One of the undoubted positive qualities of an entrepreneur's personality is his leadership qualities.

Leader can be defined as the most authoritative person in a given social community, playing a central role in organizing joint activities and regulating relationships in the group.

An entrepreneur cannot help but be a leader, since he must rally people around him and inspire them to achieve a high goal. He will succeed in business only if he can convince his employees of the ability to achieve levels of task performance that previously seemed impossible to them. This ability of a leader is closely related to such qualities as the ability to create optimistic plans, increase hopes for success, explain the essence of innovation, rally the team in crisis situations, etc. According to A. Meneghetti, a leader is a person who, while satisfying his own egoism, realizes public interest. By developing his own activities, he distributes material wealth and provides work for hundreds of people. At the same time, the leader stimulates progress in society and brings revitalization to the economy, which gives impetus to the evolution of society Meneghetti A. Psychology of the leader. - M., 2001. - P. 15..

To satisfy the interests of society, an entrepreneur must:

a) study the interests of a certain group of people;

b) propose some ways to satisfy existing interests or solve current problems;

c) be able, through entrepreneurial activity, to extract own benefit by solving a social problem.

A. Meneghetti believes that an economic leader is the operational center of many relationships and functions, which creates new jobs, generates profits and contributes to the development of the service sector. According to this author, a leader has three groups of qualities, among which intellectual abilities, personal qualities and acquired skills can be distinguished.

This far from complete list of personal qualities forces us to look for the most important among them, without which the success of entrepreneurial activity will be significantly difficult. An analysis of the activities of Russian and foreign entrepreneurs shows that among the various personal qualities, five most important ones can be identified:

¦ independence;

¦ ambitiousness;

¦ persistence;

¦ hard work;

¦ durability (Table 1).

Table 1. Personal qualities of successful entrepreneurs

The first quality is independence in a global sense, it can be defined as a person’s desire to determine his own life, to independently choose his goals in work and the means to achieve them. The presence of such personality traits is one of the most important conditions for success. Entrepreneurs become, first of all, those people who are not satisfied with their role as an employee, who lacked independence in their previous job. If we recall the concept of A. Maslow, we can say that entrepreneurs are people with a particularly pronounced need for self-realization.

Ambition is also an important quality that helps a novice businessman overcome any obstacles on his path to success. It is interesting to note that people's attitudes towards this personality trait vary significantly across cultures. In the USA it is assessed as a virtue, but in Russia it is more often seen as a disadvantage; at least, such people are often spoken of with condemnation. However, ambition, i.e. increased self-esteem and belief in success, gives a person additional strength and helps to cope with difficulties.

Perseverance when applied to entrepreneurial activity, it means the desire to do everything possible to achieve success and the willingness to make certain sacrifices for it. Perseverance in application to business is manifested in the fact that a person lives his business and thinks only about it.

Hard work as a personal quality that fully characterizes many successful people in business. They work not only because they want to earn more money, but because they like the process of work itself, because it gives them pleasure.

Resistance to life's troubles and the ability to withstand the blows of fate consists of two components: the ability not to lose heart under unfavorable circumstances and the ability to extract positive experience from failures.

Another important point about effective leadership is that a successful leader must always be able to find the optimal balance between two extremes. An analysis of the personal characteristics of America's most successful business leaders shows that most of them possess pairs of qualities that at first glance seem mutually exclusive:

Ambitiousness -- Modesty;

Strategic thinking -- Attention to detail;

Enthusiasm -- Inner calm;

Ability to take risks -- Ability to learn from mistakes.

The most interesting point is that any of these qualities, when developed, turns into a disadvantage, and only in balance with its opposite, like the eastern symbol “Yin-Yang”, finds harmony and leads to success.

Ambition -- the most important quality of an entrepreneur, which gives a successful leader the energy without which victory in modern business is impossible. In the same time modesty leadership is manifested in the fact that he will not take credit for all the achievements of the organization, otherwise his subordinates may have the feeling that the boss is simply using them. It should be noted that nothing inspires employees more than demonstrating their achievements by management.

Successful strategic idea -- it's what separates a successful company from a mediocre one, a great leader from a copycat. The main strategic idea of ​​many successful businessmen was that they started not from their desires, but from the needs of people who paid for the fulfillment of their desires. Thus, people's desire to communicate with each other has led to the growth of wealth of cell phone companies, people's desire for health has enriched pharmaceutical companies, and the thirst for entertainment has given birth to the show business industry. At the same time, trying to think big, a leader must understand that sometimes an annoying minor mistake can ruin the most ambitious undertaking. Therefore, a wise leader thinks about the little things.

Enthusiasm -- This is what infects emotions, what makes you perform feats of work. No great project was carried out solely on the basis of cold calculation. Faith in the future, faith in success, pride in one's organization, the joy of working together - all these factors significantly strengthen the organization's resource, and they come from its leader. At the same time, you won’t get far on feelings and emotions alone. When the time of inspiration and emotional impulse ends, the time comes for logic and calm confidence in the correctness of your path.

Conducting business activities is impossible without risk, therefore, an increased propensity for risky behavior is a normal characteristic of an entrepreneur. However, it should be remembered that the risk can be justified and unjustified. In the first case, a person is ready to take some actions in conditions of uncertainty if he sees that the probability of success is high enough. If a person has not assessed the likelihood of an adverse event occurring, or if he starts a business with extremely low chances of success, the risk is not justified. Therefore, an entrepreneur must, on the one hand, be able to take a certain risk, but on the other hand, he must be wise and careful enough not to take unnecessary risks. No one is immune from failure, so it is extremely important for an entrepreneur to be able to calmly analyze each of his mistakes and benefit from them, so as not to repeat his mistakes.

An entrepreneur or business entity According to the adopted legislation, there may be citizens of the country who are recognized as legally capable in the manner prescribed by law (not limited in legal capacity).

Let us give an unconventional description of an entrepreneur proposed by the Soviet economist, Professor V. Bogachev: “An entrepreneur is a poor fellow and an eternal debtor: an irrepressible optimist who has chosen a life career in which he will more than once have to change his object and, perhaps, the sphere of his business, probably go broke and try to get back on his feet again. Unmerciful self-exploiter without a standardized working day and vacations, not allowing himself, even if successful, to spend more on his own consumption than a qualified hired worker.”

Business is work that requires constant effort. What makes a businessman work actively is his main interest - the desire to make a profit, the desire to have more than was invested in the business. The difference between invested funds and the return on them in a simplified sense is called profit. The profit is used for the further development of the business; the businessman spends part of it on himself, since without satisfying personal interests, business is impossible.

Civilized business gives a large number of people the opportunity to get honestly rich. For example, in the United States there are more than two million millionaire businessmen and a significant number of people who want to earn their millions in entrepreneurship.

From doing business, entrepreneurs want and can get:

- the ability to make decisions independently;

Employment;

Job satisfaction;

A chance to realize yourself as an individual.

Concerned with the idea that something is missing in the world around him, the entrepreneur begins to reflect on this topic. The result of his thoughts may be the idea of ​​​​creating a new product, developing an original service, or changing an existing product production system. Very often it is the entrepreneur who sees a specific niche and finds how to fill it. This is how his business is born.

Not every person can become an entrepreneur. There is something that allows some people, but does not allow others, to integrate into the process of entrepreneurial activity. What lies behind this “something”? Education and open-mindedness? Luck, chance, luck? Appropriate actions taken at the right time, in the right place, in the right form? Of course, both, and the third, or rather, an effective combination of them. But this is not enough. There is also the entrepreneur himself with individual qualities and characteristics that become decisive in his development as an entrepreneur. It is known that many graduate from the most prestigious educational institutions in the world, but not all of them become successful entrepreneurs or businessmen.

In Russia during the transition period, an entrepreneur was any business person who operates in the non-state sector of the economy (the owner of a commercial store, for example). Although, according to the world classification, the characteristic of an entrepreneur is unlikely to apply to him.

The appearance of the term “entrepreneur” is associated with the economist Richard Cantillon (1725). He developed the first holistic concept of entrepreneurship for his time. Later, Jean Baptiste Say (1767-1832), argued that “an entrepreneur is economic agent, which combines factors of production, “drags” resources from areas of low productivity and profitability to areas in which they can give the greatest result (profit, income).” Consequently, entrepreneurship is an economic activity carried out through a constant combination of factors, aimed at the efficient use of all resources and obtaining the highest results. He pointed to the active, innovative nature of entrepreneurship, associated not only with the search, but also with the need to create new combinations of production factors. His ideas were later developed by Thunen (1783-1850), a German economist, founder of the theory of allocation and a pioneer in the study of marginal productivity. He described the entrepreneur as " inventor and researcher in its field" as "a contender for residual (after compensation for production costs and taxes) risky and unpredictable income."

The term “entrepreneurship” was popularized by the English economist D. Mill (1806-1873) in his work “Principles of Political Economy.” He characterized the entrepreneur, first of all, as innovator.“The task of entrepreneurs is reform and revolutionize production through the introduction of inventions, and in a general sense - through the use of new technological capabilities for the production of new or old goods, but in a new method due to the discovery of a new source of raw materials or a new market for finished products - up to the reorganization of the old and the creation of a new industry.”

“Entrepreneurs,” writes Schumpeter, “we call economic entities whose function is precisely the implementation of new combinations and who act as its active element.” Entrepreneurs are special type of people, and their activities are a specific problem, since they perform functions of creating something new, and doing something new is objectively more difficult than doing something familiar and tried and true. At the same time, the social environment resists the attempts of everyone who intends to introduce something new.

The uniqueness of the behavior of an entrepreneur, according to I. Schumpeter, lies in two points. First, this behavior has an object; being an entrepreneur means do not do what others do; Secondly, do not do as others do, and this requires qualitatively different abilities than the ability to simply make assessments within the normal circuit. An entrepreneur performs a special function in the social economic process.

Schumpeter explored the problem entrepreneur's motives.

- First of all, this the dream and will to establish your own private empire

- The second group of motives is related to the will to win.

- The third group of motives is related with the joy of creativity.

I. Schumpeter believed that for the development of entrepreneurship it is necessary two main factors: organizational and economic innovation and economic freedom. He was an opponent of state intervention in business activities and a defender of free enterprise.

According to the famous American scientist P. Drucker, innovations are a special tool for entrepreneurs, a means by which they use change as an opportunity to realize their business and service visions. Therefore, the tasks of entrepreneurs include a targeted search for sources of innovation, as well as changing their signs that indicate the possibility of achieving success.

Drucker formulates four entrepreneur strategies , allowing you to succeed:

Rush in first and deliver a massive blow;

Attack quickly and unexpectedly;

Find and capture “ecological niches”;

Measure the economic characteristics of a product, market, or industry.

Only specialists in a certain sector of the economy, people are knowledgeable, intelligent, active, disciplined, and have personal qualities that allow them to cope with the unfavorable conditions that inevitably arise for doing business, i.e. able to overcome the resistance of the environment (especially the external, very aggressive one).

It is necessary to develop competition among entrepreneurs, limit monopolistic activities, as well as government intervention in free enterprise.

“An entrepreneur, starting his own business, should not be afraid of the most varied work - intense mental and emotional activity and hard physical labor. When “growing” a business, an entrepreneur must fully master it - study the laws, find out all the details of the upcoming work, find out the current practice in this area, understand what material resources, jobs are needed and... constantly work and work. Only on these conditions will he be able to manage your business with a firm hand,” noted V.I. Eroshin.

Once an entrepreneur enters the world of business not as a consumer, but as a supplier of goods, many new and contradictory opportunities will open up before him. When making decisions, he brings benefit or harm to the business, treats people fairly or not too honestly, ennobles the environment or pollutes it.

“Skillful business management is the art of turning boring problems into interesting ones, involving many people in solving them. When business is handled ineptly, problems appear in such a way that people try to avoid them. Interesting problems give you energy to solve them, boring ones deprive you of it.”

The history of economic development shows that new firms are created in any conditions and even more actively - during periods of crisis situations, inflation, decline in production, lack of special legislation and the necessary infrastructure, uncertainty of the future, when the degree of risk is especially high. Anyone undertaking a new business under such conditions must rely only on himself. By starting his own business, a person seeks to increase control over his future, combine work and personal life, extend his lifestyle to the business environment and, of course, strengthen his financial situation.

In a market economy, the entrepreneur is a key figure. The success of his business depends on his ability, desire and desire to take risks, willingness to take advantage of opportunities, and search for new ideas to expand his activities. Many successful businessmen believe that at the beginning of their business, too much money is an incomparably more serious problem than a lack of it, that for success in business something else is more important, something that is embedded and consolidated by the previous life within a person, in his personality and character.

In the modern sense business qualities concept entrepreneur includes:

• readiness and ability to find a free (for now) economic niche by analyzing the market and the degree to which it is filled with goods, products, services in terms of the range and quantitative characteristics of each assortment unit;
• readiness and ability to create your own productive structure aimed at producing goods, products, services, the supply of which to the market will fill the discovered niche and will allow it to be retained in the future;
• the ability and ability to correctly assess the situation on the market, all current and upcoming changes, to identify market needs that are “in the air”; these needs can: be obvious, but not yet satisfied by anyone; to be not completely satisfied or completely satisfied with someone. However, even in the latter case, there is an opportunity (through the production of another product) to satisfy them more fully, better, more efficiently;
• the ability to make initial entrepreneurial calculations based on the results of market and market research, on the basis of which the entrepreneur concludes whether this idea is worth pursuing;
• willingness and ability to make a business decision based on the principle of maximizing both one’s own income and consumer benefits;
• the ability to manage the implementation of an entrepreneurial project, that is, to formulate goals and objectives, develop measures to stimulate the participation of subordinates, colleagues and partners in achieving such goals;
• the ability to be the first to discern and understand a new technical, technological or scientific-technical idea and, at the level of imagination, to “play out” obtaining the final result, a product with the possible use of this idea; the ability to enter into the communication process with all the necessary people, organizations, and government structures.

Innovation- a basic characteristic when describing an entrepreneur, but it can manifest itself in different forms. First of all, it should be noted that he rarely acts as an inventor. An innovative entrepreneur most often knows how to effectively use the results of inventions, finds, discoveries made by someone. He knows how to analyze these new products in relation to the desire to produce something new, original, which will undoubtedly arouse the interest of the market and consumer.

Thus, the main form of innovation (and the most reliable) is the production of a new product for the market based on a specific invention, that is, on the basis of the division of labor and the organization of cooperation chains: someone invents, and someone uses these inventions in production.

If a person is a thinking being, then an entrepreneur must have more in-depth (compared to the average level) thinking, the ability to analyze and notice everything new that appears in life and in his field of activity. Such qualities are necessary in order to implement the basic principles of entrepreneurship - innovation and novelty.

An entrepreneur must notice, look for and think through specific forms of using new ideas. The famous American entrepreneur Carnegie, for example, was not the author of inventions, but he knew better than others how inventions belonging to other people could be used in steel production. True, there are other examples. Thus, G. Ford not only knew how to use new ideas, but was also their author.

An important feature of an entrepreneur is ability to predict , how the implementation of new ideas in the production process will be perceived by the market. The ability to combine two components in one process - the introduction of a new product and the market reaction - is the key to the future success of an entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurship is, first of all, a thought process, but since each of us has our own apparatus, a stereotype of thinking, in relation to this area of ​​​​business activity, the successes of each entrepreneur are different.

But the level of success cannot but reflect the level of thinking, although this alone is not enough - a large (and sometimes very large) role in this case is played by luck, luck, etc., accompanying only those who have learned and can think. The main task of the learning process comes down to trying to help each individual develop his own stereotype of thinking. On the basis of thinking, the individual constructs in his consciousness his own picture of the world as the initial basis for the analysis of any phenomenon or fact that characterizes the surrounding reality.

Thinking in entrepreneurship is embodied in the form business design- the starting point of any planned business operation or business process. From this point of view, entrepreneurship is a form of combining unique knowledge and a specific market situation to ensure a strong position in the market. It involves searching for new opportunities by reforming or revolutionizing production to transfer it to a more efficient level of operation through the introduction of innovative (technical, scientific, technological, organizational or managerial) achievements.

An entrepreneur is a generalist in the business world. He must have knowledge in economics, politics, law, psychology, sociology and be able to organize the interaction of specialists from different fields in order to achieve a common goal. He has to deal with accounting and personnel management, negotiate, know what insurance is, delve into production technology, have a good understanding of the system of market relations, predict the dynamics of demand and supply of various goods for years to come.

A person in this profession has to be able to do a lot himself, especially in the first stages of creating his own business. He simultaneously needs to be a manager and a courier, a supplier and an accountant, a lawyer and a secretary, an economist and a record keeper, a personnel psychologist who selects his team, an advertising specialist and simply a nice, creatively thinking and very active person.

An entrepreneur is an internally relaxed and self-confident person. He is sociable, knows how to maintain friendly relations with people, acts competently and calmly in a conflict situation, maintaining efficiency and a clear vision of the strategic goal. Lee Iacocca considered the manager's comment: “He doesn't know how to get along with people” to be damning, believing that such a person's career in business was over.

A true entrepreneur is a person prone to independence and freedom. He chooses entrepreneurship largely because he wants and can be a leader in his business. And we are not talking about the primacy that is determined by the position, official rights and responsibilities officially granted to a person. A businessman must be able to influence others without resorting to direct orders.

An important personality trait of an entrepreneur is the ability to form a team An entrepreneur rarely implements his ideas alone. The winner is the one who is able to create the right team that can effectively influence the process of implementing an entrepreneurial idea. In this regard, the entrepreneur faces difficult tasks - what kind of specialists are needed, what personal qualities they should have, whether they can fit into the psychological climate that the entrepreneur is constructing.

A person is engaged in business, and the effect of any activity depends on the person, and above all on level of work culture.

Of particular importance in the activities of an entrepreneur is ability to be creative. Creativity is required both when developing a business idea and during its implementation. From this point of view, entrepreneurship can be characterized as the art of organizing and carrying out a business.

One (perhaps the most important) quality of an entrepreneur is especially important - his readiness and ability to make decisions. This quality can be called in another way - ability to take responsibility. Indeed, when making a decision, an entrepreneur takes responsibility for its consequences not only to those who help him implement the idea, not only to his partners, but also to his future. However, the process of accepting responsibility is at the same time a process of taking (accepting) risk. Therefore, the ability and willingness to take risks- also qualities characteristic of an entrepreneur. Perhaps it is precisely this requirement or a fairly clear awareness of such a requirement that explains the phenomenon of the entrepreneur.

However, all personal qualities and characteristics that have been analyzed can remain at the level of potencies if the person does not have one more ability to mobilize, by which we mean the ability to bring all possibilities into an active state, i.e., into a state of readiness for action.

Mobilization (or organizational) abilities, which many researchers attribute to innate human properties, include the ability to mobilize:

• yourself, that is, to concentrate on some idea, action, fact or event;
• necessary resources in the right form, quality and quantity;
• existing connections, contacts, relationships.

There is a well-established opinion in the world that entrepreneurial layer in any society is quite subtle. According to estimates, such activities can be carried out at a high professional level by: no more than 8% of the amateur population. Entrepreneurship requires certain personal qualities of a businessman, like any other profession.

The personal characteristics of an entrepreneur may be associated with his natural predisposition to conduct business professionally or be the result of special training and acquired experience, and most often represent a combination of both. From a philosophical point of view, entrepreneurship can be characterized as a special mood of the soul, as a form of business romance, as a means for a person to realize his inherent potentials.

Summary

1. An entrepreneur is a generalist in the business world. The concept of his business qualities includes: the readiness and ability to find a free market niche, create his own structure aimed at producing a product that will fill the discovered niche and allow it to be retained in the future; the ability to correctly assess the situation, identify market needs that are “in the air.”

The question of what set of personal qualities an individual must have in order to become a successful entrepreneur cannot be answered unambiguously, however, the historical experience of the development of civilized entrepreneurship allows us to make some generalizations. Thus, civilized and successful entrepreneurs must have the following traits: to be honest, competent, purposeful, proactive, to show leadership, to respect the opinions of others, to have a positive attitude towards people, to constantly learn, to be willing to take risks, to be able to overcome environmental resistance, to be persistent in achieving the set goal, have a sense of responsibility, perseverance, great willpower, have creativity, be hardworking and have high efficiency, be able to attract the necessary partners, have a commercial and financial mindset, be able to legally obtain what is due to him and other qualities.

It is characteristic that in developed countries even government bodies give their recommendations on this problem. Thus, the US Small Business Administration (Small Business) believes that an entrepreneur must have the following five most important characteristics that guarantee him success in the most risky enterprise: a) energy, the ability to make it work; b) the ability to think; c) the ability to build relationships with people; d) communication skills; e) knowledge of engineering and technology.

Am I starting a business myself?

How well do I get along with people?

Do I have sufficient physical strength and emotional potential to successfully conduct business?

How well do I plan and organize my affairs?

Is my desire to stick to my goal strong enough?

How will running a business affect my family? Of practical interest are studies conducted by the American firm McBer and Company with the support of the American Agency for International Development and the US National Science Foundation, which made it possible to identify 21 personal qualities that are constantly demonstrated by successful entrepreneurs. The most important personal characteristics of entrepreneurs are listed below:

Opportunity seeking and initiative (sees and seizes new or unusual business opportunities; acts before events force it);

Tenacity and perseverance (willing to make repeated efforts to meet a challenge or overcome an obstacle; changes strategies to achieve a goal);

Risk taking (prefers challenging or moderate risk situations; weighs risk; takes action to reduce risk or control outcomes);

Focus on efficiency and quality (finds ways to do things better, faster and cheaper; strives to achieve excellence, improve efficiency standards);

Involvement in work contacts (takes responsibility and makes personal sacrifices to get the job done; gets involved with or instead of employees);

Goal-oriented (clearly expresses goals; has a long-term vision; constantly sets and adjusts short-term goals);

The desire to be informed (personally summarizes information about clients, suppliers, competitors, using personal and business contacts for these purposes to keep oneself informed);

Systematic planning and monitoring (plans by breaking large tasks into subtasks; monitors financial results and uses procedures to track work progress);

Ability to persuade and network (uses careful strategies to get things done and persuade people, and business contacts as a means to achieve his goals);

Independence and self-confidence (seeks independence from the rules and control of others; relies on oneself in the face of opposition or lack of success; believes in one's ability to complete difficult tasks).

Of course, the above personal characteristics are not genetically acquired; they are developed by a person in the process of entrepreneurial activity and are largely determined by the personality of the individual, his aspirations, and the business environment.

Most researchers of the problem of the personal qualities of entrepreneurs come to the conclusion that these are people with a penchant for finding and implementing new ideas, inventions, technologies, people of constant initiative and creativity, irrepressible energy. They are ready to take reasonable, strictly calculated risks, because without risk there is no entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurs are people who are able to work constantly and hard, learn from the mistakes of others, and learn lessons from their own mistakes. These are people who are confident in their abilities, so they are constantly learning, studying all the problems related to their business. Successful entrepreneurs understand that constantly expanding knowledge is the basis of entrepreneurship. The tool, the main lever for the development of entrepreneurship, is innovation. These are brave people, but their courage is limited by the level of reasonable aspirations.

What personal qualities must an individual have to become an entrepreneur and achieve success? This question cannot be answered unequivocally. Numerous researchers of this pressing problem in Western countries highlight various character traits, skills and knowledge.

M. Storey, author of the monograph “The Fastest Growing Companies in the USA. A Look from the Inside,” reflecting on the qualities of entrepreneurs, tells what difficulties they face. This is a constant restructuring of your business, making changes and improvements, the ability to start over, the ability to overcome the inertia and routine of the environment and other difficulties. The ability to overcome the resistance of an aggressive external environment is especially characteristic of Russian civilized entrepreneurs, which is objectively connected with the past (and present) public mentality, the underdevelopment of market relations and the vulnerability of Russian citizens from a host of officials, racketeers and robbers.

In order to test your abilities in entrepreneurial activity, your entrepreneurial mentality, it is recommended to accurately and objectively answer the following questions:

1. What functions, responsibilities (not positions) have you performed in recent years?

2. Are you active? active? are you proactive?

3. Are you able to cope, cope with adversity or misfortune? Are you able to lose, lose everything and still start your new business all over again?

4. What are your hobbies, what are your passions? Can they be applied to your business?

5. Are you straightforward and frank?

6. Are you aggressive?

7. Can you be flexible if you encounter insurmountable circumstances? Do you give in to power?

8. Do you have an analytical mind? Are you able to get to the root, to the very essence of the problem, and then solve it?

9. Are you a trader by nature? Are you able to trade? Have you ever actually sold anything? Would you like to go from one door to another to try?

10. Are you ready to sacrifice anything personally, to make personal sacrifices for the sake of your new company?

11. Are you a creative person? Do you have imagination, are you capable of invention?

12. Can you recognize your market niche?

13. Are you able to use everything at hand to start your own business?

14. How do you cope with failure? Can you turn this failure into your future market success?

15. Can you be persistent? Do you go back again to achieve your goal?

16. Do you know how to work with people?

If you answered positively to the above questions, you can organize your own business and become an entrepreneur. Of course, this process also requires certain conditions: initial capital, reliable partners, having at least a minimum of experience in managing your own enterprise, the ability to plan, control your business, etc.

Participants in a conference on entrepreneurship, which was held by Stanford University in the 90s, came to the conclusion that the desire for excellence, as well as such entrepreneurial qualities as impatience, reluctance to delegate something to someone else, play a key role in successful entrepreneurial activity. energy, the desire to work hard and also completely indulge in entertainment, the ability to highlight the essence of the problem. As we see, these are not so much qualities as the motives of behavior of entrepreneurs, which are largely related to personal characteristics.

M. Storey, assessing the traits of successful entrepreneurs who lead fast-growing companies, writes that entrepreneurs work when others are sleeping, travel when others are sitting at lunch, plan when others are having fun. They have a hard time noticing the difference between Saturday night and Tuesday afternoon. The common characteristics of all high-growth entrepreneurs are persistence and determination. An entrepreneur is very rarely a timid and shy person. His essential characteristic is the ability to take reasonable risks, but he must remember that money is not the main motivating factor of an entrepreneur. The person who sets his goal to achieve only large profits will certainly bring his company to financial collapse.

To the question “Who are successful entrepreneurs?” M. Storey gives lengthy answers, among which I would like to highlight the following:

They have a vision or dream that they pursue daily;

Boundless faith in their products or services;

They are constantly striving to do something;

They are inventors;

They are impatient and irritable, they always lack time;

They are tenacious and persistent;

They are focused on profit;

They are focused on success, planning for several years ahead;

They know their strengths and weaknesses better than anyone;

They are not afraid to start all over again;

Money is not their main or only motivation;

They do everything themselves;

They understand the meaning of subtle changes and their impact on business success;

They want to grow;

Understand the primary role of the consumer;

They don't think they're taking a big risk;

They are practical;

They ask for what they really want;

They are very market sensitive;

They are difficult to intimidate;

They are used to being alone;

They are contradictory, stubborn and capricious.

This is who successful entrepreneurs are. Of course, it is difficult to agree with all the characteristics, because some of them, for example, stubbornness, capriciousness, are contradictory and, in our opinion, cannot contribute to the success of an entrepreneur.

However, most of the above-mentioned qualities and motives of behavior are inherent in many Russian entrepreneurs.

In conclusion of this chapter, we present the principles that had developed in Russian entrepreneurship by the beginning of the 20th century: 1. Respect authority. Power is a necessary condition for effective business management. There must be order in everything. In this regard, show respect to the guardians of order in the legalized echelons of power.

2. Be honest and truthful. Honesty and truthfulness are the foundation of entrepreneurship, a prerequisite for healthy profits and harmonious business relationships. A Russian entrepreneur must be an impeccable bearer of virtue, honesty and truthfulness.

3. Respect property rights. Free enterprise is the basis of the well-being of the state. A Russian entrepreneur is obliged to work hard for the benefit of his homeland. Such zeal can only be demonstrated by relying on private property.

4. Love and respect the person. Love and respect for a working person on the part of an entrepreneur generates reciprocal love and respect. In such conditions, a harmony of interests arises, which creates the basis for the development of a wide variety of abilities in people and encourages them to express themselves in all their splendor.

5. Be true to your word. A business man must be true to his word. “Once you lie once, who will believe you.” Success in business largely depends on the extent to which those around you trust you.

6. Live within your means. Don't get carried away. Choose something you can handle. Always evaluate your capabilities. Act according to your means.

7. Be purposeful. Always have a clear goal in front of you. An entrepreneur needs such a goal like air. Don't get distracted by other goals. Serving two “masters” is unnatural. In an effort to achieve a cherished goal, do not cross the boundaries of what is permitted. No value can replace moral values.

Of course, modern Russian entrepreneurs do not adhere to the above principles in their business activities, but a significant part of them are civilized and law-abiding subjects of economic relations.

Control questions

1. Which individuals do not have the right to engage in business?

2. What types of legal entities are entrepreneurs?

3. Name the basic rights of entrepreneurs.

4. What responsibilities do entrepreneurs have?

5. What are the main personal qualities of civilized entrepreneurs?

6. On what principles was Russian entrepreneurship based at the beginning of the 20th century?

7. Characteristic personal qualities of successful entrepreneurs.

8. Name the rights of entrepreneurs-taxpayers.

9. What responsibilities do you know as entrepreneurs-taxpayers?

10. What qualities characterize the ideal type of entrepreneur?

11. Basic principles of activity of an individual, which are the basis for engaging in entrepreneurial activity.

12. Name the distinctive features of commercial and non-profit organizations.

The success of entrepreneurial activity largely depends on the entrepreneur, who is the initiator of entrepreneurial activity, and often the organizer and performer of the work at the same time. Therefore, much attention is paid to studying the characteristics of entrepreneurial activity and the business qualities of an entrepreneur. The generally recognized qualities and character traits of an entrepreneur are considered to be the desire to achieve success, initiative, independence, ability to run a business, and others. In particular, it should be noted that an entrepreneur as a person must see and evaluate business opportunities, generate the necessary material, financial and labor resources, benefit from their use, take initiative in a new business, effectively manage human resources, and guarantee success.

We can give other definitions of the main features of an entrepreneur, which are covered by various authors in domestic and foreign literature. However, all of them do not provide a complete description of the entrepreneur, since they do not reflect property relations. Many in any society, having such qualities as the ability to navigate a market situation, organize production, and a creative approach to solving problems, do not belong to entrepreneurs, since they work for an employer. Such people can be considered to have the ability to engage in entrepreneurial activity, but they are classified as employees and work under contracts with employers. In addition, the search for ways to improve production efficiency and ensure the success of the organization in which they work is, to a certain extent, part of their production and economic functions. At the same time, they do not bear full, sole responsibility for the results of the enterprise’s activities, since they subordinate their actions to the task of management, although their payment depends on the results of the enterprise’s work. An entrepreneur is usually the founder of his own business. So, the main distinctive features of an entrepreneur should include, in addition to those mentioned above, such as the ability to organize one’s own business, enterprise, etc. Only in practical activities can such character traits and business qualities of an entrepreneur as ingenuity and the ability to achieve success be manifested. Depending on desire and financial capabilities, an entrepreneur can become the sole owner of a business, enterprise, or a co-owner, joining forces with other entrepreneurs on a partnership basis. However, in all cases, the entrepreneur must be the owner of the business, and in this way he is fundamentally different from all other categories of workers, and primarily employees.

An entrepreneur, depending on the organization of work, can carry out entrepreneurial activities individually - individual labor activity, in the family circle - family entrepreneurial activity; join with other entrepreneurs in partnerships; recruit employees and organize a family business structure.

In a family business organization, the main characteristics of an entrepreneur include the ability to ensure authority among family members and to organize in the best possible way the distribution of responsibilities between family members. An important feature in this case will be the ability to manage family members, relying on family relationships and while ensuring high results in production or provision of services.

Entrepreneurs who have employees under their command must have traits that ensure high professionalism in organizing production and managing human resources.

If in individual entrepreneurial activity the entrepreneur is actually responsible for the results of only his own labor, then he can arbitrarily set the mode and intensity of labor.

His income depends entirely on his ability, strength and desire to increase it.

The important features of an entrepreneur, who is not only the owner of his business, the organization of the enterprise, but also the organizer of production and economic activities for which he hires workers, should be considered, first of all, his organizational abilities, the ability to combine his own interests with the interests of workers and direct the latter’s energy to achieving success at work. It is the ability of an entrepreneur to effectively collaborate with a team that is the key to the successful work of his organization based on obtaining additional effect from the integrity of the manifestation of all factors that ensure success. At the same time, it should be noted that this form of organization of entrepreneurial activity is much more complex than individual entrepreneurial activity.

The experience of the world economy and research by Western experts indicate that not everyone can be a talented entrepreneur, but only 5-7 people out of 100 able-bodied people.

A classic example of a talented entrepreneur can be considered Ford, who, starting from a small business in a workshop for repairing agricultural machinery, achieved global recognition in the automotive industry, and whose whole life was subordinated to ensuring success in his business based on the careful development of new models of equipment and ensuring their competitiveness .

In all cases, organizing a business (own business) is associated with certain costs and requires the availability of capital, the amount of which is determined by the scale of business activity, its capital intensity and other factors. Taking into account the ownership of capital (this can be the entrepreneur’s own capital, borrowed capital, joint stock capital, partnership capital or any other enterprise), relations between its owners are formed and the degree of risk of entrepreneurial activity is determined. In cases where the entrepreneur uses only his own capital, the personal risk of the entrepreneur is determined. For all other forms, the amount of business risk to the borrower of capital is determined. Moreover, such a borrower is also an entrepreneur in the field of financial turnover. The latter insures himself against possible failure by making inquiries, collecting the necessary information about the entrepreneur, borrowing capital, his business, organization, prospects, reliability of their success, and the like. Thus, an important feature of entrepreneurs working on borrowed capital should be considered their mutual awareness of the financial and credit system, the ability to calculate their capabilities and coordinate them with the capabilities of creditors, and determine the upper limit in the formation of credit financial relations.

It should be noted that in a stable economic situation with saturated markets for products and services, the natural abilities of an entrepreneur should rely to a greater extent on a high level of professionalism and education, while in transition economies the lack of knowledge is to a certain extent replaced by such qualities as the ability to risk, taking responsibility for the uncertainty of the situation, etc.

In real life, the positive business qualities of individual entrepreneurs cannot always ensure the success of entrepreneurial activity and the prosperity of the enterprise. Moreover, real life often presents surprises that provoke the entrepreneur to take illogical and immoderate actions. However, such actions can produce positive results. Nevertheless, Western experts attach great importance to the study of the main features and business qualities of an entrepreneur. The phenomenon of an entrepreneur, as a person who chooses an active position in life aimed at finding the best ways to satisfy the needs of consumers, is constantly in the field of view not only of economists, but also of psychologists, psychoanalysts, sociologists, and politicians.

Determining the business qualities of entrepreneurs can become an enveloping theoretical basis for building enterprise management mechanisms. A certain classification of business qualities according to the areas of their occurrence and use in entrepreneurial activity can become a scientific tool for self-assessment and self-analysis of their entrepreneurial capabilities for beginner entrepreneurs and for those people who want to engage in entrepreneurial activity. This will allow them, already at the first stage of entrepreneurial activity, to orient themselves to a certain extent, and most importantly, to pay attention to the need for self-improvement and, if necessary, obtaining certain qualities. It should be noted that certain qualities are given to a person by nature, while others are acquired in the process of obtaining education, business and professional qualifications. It is advisable to classify such abilities into a group of professionalism, in which subgroups can be distinguished that characterize organizational and managerial abilities.

The group requires special consideration; it determines the socio-psychological qualities of an entrepreneur, in particular such as the need to achieve success, self-determination at work and in society, the need to start your own business, do something new, find a new way to solve a known problem. This group of qualities is inherently the driving force, the motivation for creating an entrepreneurial structure, or at least before engaging in individual entrepreneurial activity. The main list of business qualities of an entrepreneur and their distribution by groups are given in table. 2.

However, it should be noted that the above grouping is somewhat conditional. Such, for example, qualities as the ability to coordinate their interests with the interests of partners, hired workers can be attributed both to professionalism, since the solution of such problems requires certain knowledge on the issues of human motivational behavior in the production process, and in natural properties, such as contact in establishing connections with the team, partners and the like. An entrepreneur can acquire a number of business qualities already in the process of activity. In general, the presence of all business qualities can be verified only in the process of practical entrepreneurial activity. It is clear that in real life it is difficult to find a person who would have all the listed qualities at the same time, possess them equally and use them in entrepreneurial activity. All this happens much more complicated. At the same time, the insufficiency of some qualities is offset by the action of others.

table 2

Business qualities of an entrepreneur

However, several important business qualities that characterize a person as an entrepreneur can always be determined. Moreover, in society it is necessary to take into account the culture of entrepreneurial activity, at the heart of which issues related to determining the business qualities of an entrepreneur and giving priority to certain of them occupy an important place. It is precisely these processes that occur constantly in different countries with developed market economies. In particular, in the USA, Japan, and Western European countries, priority is given to such qualities of an entrepreneur as the ability to create new values, including new technologies, new products, new types of services; ability to achieve success; honesty in relations with partners and consumers. To acquire such business qualities, you need to use those listed in Table 2, that is, be a professional and a naturally gifted person. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the norms of behavior recognized in society.

The social environment has a significant influence on the development of the business qualities of an entrepreneur. Problems that affect economic development also form a certain stereotype of human behavior, primarily an entrepreneur, as the most active element of human resources. The stages of development of entrepreneurship in the historical aspect show that the priority of the business qualities of an entrepreneur largely depends on the level of satisfaction of his material and spiritual needs. At the same time, given the low standard of living of the people, as well as the entrepreneur himself, business qualities associated with meeting material needs take priority. With the pleasure of the latter, the priority of business qualities that are capable of satisfying the spiritual and cultural needs of both entrepreneurs and the society of a particular country as a whole is formed. The processes of satisfying the needs of entrepreneurs and the needs of consumers are connected not only with each other, but with the formation of certain business qualities of entrepreneurs. This can be seen in examples of the development of entrepreneurship in countries such as the USA, Japan, CIS countries, including Ukraine. In particular, after the huge and devastating crisis of the 30s of the 20th century in the United States, entrepreneurship experienced the highest rates of development in the sphere of trade and services. It was in them that one could quickly obtain capital. And entrepreneurs, in order to achieve success and concentrate capital, did not spare their own efforts and did not take the time into account. At this stage, priority was given to such business qualities of entrepreneurs as the ability to achieve success and knowledge of society. The media were aimed at cultivating such business qualities. The successes of entrepreneurs were widely advertised in newspapers, magazines, radio and television. Much later, in the 50s, the focus of public opinion and the efforts of entrepreneurs shifted to the development of science, to knowledge-intensive sectors of the national economy, and such business qualities of an entrepreneur as innovation, a high culture of business entrepreneurial relations, trust in clients and partners received public recognition , ability to take risks. It was during this period that a new type of entrepreneurial activity associated with risk was formed, known in Western literature as “venture business.”

The development of entrepreneurship in Japan after the Second World War took place just as intensively, but on a somewhat different plane. The Japanese spared no effort, working 12-14 hours a day, increasing their own well-being and the well-being of the country as a whole. The main direction of development of entrepreneurship in Japan is mastering the achievements of science and technology, creating new technologies, new high-quality and competitive products. The main business qualities of entrepreneurs were considered not only the mastery of innovations, but, above all, high-quality work and professionalism, the ability to manage human resources based on national culture and religion.

In Ukraine, as in other CIS countries, the development of entrepreneurial activity occurred at the end of the 80s, when the laws of the administrative-command system were significantly weakened and a market economy had not yet been formed. In addition, the economic situation contributed to the possibility of rapid enrichment for entrepreneurs due to the possibility of skimming off the ignorance of the majority of the population about the quality of the products and services they provided. In conditions of undersaturated markets and imperfect laws that would protect consumer rights, this was not difficult to do. This did not require high professionalism in producing high-quality products, but only the ability to use the shortcomings of domestic legislation. Therefore, the main business qualities that were inherent in entrepreneurs of that period were: energy, speed of orientation in changes in the market economy, and the ability to achieve success at any cost. The lack of culture in business relationships between entrepreneurs has contributed to the proliferation of fraud. This is how “new Russians”, “new Russians” appeared, who in a few years amassed significant capital, but brought incomparably less benefit. Most likely, they caused great damage to the development of entrepreneurial activity and sowed despondency among a significant part of the population in its progressiveness and usefulness. Significant shortcomings in this were also committed by the state, which practically did not regulate the processes of business development. However, the shortcomings and mistakes of the first period of the formation of entrepreneurial activity were largely forced. If we depict the Social Portrait of a domestic entrepreneur, his origin, then we will have to admit that a significant part of people came into entrepreneurship with a dubious, or even criminal, past. For such entrepreneurs, it is not at all typical to seek novelty in solving important socio-economic problems of the development of society, but only the desire for their own enrichment. However, as the historical development of entrepreneurship in other countries shows, such phenomena are temporary and fleeting.

With the improvement of the legislative framework, the saturation of commodity markets, and increasing public awareness of the basics of entrepreneurial activity, the requirements for entrepreneurs and their activities will increase. Considering that Ukraine has a high scientific and technical potential and processes for reducing state scientific and research institutions are envisaged, it can be predicted that business activity will grow in these areas.

Summarizing the positions stated above, it should be noted that the business qualities of a businessman are not only his characteristics, but largely reflect the essence and direction of entrepreneurial activity. Therefore, society must educate entrepreneurs, direct their energy to solving important socially useful problems, using the media and widespread coverage of positive examples.

You've come up with a great idea for a business. You've even written a detailed, well-thought-out business plan. It looks like you are simply destined for success! But wait, in addition to a perfect business plan and startup capital, you may need to stock up on a few more things. Before you conquer new heights, you need to understand that in order to bring a good idea to life, the most important thing is the people who will be involved in its implementation. In other words, the success of your business largely depends on yourself.

So what sets natural entrepreneurs apart from the rest of humanity? These are the qualities that determine your success in business:

Determination: Even a small team needs someone to take on the role of leader. Business owners need to be able to show that they can take responsibility for difficult decisions. Taking advice and being willing to listen to others' opinions is important, but ultimately the decision will be yours.

Creativity: In the world of business, dreamers are not naive. They are able to come up with new things and think outside the box, finding a solution where ordinary people would not look for it. The ability to intuitively recognize a potentially successful idea is as important in business as anything else: a good idea and a creative approach, beautifully packaged and presented correctly, are the key to success.

Courage: Even to start planning to create your own business, you already need to be a little adventurous. If you are not willing to take risks, many opportunities for growth and development of your company will pass you by. But don't confuse courage with recklessness. The owner of the company must think through everything down to the smallest detail and be able to calculate risks.

Love for business: If your eyes don’t light up when you think about what you’re doing, don’t expect to be able to light up other people with your idea. Running a business comes with a lot of challenges, and the only thing that will keep you from giving up and forgetting about the end goal is your own enthusiasm.

Resourcefulness: As a rule, nothing in life happens exactly according to plan. Therefore, the ability to quickly react and make decisions in unforeseen situations is vital for doing business. Don't think you can predict everything, and be prepared to improvise when necessary.

Honesty: Be honest with your clients, partners, employees and everyone you work with, and most importantly, be honest with yourself. Don't set goals and deadlines you can't meet, and don't sell a product you don't have. The best marketing and branding strategy is to find what your company really has to offer and then deliver it in the best possible way.

Sociability: You don't have to be a professional speaker or become everyone's best friend, but you do need to be able to communicate with people. While running your business, you will have to meet a huge number of people, and, of course, it is better that they consider you a professional and a person who is easy to contact.

Dedication: You can’t do things halfway. You must be willing to devote most of your time and effort to daily responsibilities. Try to distribute your time so that there is enough for both work and personal life, and monitor the completion of the tasks that you set for yourself for the day, week or month.

The ability to predict: If you have your own business, you can no longer afford to live one day at a time. At a minimum, on a subconscious level, you must plan and prepare everything in advance. As a chess player, you need to think several moves ahead.

Flexibility: After you have already discussed and prepared everything, you will have to take a critical look at the work done and show healthy pragmatism. Sticking to an initial plan that doesn't fit your current situation is unlikely to benefit your business. In communicating with clients, contractors, potential partners, etc. flexibility is valued much more than stubbornness and the desire to prove one’s right.