I took “The Entrepreneurial Quotient” test on 3SmartCubes.com.[1] Twenty-six questions were used to measure my character traits and evaluate my entrepreneur personality. “How were your parents employed?” “You are the [oldest] child in the family.” “What is your primary motivation for starting a business?” The results indicated that I was in the range of being a latent to good entrepreneur – one that has existing but inactive tendencies but also resourcefulness, passion, and drive.
While I was not surprised by the results, as I have always thought of myself as a resourceful, passionate, and motivated person; I realize that I have many areas in which to grow, learn, and develop. The web site lists seven other qualities of a successful entrepreneur, which I have compared my own personality to:
1. Inner Drive to Succeed: I am not one who gives up easily and I believe that challenges make life more rewarding. An example of this might be my drive to achieve and maintain a 4.0 at school.
2. Strong Belief in Yourself: This is an area that needs further development because of my low self-esteem. While I know that I have many qualities that would make me a good entrepreneur, I do worry about the not having all the skills necessary.
3. Search for Ideas and Innovation: My motto is “if it ain’t broke, search for a way to make it better.” This can be applied to administrative processes, finding cost savings, improving quality, and simply learning more about something.
4. Openness to Change: I don’t fear change but the fear of the unknown does cause me some anxiety. As technology changes so rapidly, we must change in order to keep up.
5. Competitive by Nature: Though I am not a highly competitive individual, I challenge myself to very high standards. It isn’t always about beating other people, but about maintaining high standards.
6. Highly Motivated and Energetic: Perhaps too much. I am excited and motivated by even simple things – like getting my checkbook to balance every week.
7. Accepting of Constructive Criticism and Rejection: Another area I need to develop. I can take constructive criticism but I still take rejection too personally. I would have liked to been involved in sales but I would need to overcome the rejection factor.
While these surveys are not necessarily an accurate indicator of how one would do in real life, it is somewhat reassuring that my test results were consistent with my aspirations. I have always worked in small business. One reason why I am seriously considering entrepreneurship is because I am frustrated by working for others. I am constantly looking for ways to improve processes or products and my supervisors are frequently opposed to change. It is not that I think I can perform better than the people I have worked for, but it is in my nature to constantly explore opportunities for improvement. This is the main reason why I would like to try my hand at developing an idea or business of my own someday.
WORKS CITED
[1] “The Entrepreneurial Quotient Test.” 2SmartCubes.com. 9 Feb 2008.
