3 Qualities to Learn from Successful Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs often share a wealth of qualities, but what are the most important for really becoming a success? We’ve rounded up some of the most prominent qualities we found in some of the world’s most well-known and commercially successful entrepreneurs.

Bill Gates – Focus

One of, if not the most successful entrepreneur of our time, Bill Gates is a household name in the world of technology. By 20 years old, Gates, along with fellow student turned business partner Paul Allen, had dropped out of Harvard and moved to Albuquerque, and it was there that Microsoft was born.

Throughout his years of work in the technology field, Gates has shown numerous desirable entrepreneurial qualities, but one he is praised for is his focus on his work. Gates’ secret is that he focuses on the one thing he does best, and then works to makes it the best it can be.

Focus is important for entrepreneurs to master as the focus is what drives your business and helps you to stay grounded as you make things happen. Being highly focused will allow you to have a constant awareness of, and clarity around your business strategies.

Steve Jobs – Take Risks

Apple was founded on April 1st, 1976 and only one year later, the first successful Apple product as launched. Today, Apple is worth a whopping $300.6 billion worldwide and have annual revenue of $265.5 billion.

These stats by themselves are impressive, but even more so when you note that when the first iPhone launched in 2007, it was met with a lot of criticism from industry insiders. Jobs was advised to pull the plug on the product as there was no hope for it gaining a significant market share. Today, the iPhone provides more than two-thirds of Apple's revenue, standing at $31.05 billion in 2019 alone so far.

When it comes to business, every entrepreneur needs to be able to take risks. Taking risks doesn’t necessarily mean being reckless; it is more about having the courage to believe in your ideas and your business. Whenever you are starting up with a new company, you're likely entering a marketplace already saturated with businesses that do the same thing you plan to – but likely for longer and with more funding, experience and customers. Taking calculated risks on something our truly in believe in is how you can set your business apart.

JK Rowling – Resilience

JK Rowling is a name known around the world. Of course, she is most notably known for being the author of the world’s bestselling, and fastest-selling, book series of all time – Harry Potter. With an estimated 400 million copies sold, there’s no question that Rowling is one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs.

One of the author’s biggest entrepreneurial qualities is her sheer resilience. Rowling’s early life was by no means. However, she always pushed through. By age 25 she had begun working on a novel called Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. But, despite its now world-famous status, Rowling’s manuscript of the first Harry Potter was rejected by 12 publishers before eventually, the author’s resilience paid off and a small publisher agreed to publish the book. Rowling went so far as to say she wouldn’t stop trying until every single publisher turned her down, despite being worried that might be the case. Nonetheless, her resilience paid off, and she went to become the world’s first-ever billionaire author.

Resilience is the foundation of any successful entrepreneur. Success isn’t going just to be handed to you, no matter how great your idea or business may end up being in the long run. There will be times when you get knocked down and rejected, but the mark of a good entrepreneur is when they can get back up after rejection, dust themselves off and get back to business.