This week on the Stephanie Kase Podcast, we’re talking about five important traits of an entrepreneur that will help a business grow. Whether you’re wanting to grow a side hustle or take your business full-time, there are traits I commonly see in myself and other entrepreneurs that help us succeed. These important traits of an entrepreneur can help all of us withstand the difficulties and build a strong business. We’re going to talk about what those five traits are! Before we start, I want to note that this isn’t an all encompassing list. If you don’t have one of these traits, it doesn’t mean that you won’t succeed! But, these are things I think that everyone can implement in their business and routine to help you grow your brand. So, let’s jump into it! 

#1: Self-Starter

One of the most important traits of an entrepreneur is that they’re a self-starter. That probably doesn’t come like a surprise. They’re someone who isn’t afraid to dive in and learn new things – or get into the nitty gritty of how things work. Someone who is a self-starter isn’t afraid to wear all of the hats as a business grows and is really ambitious. They love to get things off the ground and find the process really exciting – not intimidating or overwhelming. Being able to do those things will help them to outsource and grow their business later on. 

#2: Self-Motivated

The next trait that I think is important is that you’re self-motivated. When we think about being an entrepreneur and business owner, you don’t have someone over your shoulder telling you when to do things or how to structure your day. It’s such a beautiful part of entrepreneurship. But, the flip side is that you have to be self-motivated. This is something I’m super grateful in my own life – I’m naturally very self-motivated and I think that came from how I was raised. Being homeschooled definitely helped to nurture that behavior.

As an entrepreneur, you have to stay motivated to do your work without someone telling you. It goes hand in hand with being self-disciplined. There’s a lot of times that you won’t feel like doing something. But you have to stay motivated to show up in my brand and business. 

#3: Knowing How to Work Smarter

The third trait that stands out to me is that entrepreneurs know how to work smarter, not harder. Just because you work harder, it doesn’t mean that you’re making more money or growing your business. When it comes to working smarter, something that comes to mind is that they show up in their zone of genius in their business and know where they need to outsource. The other thing is that when they are working, they’re looking to make things more streamlined so they’re not spending time doing things over and over. 

A few examples of working smarter are batching tasks – instead of jumping from task to task. If you’re able to do the same kind of thing in one sitting, that’s going to save you time and energy. Another example is creating templates for emails. It saves you time in the future when you need to respond to messages. It also makes it easier down the road when you’re ready to outsource, too. Workflows are also another way to streamline your work in a smarter way! The point of all of this is to streamline your work and manage your time more efficiently. 

#4: Knows When to Outsource

The next trait actually goes hand-in-hand with knowing how to work smarter. Entrepreneurs who are growing their business know when to outsource. Those who grow quickly and sustainably know where the tipping point is to make the leap to hire – which helps you grow faster. If you’ve automated as much as possible, streamlined as much as possible, and are using the team members you already have – then you need to outsource when you have the means to do so. I had to find the tipping point for my own business – but once I hired Maggie – I saw how much more I could do with her on the team. Ultimately, it’s already paid off.  You have to have a good pulse on that in your own business. 

Hiring Too Soon…

On the flip side, I see too many business owners doing this too quickly because they hear of others hiring people. Many businesses will hire contractors who specialize in different things but sometimes I think there’s a benefit to hiring employees instead. There’s something about working with someone who’s going to know your business really well and is invested. I think this goes back to the other traits, too. Don’t just outsource right away to an expert. Make sure you understand all of the tasks before you start to outsource. Once you know how to do everything, you can teach someone then focus on your zone of genius. Being able to recognize who and when to hire is really important. 

#5: Be Flexible and Pivot 

The fifth trait of an entrepreneur that I think is really important for is to be flexible, and make pivots when necessary. I think especially for a lot of entrepreneurs, like we’re big dreamers, right? We have so many dreams and I know, for me, it can be hard to let go of an idea when I come up with it. But, we have to learn how to let things go and pivot when necessary. We can see faster growth that way. So for example, if you are in the middle of launching a new offer, maybe making a pivot during your launch to ultimately see more results is important. If you didn’t listen to the episode on our Instagram Growth Course launch, it’s the one on how our launch did not go as planned. 

Another example could be maybe pivoting what you’re going to offer to better serve your clients based on feedback that you get. I found that listening to my audience has always served me well. Just because you come up with an idea doesn’t mean that it will be your best revenue generating offer. Sometimes pivoting to fill a gap in the market or in your clients’ needs is going to be better for you in the long run. 

We hope that these traits of an entrepreneur inspire you to make some new changes in your own business and routine. We’re cheering for you! 

Ideas for the Podcast

If you’re listening and you have ideas about what to talk about next, please send in your requests! I really do want to know what you want to hear about in future episodes. Email me at [email protected] with your questions!! I can’t wait to hear from you! Don’t forget to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, too. We appreciate all of the support and love!