Are You An Entrepreneur?

With all the buzz about everybody being an entrepreneur these days wouldn't it be nice if you could really find out if you have what it takes?

Sure it would.

The following profile was adopted over a period of several years of research from successful entrepreneurs worldwide to assist would-be entrepreneurs determine if they have the traits to undertake a new venture.

Can we describe what an entrepreneur is? Simply, an entrepreneur is one who undertakes something new or remakes something old and eventually succeeds. Entrepreneurs may fail, and often they do, before they get it right. But there are no entrepreneurs who are failures. Entrepreneurs only look upon a failure as a stepping stone. One door closes, another opens.

Do YOU have the entrepreneurial mystic?

This assessment is the result of analyzing the character traits of successful entrepreneurs. It measures entrepreneurial readiness whether one considers s/he is an entrepreneur. Much study and research by academics around the world has gone into attempting to determine who is, or can be, an entrepreneur. Unfortunately, not one reliable predictive model has successfully been developed, nor is it likely one will beyond identifying the traits and trying to measure up to them.

This all seems pointless however even if one has the traits because it does not guarantee any measured individual will become an entrepreneur. Just having the traits does not guarantee SUCCESS and yet success is required to earn the title of Entrepreneur. If, for example, an individual assessed has all the apparent attributes of a so-called entrepreneur but fails in the new venture they undertake, the mantel of the true entrepreneur can never be worn because the word "Entrepreneur" is embodied in the word "Success". (www.CEFE.org)

Rate each of the following eleven characteristics as you believe it relates to you using the following scale.

+2 = I am very strong in this characteristic
+1 = I possess this characteristic
0 = I don't know
-1 = I have very little of this characteristic
-2 = I do not possess this characteristic

TRAITS: CIRCLE ONE CHOICE in EACH TRAIT
Creative: +2 +1 0 -1 -2
TakeRisk: +2 +1 0 -1 -2
Self-Confident: +2 +1 0 -1 -2
Dynamic: +2 +1 0 -1 -2
Like to Lead Others: +2 +1 0 -1 -2
Market Savvy: +2 +1 0 -1 -2
Resourceful: +2 +1 0 -1 -2
Persevere: +2 +1 0 -1 -2
Optimistic: +2 +1 0 -1 -2
Knowledgeable: +2 +1 0 -1 -2
High Energy Level: +2 +1 0 -1 -2
TOTAL SCORE: ____

Total your score for the eleven characteristics. Add the pluses and subtract the minuses. Your score will fall between -22 to +22.

A high positive score demonstrates you have the characteristics needed to succeed as an entrepreneur while a low or negative score demonstrates the opposite. Your current job, experience, and motivation have much influence. Fairly passive or low scores can move to fairly positive or high scores with just the loss of a job. Displaced persons are among the most successful of entrepreneurs regardless of prior traits. They earn the title, if for no other reason, than they have nowhere else to turn.

One thing we do know is that regardless of what your score is, without a passion to succeed at all cost, the title of entrepreneur and the notoriety that goes with it, will forever elude your grasp.

Fred DiUlus is CEO & Founder of Global Academy Online, a premier provider of private label online curriculum to colleges, universities, and education organizations. He is also the author of "Guerilla Entrepreneurship: The Original", a classic entrepreneur's guide to success and the Free eBook, the "Best & Worst Online College Degree Programs".