ENTREPRENEURIAL QUALITIES AND

- SELF
ASSESSMENT
Lesson 2
WHAT IS ENTREPRENEURS?
Entrepreneurs are people with unique traits and characteristics that make
them successful and extraordinary persons. They can make other people
work. They have leadership, the ability to manage people as well as
capital and resources. Early exposure to an enterprise culture and
adequate training, especially during youth or childhood, can help build
the foundation for successful entrepreneurial career later.
WHO ARE THE FAMOUS ENTREPRENEURS AND
WHAT MAKES THEM FAMOUS?
 Mark Zuckerberg

Bill Gates Steve Jobs

WHAT MAKES ENTREPRENEURS
SUCCESSFUL?
 Behavioral scientists and psychologist have
identified ten personal entrepreneurial
characteristics or PECs that entrepreneurs
should
possess. These characteristics are grouped into
three main cluster namely, the achievement
cluster, the planning cluster and the server
cluster.
 THE ACHIEVEMENT CLUSTER
• Opportunity Seeking – An entrepreneur is said to be a good opportunity
seeker if he sees and acts on new business opportunities and seizes unusual
opportunities to acquire financing, equipment, land, work space, or
assistance.

• Persistence – A persistent individual is one who takes repeated or different

actions to overcome an obstacle, makes personal sacrifices or spends
extraordinary efforts to complete a job.

• Commitment to the contract of work – the entrepreneur is committed to

the work that he has agreed to do. When he accepts a job, he takes full
responsibility for its completion.
 • Risk - taking – a successful entrepreneur takes calculated, moderate or

reasonable risks where he perceives the chances for winning to be good.

• Demand for quality and efficiency – An entrepreneur must demand for

products with quality. The high standard of performance makes him act to meet

or exceed existing standard of excellence or improve on past performance.

 PLANNING CLUSTER
• Goal Setting – An entrepreneur sets cleaer and specific short- and long-term
goals or objectives. He thinks of today’s activity as a small step towards what
he eventually wants to accomplish.
• Information seeking - An entrepreneur personally seeks information that is
relevant and useful to his present or future business. He obtains information
from clients, suppliers and competitors. He consults experts for business or
technical advice and uses contacts and information networks to obtain
functional information all for the purpose of fully realizing his end goals
• Systematic planning and monitoring – An entrepreneur must set objective
goals and plan the methods that will be used to meet these goals. He uses
 and develops alternatives and monitors his progress. He is ready to switch to
alternative strategies when necessary to achieve his goal.

POWER CLUSTER
• Persuasion and networking – This refers to being ableto convince others,
establish contacts, and maintain these relationships. In order to accomplish
his business objectives, an entrepreneur uses his networks to useful friends
and acquaintances.
• Self-confidence – It is believing in oneself and the capability of achieving
what he sets out to do. An entrepreneur enters a business because he is
confident that the business would be successful and profitable.