o you think you want to own your own business, be an entrepreneur, work for the best boss around (you), set your own schedule and keep all the profits for yourself?

As you begin to consider starting a new business venture or expanding an existing one, this article will help answer the following questions and provide you with tools to help you assess your readiness to start your own business:

• What is an entrepreneur?
• Why do people start new businesses?
• What are the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs?
• What are some habits of unsuccessful entrepreneurs?
• Why do businesses fail?

What exactly is an entrepreneur? The "Merriam-Webster Dictionary" defines an entrepreneur as "one who organizes, operates and assumes the risk in a business venture in expectation of gaining profit."

The writer Robert L. Schwartz said: "The entrepreneur is essentially a visualizer and actualizer ... He can visualize something and when he visualizes it, he sees exactly how to make it happen."

In this time of great economic uncertainty, why would anyone possibly want to start a new venture? What is your reason for delving into the great unknown of business ownership?

According to data published in March 2003 by Canada Business Service Centre (www.cbsc.org), here are the top reasons people start a new business:

• Seize an opportunity - 17%
• Personal accomplishment - 13%
• Dream to run own business - 9%
• Use experience/skills - 9%
• Be own boss - 8%
• Economic necessity to make living - 7%
• Had previous experience - 7%
• Supplement income from other employment - 5%
• Create job for self - 4%
• Frustrated in previous job - 3%
• Make lots of money - 3%
• Other - 15%

Considerable debate has taken place through the years to determine whether entrepreneurs are born and possess innate genetic talents, or whether they learn the skills necessary to become successful.

Most experts now generally agree that entrepreneurs were not born; they learned to become entrepreneurs. What do you think? In the book "The Entrepreneurial Mindset," authors Rita Gunther McGrath and Ian MacMillan offer 10 characteristics of successful entrepreneurs. I've described most of them below. How many of these traits do you already possess? Successful entrepreneurs are action oriented and they also:

• Simplify. Entrepreneurs have superior conceptual abilities. This helps them identify relationships in complex situations and to quickly identify problems and solutions.
• Passionately seek new opportunities. Entrepreneurs are relentless in pursuing their goals and are supremely confident in their ability to achieve those goals.
• Pursue opportunities with enormous discipline. Successful entrepreneurs have tremendous discipline when it comes to evaluating opportunities and ideas. They have a comprehensive awareness of the overall situation and fully understand the ramifications involved in each decision they make.
• Pursue only the very best opportunities and avoid exhausting themselves and their organization by chasing after every option. By focusing on the vision and organizational goals, successful entrepreneurs limit their exploration of ideas to only those that are in concert with the company's mission.

They like to keep their fingers on the pulse of things, and they need to know the status of everything. Occasionally they wear rose-colored glasses, but most of the time they are realistic about situations and the resources of their companies.

• Exhibit ruthless discipline about limiting the number of projects they pursue. Successful entrepreneurs understand their limitations. They take an objective approach to evaluating new projects to determine the "fit" with their company's mission and purpose.
• Focus on execution. Ideas and opportunities without execution are of no use to entrepreneurs.
• Show flexibility. They seek, understand and embrace change and acknowledge that the only constant in life is change. While they focus on their mission and purpose, successful entrepreneurs also fully understand the need to remain available to adapt to potential projects.
• Engage the energies of everyone in their domain. Motivating employees, coworkers, colleagues and friends is absolutely necessary to achieve success. Very few entrepreneurs realize success without assistance.
• Engage the energies of everyone outside of their domain, too. Successful entrepreneurs understand the value of professional colleagues and networks. They surround themselves with counselors and advisors who can provide insight, guidance and support to create a successful endeavor. What are some habits of unsuccessful entrepreneurs? The Web site, www.successfulbusiness.org, lists four poor habits, which I've described below:
• High-risk taking. While entrepreneurs are assumed to take extreme risks, successful entrepreneurs take the time to assess risks and take every action possible to reduce or minimize the threat in new ventures.
• Poor planning. Successful entrepreneurs do the research. They know their niche, their competition, their distinctive competencies and their limitations.
• Overestimating. A professional business plan, accurate forecasting, detailed analysis of the trade market and a network of professional advisors provide the tools necessary to ensure success.
• Impatience. It's absolutely unrealistic to assume that you will create the perfect business or make a profit from day one. Statistics show that the majority of new businesses fail within the first five years.

Successful entrepreneurs have a realistic plan to assist them in dealing with the discouragement that is a part of any new business venture.

Why do businesses fail? According to a study published by John Murphy of Murphy Associates, Your Marketing Department, and cited on the SCORE - Counselors to America's Small Business Web site, (www.foxcitiesbusiness.com/score/whybusinessesfail.htm), a nonprofit association dedicated to entrepreneur education and the formation, growth and success of small businesses nationwide, following are some of the main reasons why businesses fail:

• Lack of a solid business plan - 78%
• Being overly optimistic about sales and required funds - 73%
• Not recognizing or ignoring weaknesses and then not seeking help - 70%
• Have insufficient or irrelevant business experience - 63%
• Poor cash flow management skills/understanding - 82%
• Start out with too little money - 79%
• Not pricing properly - 77%
• Not promoting the business properly - 64%
• Not understanding or ignoring the competition - 55%
• Too much focus/reliance on one customer - 47%
• Not delegating properly - 58%
• Hiring the wrong people - 56%

1. Are you goal driven?
2. Are you a leader?
3. Are you self-confident?
4. Are you a risk taker?
5. Are you prepared to work long hours?
6. Are you good at problem solving and making decisions?
7. Are you a skilled communicator?
8. Are you organized?
9. Are you competitive?
10. Are you a team player?

Pennington said that if you answered "yes" to eight or more of these questions, then you have the makings of an entrepreneur.

If you answered "yes" to half or fewer of the questions, you might not be ready to venture out on your own.

Consider finding a partner who is skilled in those areas where you show weaknesses. For a further quiz, visit www.cbsc.org/alberta/tbl.cfm?fn=quiz and take the "Entrepreneurial Evaluation."

Over the next several months, I will adress in this column important leadership traits such as vision and communication, along with management skills such as goal setting, strategic planning and team building.

If you have specific topics you would like addressed, e-mail me. I am happy to consider all of your ideas and look forward to your input.

Also, e-mail me your success stories. If you decided to start your own business, I'm eager to know how you did it and how you are doing in your new venture.

Vicki M. Daughdrill is the Managing Member of Small Business Resources, LLC, a management consulting company. Reach her by e-mail at vickid@netdoor.com or by phone at 601-310-3594.