, says the EDP. Try not to have everything be black and white. Instead,
focus on what others are saying and ask questions.