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Many people think about starting a small business, often with great ideas. Few people actually go out and do it.

It takes a special type of person to be an entrepreneur. It takes a strong desire to succeed. As you build your business, you will need courage, perseverance and a great deal of will power. You will have to face many setbacks and learn to deal with them. 

You will need a level of technical skill. In this competitive market, you can’t just be good at what you do.  You need to be excellent.

A successful entrepreneur is decisive, self-disciplined and a self-starter. For many years, as your business grows, you’ll be working far more than forty hours a week. It is probable that you will have little money to show for it. 

You will need to be able to make decisions. You will have to have discipline enough to work at it every day, no matter how discouraged you might be. 

You should be self-directing, too. Not only that, but you should be skilled at prioritizing and planning. You will need the ability to meet deadlines and also to work to complete each job. Often this means putting in eighteen hours a day.

Successful entrepreneurs have to deal with stress and uncertainty. To deal with both well. Running a business is stressful at the best of times. It can be even more stressful when things aren’t going well. Things are rarely certain for the budding entrepreneur. 

Many times, you will need to make a short-term sacrifice for long-term gain. You will have to delay personal rewards and use the money you earn to build your business.

Your skill set will be varied and broad. Even if you build the best widget in the country.  As purchasing agent,  you lease space, buy tools, and source  suppliers for the components.

Don't forget, customers aren’t going to come and find you. You have to let people know who you are, where you are and what you can do for them.  That means you also need to know something about marketing.

You’re required to keep proper records, so you’re a bookkeeper too. You're responsible for all your small business' financial decisions. That means you're going to have to know something about finance. At the start, you’ll answer the phones and make appointments, making you a secretary. 

Are you willing to put in the hours it takes to learn these skills? You will perform them without seeing immediate results or profits.

If you’re the type of person who tends to put things off, you might not be suited to owning your own business.

Nobody will be the perfect entrepreneur.  But, you should be willing to take an honest look at yourself.  You should have some of these traits and know how to compensate in areas where you’re weak.