Lesson Title: Entrepreneurial Character Traits, Skills, and Competencies

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ENTREPRENEURIAL CHARACTER TRAITS

Character trait in this lesson refers to the mark or attribute that distinguishes an entrepreneur
from ordinary small business owner.

Based on studies conducted by the Small Enterprise Research and Development Foundation
(SERDF) of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) there are ten entrepreneurial
characteristics group into three major clusters:
1. Achievement cluster
2. Planning cluster
3. Power cluster

Entrepreneurial Character Traits

Achievement Cluster Planning Cluster Power Cluster
A. An opportunity-seeker A. Goal-setter A. Persuasive and positive
B. Committed B. Information-seeker networker
C. Persistent C. Systematic in planning B. Self-confident
D. Risk-taker and monitoring
E. Efficient and quality-
oriented
ACHIEVEMENT CLUSTER - consists of entrepreneurial character traits that are directly
related to entrepreneur’s desire to be an achiever in the field of entrepreneurship.
The entrepreneur who belongs to the achievement cluster is:

A. An opportunity-seeker
A business opportunity-seeker is an entrepreneur who
1. Sees and acts on new business opportunities; and
2. Seizes unusual opportunities to obtain financing, equipment, land, work, space or assistance

B. Committed
A highly committed entrepreneur displays full commitment to the work or endeavor that he/she
is undertaking. He/she does not entertain negativism or skepticism.Commitment is directly
connected to interest. Lack of interest means lack of commitment.

C. Persistent
Trails, sacrifices, and failures challenge the entrepreneur to be persistent. The terms “quit” and
“surrender” are not included in the vocabulary of successful entrepreneurs. They exhaust all
possible means to keep their business afloat in the market. Being humans, they may feel down or
discouraged at times, but they keep on moving forward.Persistence is the foundation of
commitment.

D. Risk-taker
There are types of risk-takers:
1. An aggressive risk-taker is not scared to take any risks in business.
2. A moderate risk-taker is more calculative in taking risks. He/she analyzes the situation
before taking the leap.
3. A conservative risk-taker is not very eager to take any kind of risk. He/she is satisfied with
managing a small business and a regular clientele.

The entrepreneur weighs pros and cons of a particular business opportunity before taking the
risk. Though an entrepreneur is an risk-taker, he/she still takes all precautionary measures before
engaging in a particular business endeavor.

E. Efficient and quality-oriented

A successful entrepreneur highly values efficiency and the concept of quality in all business
undertakings.
He/she:
1. Always performs the required tasks in accordance with existing standards of excellence or
continuously improves on his/her past performance and
2. Strive to do things better and faster with minimal cost.
PLANNING CLUSTER
The planning cluster is a set of characteristics of successful entrepreneurs that basically supports
the character traits in the achievement cluster.

The plan serves as the blueprint of the actions to be undertaken by the entrepreneur. The
entrepreneur who belongs to the planning cluster is:

A. Goal-setter
The basic concept of planning is setting goals and objectives. Goals and objectives are the
guiding points that direct all actions, efforts, and struggles of the entrepreneur. Although goals
and objectives may appear similar, goals are long-term while objectives are short-term.
SMART Principle (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound)

B. Information-seeker
A successful information-seeker:
1. Seek relevant information on target customers, supplier of raw materials, and competitors;
2. Verifies available information from various sources, both private and public, like printed
materials and agencies;
3. Seeks opinions and advice from experts in the business field;
4. Find other possible ways to make sure that the desired information is complete.

C. Systematic in planning and monitoring

The term systematic implies that there are rational and logical approach in performing the
activities.
Planning simply refers to the setting of goals and objectives. Monitoring, on the other hand,
refers to the evaluation of the activities and adopted courses of actions whether they are carried
in accordance with the plans.

Planning and monitoring are inseparable entrepreneurial activities. Planning serves as the
preventive course of action, while monitoring acts as the corrective course of action.

POWER CLUSTER
The power cluster includes a set of character traits that reflect the degree of the interpersonal
relations maintained by successful entrepreneurs in the community. It establishes the relationship
of the entrepreneurs with the suppliers of raw materials, financial institutions, customers,
competitors, the government, the employees, and all other stakeholders.

The power in this discussion refers to the ability of the entrepreneur to maintain the highest
degree of interrelationship in the business community and influence others over to his/her line of
reasoning.
In simple terms, the power cluster refers to the relationship and image of the entrepreneur in the
community. An entrepreneur in the power cluster is

A. Persuasive and positive networker

Successful entrepreneurs are persuasive and can easily influence and win over to their side the
other stakeholders in business such as customers, suppliers, and prospective creditors. They are
able to establish good and positive networking with almost all the players in the business
community.
As a persuasive and positive networker, the successful entrepreneur usually;
1. Adopts specific strategies that will influence and convince the others while maintaining the
highest degree of respect and;
2. Make use of positive contacts in the business community in order to meet the goals and
objectives of the business endeavor.

B. Self-confident

Successful entrepreneurs are known to have a high level of self-confidence. They project a
favorable image of themselves which is founded on respect and good deeds in the business
community. Entrepreneurial self-confidence is actually a manifestation of the entrepreneur’s
strong trust or belief on himself/herself.

Building self-confidence does not happen overnight. It is not also a spontaneous activity relative
to a particular business endeavor. Instead, it is a gradual process where the past correct
experiences have significant contributions to the present.

ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS
Without the required skills, a person can hardly succeed in a particular business endeavour,
perform the specialized tasks, or even truly become a successful entrepreneur. Hence, skills play
a significant role in the practice of entrepreneurship.

Skills are considered as the personal abilities to do things well. They come from the totality of
knowledge, practice or experience, and aptitude of a person.

Entrepreneurial Skills-refers to the set of cognitive, technical, and interpersonal skills required
in the practice of entrepreneurship.

COGNITIVE SKILLS
Refers to the mental ability of the entrepreneur to learn new things, generate ideas, and express
knowledge in oral and written forms.
The cognitive skills of a entrepreneur includes the following:
Ability to understand written materials
Ability to learn and apply new information
Ability to solve problems systematically
Ability to create new ideas
Ability to innovate new products and procedures or methods

Problem-Solving Skill
It can help the entrepreneur in making decisions quickly, which is essential in the competitive
world of business.
Problems are common in the life of an entrepreneur as he/ she manages the day-day operations of
the business venture.

TECHNICAL SKILLS

The result or final output of cognitive skills may not be very effective unless put into reality
through the application of technical skills. For entrepreneurs, these skills relate to their
knowledge and proficiency in a specialized field like computer technology, accounting,
marketing, operations research, engineering, medical fields or other related technical fields.

The technical skills of an entrepreneur include proficiency and ability, among others, in the
following areas:

1. Information Technology
2. Feasibility study and business plan preparation
3. Technical writing skills
4. Marketing
5. Management and finance

Since the technical skills is highly mechanical in character rather than theoretical, they must be
studied and learned in the most practical way, hands on. Learning by doing is the best approach
in enhancing technical skills.

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

Interpersonal skills are basically the relationship and interaction of the entrepreneur with the
workers, suppliers, creditors, prospective customers, and other members of the business
community.

The interpersonal skills of an entrepreneur may include, among others, the following:

1. Skills in verbal communication

2. Skill in non-verbal communication
3. Skills in listening
 4. Skills in leading
5. Skills in negotiating

To become a successful entrepreneur, it is vital to acquire, develop, and enhance entrepreneurial

skills involving cognitive, technical, and interpersonal skills.

CORE COMPETENCIES
The harmonious combination of entrepreneurial concepts and principles, entrepreneurial
character traits, and entrepreneurial skills define the entrepreneurial competency.

Entrepreneurial competency provides competitive advantage in the venture and becomes the core
competency. The entrepreneurial core competency, therefore, is defined as the combination of
entrepreneurial concepts and principles, entrepreneurial character traits, and entrepreneurial
skills that provide and become the ultimate source of competitive advantage of the entrepreneur.

Activity Personal Entrepreneurial Competencies (PECs)

The PECs questionnaire provides a self-assessment tool on how each one sizes up to the
common competencies identified by Management Systems International (MSI). Understanding
your PECs will be of great help in the detection and analysis of your strong and weak points.
Thus, these behavioural indicators are said to be useful in strengthening the entrepreneurial
potential. Source:

The instructor will send the PEC Questionnaire and Score sheet to the students via email or
facebook messenger. The students will prepare a one-page reaction paper of the result of PECs.

References:
Aduana, N. L. (2016). Conceptual Entrepreneurship in Philippine Setting. Manila: Rex
Bookstore pp. 53-69
http://beta.entrepreneurship.org.ph/2018/08/09/how-to-identify-your-personal-entrepreneurial-
competencies/
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