One of Australia’s most successful entrepreneurs, Creel Price, knows a thing or two about what it takes to triumph in business.
As the host of the , Price explains that although there are a lot of business skills that can be learned over time, there are a finite number of innate traits familiar to all successful entrepreneurs.
Here are the seven personal characteristics you need to crack the big time, according to Price.
1. Resilience is your middle name
There’s a good reason why the rags-to-riches plotline is so common in stories about people achieving business success. It’s because the one inherent trait that’s needed to survive both tough times in life and business is resilience.
“There are few harder professions than starting your own business,” says Price. “There are going to be some lows. If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you need to be able to handle that."
Price explains that some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world come from humble backgrounds.
“Part of the hypothesis when making The Employables was that maybe if we took people who have had a lot of knocks in their life, the business knocks [that they cop on the road to success] won’t feel as bad.
“People who’ve had it pretty tough also have a bigger reason to be successful than someone who was a trust fund kid who grew up in an affluent suburb where their father may have been the successful entrepreneur,” says Price. “They have a burning desire to prove to everyone that they can succeed.”
2. You are an initiator
Successful entrepreneurs take action to initiate their business idea pretty soon after inventing it.
“You don’t sit around with your idea for too long,” says Price. You come up with the idea and just get started straight away.
“That’s important for early stage business. It’s different for a business that’s got more momentum that’s established. But we tend not to invest in firms that don’t have a strong initiation.”
3. You’re focused on the financials
Price stresses that you don’t have to be obsessed about cash to end up rolling in it. However, successful entrepreneurs typically have an innate understanding of the financial mechanics of business.
“For example, as a young child I had a lot of businesses. I remember sitting up in bed at night and doing the math for these businesses, thinking how it would all map out [financially].
“No one taught me those business skills, I think I just inherently had that way of thinking.”
4. You see the big picture
The ability to stay focused on your vision and see the big picture should come naturally to people born for entrepreneurship.
“You don’t want people to jump too quickly into the detail. You want them to get started but we want them to also be a visionary and see what’s going to happen.
“They should be able to then effectively communicate that vision to others.”
Creel Price on 'The Employables'. Source: SBS
5. You’re a naturally gifted communicator
Being a good communicator is about more than just standing up on stage and delivering a pitch or perfectly describing your business to a bank manager.
Price says it means you have the ability “to inspire your team and customers”. Beyond being a good orator, you’ve also got to have some depth and be able to walk the talk.
6. You’ve got sharp instincts that you trust
Having a ‘gut feeling’ that you use in decision-making is a gift that you’ll need to survive in business when you come up against haters.
“Most people will be told that their business idea won’t work,” he says. “There are going to be a lot of doubters who will say that you won’t be successful.
“But a successful entrepreneur needs to be the kind of person who will say ‘no. I really trust what we are going to do here’, even when the empirical evidence says it’s not going to work. They have to have an unwavering belief.”
7. Your business isn’t just a job: it’s a passion
There are some entrepreneurial traits you’re born with. Then there are others that a person bound for business success will develop throughout life as they change with experience. It’s this trait – being passionate about a particular product or industry – that ensures the successful entrepreneur will have a personal connection to their work.
“Being an entrepreneur is more than just a job. It’s hard so you have to really want to help the customer or solve a problem.”
He uses the example of someone who sets up a cancer charity – if the individual is driven by a personal experience of cancer they’re more likely to be committed to success over the long-term.
“If you’re in business just to make money, you may not achieve a huge amount of success. You have to have a bigger purpose.”
'The Employables' premieres Wednesday 22 August at 8.30pm on SBS. Episodes will be available after broadcast anytime, anywhere via SBS On Demand.
