Entrepreneurship

Seven Reasons to Become an Entrepreneur

Psychology of entrepreneurship from a leadership perspective

The psychology of entrepreneurship

The psychology of entrepreneurship is complex and paradoxical. It depicts many factors related to entrepreneurs’ personality, physical health, mental health, mindset, emotional traits, spiritual connections, culture, lifestyle choices, and worldviews.

Some entrepreneurs identify these psychological feelings at a very young age. They build their lives and careers by leveraging the power of these psychological constructs.

However, some of us find out these desires after having many setbacks and experiencing hardships at work. For example, I had entrepreneurial dreams and aspirations in my teenage years but only had an opportunity to take action after the age of 45.

Interestingly, I developed my entrepreneurship interest and started the journey after mentoring and being mentored by some entrepreneurs in technology leadership.

They inspired and encouraged me more than my theoretical knowledge in the field. Their achievements became the primary source of inspiration and confidence for me to get started on this journey.

Even though my theoretical learning from the body of knowledge helped to some extent, the more significant value was in experiential studies and ethnographic research.

These types of studies allowed me to become a member of business organizations and observe the dynamics methodically. Observing and being an observer simultaneously added an extra dimension to my studies.

My formal education, even in business and leadership, contributed very little to getting me started, even though it slightly increased my self-confidence. However, my experiences and interactions with entrepreneurs played a significant role in pushing my ideas on this exciting journey.

During my leadership studies, I observed the behavior of many entrepreneurs. Some distinguished leaders I met depicted significant entrepreneurship traits, and some exceptional leaders only had a few characteristics of entrepreneurs.

So not all leaders had a chance to manifest their entrepreneurial dreams even though they influenced many people to move in a direction.

When studying the characteristics of entrepreneurs, I came across some patterns. I asked why they decided to become entrepreneurs and asked those aspiring ones why they considered becoming entrepreneurs.

I also reviewed the literature broadly. Some leaders I interacted with chose the entrepreneurship path for psychological reasons.

Studying prominent traits that attract customers to exceptional entrepreneurs has provided valuable insights that I shared in various articles and public presentations. My research revealed the difference between an aspiring and an extraordinary entrepreneur.

In this post, I share seven characteristics of exceptional entrepreneurs by triangulating them with my personal experience, the people I interacted with, and the entrepreneurship body of knowledge I reviewed.

I understand that entrepreneurship is not the choice of everyone. However, anyone who understands these psychological constructs can pursue entrepreneurship dreams by changing their mindset and taking necessary actions with determination.

Here are seven patterns that I captured and documented in summary.

1 — Dislike of Being Controlled by Others

Like many entrepreneurs, false authorities disturbed me too. In my experience, some executives with a tenuous understanding of technology significantly influenced people by leveraging their executive power.

Nevertheless, those with authentic knowledge and considerable skills couldn’t achieve such an enormous impact on a broader scale.

Many entrepreneurs that I observed did not fit into the corporate environment. Their creativity and aspirations were adversely affected by the top-down and bureaucratic approach.

These entrepreneurs wanted the freedom to make their own decisions and create their own path to greatness with their own agendas and flexible schedule.

They simply did not enjoy a nine-to-five schedule to produce great results. Instead, they wanted a relaxed lifestyle that integrated with their business regime.

Many entrepreneurs didn’t enjoy the reality of having people in superior positions managing their work and looking over their shoulders. Not being considered and included in decision-making turned them off.

They did not want to be judged and undervalued. Therefore, they strived to find opportunities to control business decisions, processes, and outcomes. This desire made them become their own boss.

Many entrepreneurs mentioned that business organizations went into cost-cutting mode and made even the valuable employees redundant. This situation was stressful and concerning for them.

So, they decided to create their path and destiny rather than being a puppet in the corporate world.

Instead of getting recognition from authorities, they preferred gaining recognition from their clients and partners. This self-confidence in measuring their own performance made them successful in their entrepreneurship journey.

Entrepreneurs take full responsibility and accountability for their businesses. Anyone working for them could leave anytime when they get better offers, but they cannot leave their business which can fail in their venture.

Therefore, they are not afraid of marketing and selling, which are the key stakes of any entrepreneurial pursuit. So, they don’t do avoidance activities to feel comfortable in the short term.

2 — Impatient Personality

Patience is essential in every business pursuit. However, some high achievers cannot show tolerance for mediocrity. The slow movement of bureaucracy in large organizations kills the patience of highly creative and productive talents.

These talents want quick results with sound decisions and quick actions. Bureaucracy delays their results; therefore, they become impatient. Comfort bores them.

They can’t handle perfection and refrain from paralysis of analysis in large organizations creating confusion from defragmented ideas and conflicting interests of team members.

The convoluted processes make entrepreneurs impatient. As they want to create quick results, they prefer agile approaches to business.

They start with minuscule activities leveraging the power of the minimum viable product. They focus their energy on the tiniest things that can bring real value. Then they spin many opportunities and observe which one could produce better results.

Once they see the value of a deal, they go for it and put in many resources to realize that opportunity. So, they diversify their investment plans in a good balance.

The critical value of impatience to entrepreneurs is they don’t wait for their products to sell themselves. Instead, they impatiently try the market and take as many negative responses as possible in the form of no until they get positive answers in yes.

They don’t have the arrogance that selling could reduce their self-esteem because they believe in their product and services adding value to others.

Another value of impatience for entrepreneurs is focusing on 20% to get 80% value. They don’t waste their time in 80%. However, they impatiently pay attention to 20%, making the real difference for desired outcomes.

3 — Love of Freedom and Self-Control

Freedom is an essential human value. We all desire it, but some of us have to sacrifice our freedom for the sake of false security. Earning our living by doing what we love is a vital virtue.

Entrepreneurs are aware of this dilemma. So rather than trading off their valuable time, they bring income from creating ideas, investing them, and turning those active incomes into passive income streams.

Maintaining a work-life balance is a critical value proposition for many entrepreneurs. They believe that there is more to life than work.

They nurture their relationships by freeing their time from mundane tasks consuming their quality time. They create time to travel and gain new experiences in life. They don’t manage time, but they work on their priorities.

By wearing several hats when needed, they create control and freedom for their time. Rather than spending their time on monotonous and repetitive tasks, they focus on innovation and automation to save time.

They dislike unproductive and boring meetings. Thus, they focus their energy on high-impact interactions and performing productive tasks to produce outstanding results.

Savvy entrepreneurs don’t compete with others that can waste their time. Instead, they collaborate to create synergetic outcomes, which make more quality time for them.

Freedom from meaningless completion is a critical success factor for entrepreneurs. They know that life is not a race. If they need completion, they compete with themselves to take their current condition to better conditions.

4 — Passion for Learning and Experience

Many entrepreneurs that I met are thirsty to gain knowledge. They want to learn more and gain new experiences.

Knowledge is power, but the productive use of knowledge is more powerful, and action from knowledge is a distinguishing factor for success.

Entrepreneurs dream big and think big. Their dreams are achieved by learning and gaining new experiences. They use both intellect and emotions to learn. Therefore, entrepreneurs have remarkable cognitive flexibility and emotional intelligence.

Learning from the failures of others is a great time saver for entrepreneurs. They are not afraid of making mistakes, but they don’t want to make mistakes for the sake of making them.

So, they learn from the knowledge and experience of others by reading their content or interacting with them meaningfully.

5 — Addiction to Creativity and Productivity

Many entrepreneurs pay significant attention to creativity and productivity. Addiction is a negative word with connotations, but when good habits become addictions, our creativity and productivity can boost and go to another level.

Being addicted to taking timely actions can be a positive lifestyle. By overcoming procrastination with their action-oriented efforts, they become more creative and productive.

First, they funnel every creative idea. Then when they have many options, they focus on creatively engaging in them.

Entrepreneurs understand that distractions can reduce their creativity and productivity. Therefore, they eliminate interruptions by scheduling their time for their priorities. In addition, they develop valuable skills to discriminate noise from opportunities.

Another critical attribute of entrepreneurs is constantly monitoring and checking their progress. If they notice they are in the wrong direction, they immediately take action to detour.

However, they keep the passion in the right direction; hence they sound shameless in selling their ideas, products, and services.

With determination on creativity, they create novel ideas. Then, with timely and persistent actions, they turn ideas into products and services. Action-oriented determination is the secret of manifestation for entrepreneurs.

6 — Addiction to Risk-Taking

Life is full of risks. It is inevitable to live without risks. However, entrepreneurs have a conscious choice for risk-taking.

They are addicted to taking calculated risks. The risk concept manifests as conviction in their lives. They tolerate initial pain to create more sustained pleasure at a later stage.

Neurotransmitters play a critical role in risk-taking. Adrenalin and cortisol are essential chemicals that energize us to take action.

Even though we all experience fear and anxiety naturally, many entrepreneurs act fearlessly despite experiencing fear, such as taking roller coaster rides. They can easily switch from sympathetic to parasympathetic mode.

Entrepreneurs understand the difference between natural and perceived fear. For example, they are not afraid of what others think about them. They don’t care about rejections and negative criticism. Instead, they seek rejections and criticism to make faster progress.

We produce business results and grow financially by taking risks. They see risks as a game or adventure. Thus, they experience excitement from these games and adventures. While tolerating uncertainty and ambiguity, entrepreneurs always create clarity and sell their products with authority.

A lifestyle and business without risks bore entrepreneurs. They see no boundaries to human creativity and productivity. Therefore, they constantly create, invent, innovate, and disrupt to create desired results.

Entrepreneurs create luck and serendipity by taking risks. Yet, paradoxically, life isn’t securer as controlling their own destiny with managing risks meaningfully.

7 — Desire to Make a Difference

We can make a difference at a personal and societal level. With the traits mentioned in previous points, entrepreneurs are always in transition mode to transform into better forms at an individual level.

They strive to find better versions.

By growing their business, giving opportunities to other people, paving the way to new manifestations, and being role models, they make a significant difference in organizations, communities, and overall society.

Entrepreneurs think and act differently from other people by creating unconventional ideas.

As a result, they solve personal, business, and societal problems with their leadership and inspire other people on their path to becoming more successful. Their ultimate goal is to leave a legacy behind them.

Conclusions and Takeaways

Entrepreneurs are not weird and extraordinary people. They are individuals like us with body, mind, and soul but they think and act differently despite their constraints and limitations. They rewire their brain to overcome limitations, produce impact, and create desired results.

I met many distinguished leaders who took the entrepreneurial journey and made a real difference in society.

We know that entrepreneurial inventors, thoughts leaders, investors, and business leaders shaped organizations, communities, and societies with their outstanding contributions.

Recently Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Jack Ma, and Jeff Bezos are a few examples of such entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurs might look selfish from the outset, but some prominent ones proved selfless by contributing to many disadvantaged people’s well-being.

In addition, some entrepreneurs are philanthropists contributing to research and development that address the debilitating conditions of humanity.

By understanding the complex and paradoxical nature of entrepreneurship, we can be part of this exciting journey.

Of course, our growth mindset, passion, and determined actions are essential factors to joining this journey and riding successfully.

Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.

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