ENTREPRENEURIAL

PERSONALITY
Operating a business enterprise is a very challenging occupation. The
rate of failure among those who dared to make attempts is high. Only a
small number of them become successful and the levels of their success
differ. Some of them become highly successful and the rest are either
moderately or slightly successful. Those who fail also differ in terms of
degree of failure.
Two complementary factors
1. Environment; and

2. Personality of the entrepreneur.

The environment as a factor
• An entrepreneurship will survive and grow in a environment that is friendly or akin
to it. Nature provides us with examples of what happens to entities living in certain
environments. For instance, giant clams thrive in the ocean, but not in the river.
The coconut palm will grown in the Philippines but not in Sweden. These are so
because giants clams were design by nature to survive in salt water, and
freshwater river will be hostile to it because it is not its natural habitat. Coconut
trees grow naturally in the tropics and because Sweden has a cool, temperature
climate, they will not survive there.
• In terms of support to entrepreneurships, economic environments differ from place to
place. To facilitate discussion, economic environments may be classified as follows:

1. Fully supportive of entrepreneurships;

2. Moderately supportive of entrepreneur ships; and
3. Not supportive of entrepreneurships.

Economies that fully support entrepreneurships make it easy for entrepreneurs to succeed. The
exact opposite may be expected in economies that are not supportive of entrepreneurships.
Those fully supportive of
EASY
entrepreneurships

Those moderately
supportive of LESS EASY
entrepreneurships

Those not supportive of

HARD
entrepreneurships
The entrepreneur’s personality
• Every person has a personality that is unique and different from others. Each
personality type has a corresponding type of job that fits it. A certain personality,
however, may fit more that one type of job, although the level of fitness will be
different with each job. A given personality, for instance, may perfectly fit the
entrepreneur’s job, moderately fits the teacher’s job, but not fitted for the
engineer’s job.

Personality Entrepreneur’s job Teacher’s job Engineer’s job

types

A Perfect fir Moderate fit Unfit

B Unfit Perfect fit Moderate fit
C Moderate fit Unfit Perfect fit
What is personality
• Personality refers to the pattern of characteristics that distinguishes one person
from another. It includes the person’s traits, values, motives, genetic blueprints,
attitudes, emotional reactivity, abilities, self-image, intelligence, and visible
behavior patterns.

• Psychologists have made great advances in research about personality. An

interesting study is that one made by Holland. His proposal indicates six
personality types. They are as follows:
1. Realistic type;
2. Investigative type; Realistic This individual prefers activities involving aggressive
3. Artistic type; behavior and physical exertion requiring skill, strength, and
4. Social type; coordination. EX: farming, and mining.
5. Entreprising type; and
6. Conventional type; Investigative This individual prefers to be analytical, curious, methodical,
and precise. EX: crime investigator and arson investigator.
Artistic This person is expressive, nonconforming, original, and
introspective. Ex: songwriter and novelist.
Social This person enjoys working with and helping others and
purposefully avoids systematic activities involving tools and
machinery. EX: social worker.

Entreprising This person enjoys verbal activities to influence others and

to attain power and status. EX: manager and entrepreneur.
Conventional This person enjoys the systematic manipulation of data,
filing of records, or reproducing materials.
EX: accounting, finance.
Characteristics of Entrepreneurs
• Successful entrepreneurs possess certain characteristics that are unique and different from those having
other occupations. Based on research by experts, the following traits are considered vital to a successful
career in entrepreneurship:
1. Drive
2. Thinking ability
3. Human relations ability
4. Ability to communicate
5. Technical knowledge
6. Reasonable risk taker
7. Self-confident
8. Goal setter
9. Accountable
10. Innovative
• Drive
Success in entrepreneurship becomes possible when the entrepreneur is self
motivated enough to pursue his chosen course without relenting even in the face of
adversity. Reaching a goal, however, is often achieved through a series of moves. It
is rare for entrepreneurs to succeed with just a single stoke. If he fails in his first
attempt, he makes another attempt. He repeats the attempt, maybe with some
improvements, until he succeeds.
• Thinking Ability
The entrepreneur’s job involves solving problems and making decisions. When he
finds the correct solutions to the problems that confront him and then makes
decisions that are implemented, he comes closer to realizing his goals.
• Human Relations Ability
Three types of persons will determine the survival and growth of business firms:
(1) The customer, (2) the employee, (3) the third party with interest in the firm.
The customer make the decision whether to patronize the firm or not. His decision,
however, will depend on what he thinks of the firm.
The employee can be productive and loyal to the firm. He can help avoid production
delays and shortages, wasteful consumption of company resources, dissatisfied
customers, and the like.
Third parties with various interests regarding the firm can also be made to be more
cooperative and accommodating. This will depend, however, on how the company
relates to them.
• Ability to communicate
Communication skill is a very important characteristic an entrepreneur must have if
success is expected. The ability to understand and be understood makes it easier for the
entrepreneur to transact business with customers, bankers, and government officials.
• Technical Knowledge
Operating an entrepreneurship requires the performance of major and minor tasks.
In running a restaurant, for instance, important tasks may include the following:
recruitment of personnel, purchasing of materials, book keeping, sanitation etc.
• Reasonable Risk-taker
When a person starts a new venture, he has already begun to assume the risk of
business failure. Entrepreneurs, however, normally do not assume unreasonable
risks.
• Self-confident
A person cannot achieve much unless he has sufficient confidence in himself. In any
undertaking , including entrepreneurship, a person’s belief in his ability leads him to
actual performance and eventual success. When a person has self-confidence, he
does his job without inhibition.
• Goal Setter
Goals are very useful motivational tools, especially those related to accomplishing the
objectives of entrepreneurs. A goal performs the following functions:

1. It directs one’s attention to a specific target

2. It encourages one to exert effort toward achieving something specific
3. It encourages persistence
4. It fosters the creation of strategies and action plans.

• Accountable

The success of an enterprise will depend much on the willingness of subordinates to comply with the
wishes of the entrepreneur. Compliance can be expected of the entrepreneur is accountable enough to
take responsibility for whatever happens to the firm.
• Innovative
innovation may be the only way the entrepreneur can achieve the following:
1. Penetrate the market
2. Improve employee turnover
3. Reduce manufacturing cost
4. Improve collection rate
What motivates people to become
entrepreneur
1. Desire to be one’s own boss
2. Desire for financial rewards
3. Desire create one’s own job security
4. Desire to improve one’s quality of life

• Desire to be one’s own boss

There are times when an employee sees some good opportunities for his
employer’s business. When he recommends action to be undertaken and is ignored.
• Desire for financial Rewards
Getting employed is the desire of most people. This is understandable because many people
want sure monthly income.
• Desire to create one’s own job security
Some employees feel that their jobs are not secure. They think they could fired for variety of
reasons. When management makes serious errors and it affects the company’s viability, the
jobs of the employees are compromised.
• Desire to improve one’s quality of life
Persons who travel daily to work also sacrifice valuable time that could be spent with their
families. To some people, engagement in entrepreneurship provides them with some control
over their work schedules.