7 Signs You're Meant to Be an Entrepreneur

Being your own boss is not for everyone.

While entrepreneurship comes with freedom and flexibility, there is also a great deal of responsibility and an even greater need for discipline. Curious as to whether or not you would cut it as an entrepreneur? Here are seven telltale signs:

1. You’re a self-starter.

Taking initiative is crucial in entrepreneurship. No one is standing over your shoulder telling you to get things done. Vacation days don’t require a written request. There’s nowhere to clock in or out. Without extreme self-control and natural drive, work can fall to second to the many distractions of life.

A good indication that you’re a self-starter is your past involvement with groups or causes that didn’t provide you any monetary gain. In college, did you start an organization that wasn’t already established on campus? Do you volunteer for a charity in your community? Having a get-it-done personality could help you bring your vision to life more easily.

2. Passion is prevalent.

A blasé attitude is not associated with overwhelming success as an entrepreneur. If you don’t genuinely love what you’re doing, it will be hard to overcome the inevitable obstacles. Starting your own business is rarely an overnight success. From lack of customers to profits, it’s not easy street. Without an undeniable passion for the industry you’re entering, it will be difficult to stay afloat among the disappointments and hard times ahead.

3. You possess people skills.

While being a loner doesn’t rule you out as a potential entrepreneur, lacking social gumption could hinder your success. Having people skills suggests that being an entrepreneur might be more realistic, since communication is a necessity in any business endeavor. Without it, you could face difficulty forming partnerships, attracting customer and networking within your industry.

4. You’re not willing to take no for an answer.

Giving up easily is not a typical trait among entrepreneurs. Securing your own success requires perseverance and the ability to be persuasive and think outside the box. Not everything is going to go exactly as planned and people, permitting, laws and codes can quickly turn to roadblocks inhibiting your business from growing. You need to possess the strength to try harder -- or try other options -- to overcome these obstacles.

5. You’re a creative thinker.

Creativity isn’t just a quality found in writers and artists. It’s a common component of entrepreneurs as well. Research identified that while just 47 percent of people are creative thinkers, the percentage jumps to more than three quarters when looking at entrepreneurs. Since finding innovative ways to solve ordinary problems takes creative thinking, it’s actually not that shocking that the majority of entrepreneurs think differently.

6. You are competitive by nature.

There’s a reason some companies heavily recruit athletes for sales and business positions. The desire to strategize and win translates perfectly into business. If you played sports growing up or are the type that excels when faced with a little rivalry, you might just have what it takes to be an entrepreneur. A competitive nature will force you to not just be better -- but be the best.

7. You're hardworking.

At the end of the day, those who are willing to put in the most work are usually the ones who reap the greatest reward. If you’re the type of person that likes to skate by doing the bare minimum, the heavy workload of entrepreneurship will likely bury you. Entrepreneurs aren’t afraid to wear more than one hat, work through the weekend or sacrifice for the success of their business.

As an entrepreneur your output is directly impacted by your input, and if you’re not willing to put in the time, your great idea will likely tank. 

Dan Scalco

11 Things Every 'Type A' Person Wants You To Know

Ambitious. High strung. Perfectionist.

Type A individuals are known for rather uptight behavior, but just like any other personality trait, there's more to us than what you see on the surface. To know a Type A person is to love them -- flaws and all. Below are just a few things Type A people want you to know about the personality.

1. We're not impatient, just efficient.
Long lines? Traffic? Type A individuals loathe them all. This is because we feel as though they're slowing our progress of a certain goal, according to John Schaubroeck, a professor of psychology and management at Michigan State University -- even if that goal is just to deposit a check at the bank.

2. Arriving late to anything is agonizing.
If you tell us to be somewhere at 6:30, more likely than not, we're rolling up to the parking lot at 6:25. Type A folks tend to have an oversensitivity to time, because we don't want to feel like we're wasting it.

3. We live by to-do lists.
How else are we supposed to track what we're supposed to get done?!

4. Each task we're assigned is urgent.
Because of this, we value team members who work with the same brevity and speed that we do. Once again, wasting time is our ultimate enemy. Type A workers "appreciate individuals that can communicate in a clear, concise and succinct manner," psychologist and project management executive Bernado Tirado wrote in a Psychology Today blog post.

5. We're extremely goal-oriented.
Once we commit to something, we see it through until the very end, whether it's a work project or Friday night plans. "[Type A's] are certainly more occupied with achieving outcomes," Schaubroeck previously told HuffPost Healthy Living. "And given that they're so occupied with achieving their goals, it makes sense that they would be more likely to do so."

6. It's hard for us to relax.
This is where time sensitivity comes into play again. We hate the idea of letting time pass if there's something we need to be doing, so relaxing in the middle of our workday is a bit of a challenge (but necessary, as research shows). Downtime tends to feel unproductive to Type A folks -- unless, of course, it's on our to-do list.

7. We get stressed out easily.
According to Friedman, certain personalities -- like Type A -- are more sensitive to stress (which, as we know, is terribly bad for our health). We also tend to default on the worst possible outcome when working through a situation. Sorry in advance for the slight negativity.

8. We have nervous habits.
For me, it's hair twirling. For others, it's nail biting or teeth grinding. This behavior iscommon for Type A personalities, according to cardiologist and personality researcherMeyer Friedman.

9. We're emotional.
The reason we behave the way that we do is because we care (some could even argue that we care just a little too much). Researchers suggest that Type A people are highly conscientious -- so while it may seem like we're uptight when we're organizing our friend's birthday party, it's really just because we want it to be spectacular. They deserve it.

10. We're constantly ruminating over something.
You know when you just replay a mistake over and over in your head? This is a common occurrence for Type A individuals. We are notorious for dwelling on our worries, sometimes to the point where it keeps us up at night.

11. We have a competitive side.
This is perhaps one of our most glaring flaws. Type A's put a lot of pressure on themselves to be the best possible version of themselves, which sometimes is taken to mean "the best person in the room." It doesn't matter if it's a work assignment or a board game, they're all the same to a Type A personality.

Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, and Type A people are no exception. We mean well though, we promise.

Lindsay Holmes

5 Ways Entrepreneurs Can Gain a Competitive Advantage

What differentiates you from everybody else, and why should people choose you and your business over your competitors? These are questions you should be asking yourself on a consistent basis, and as entrepreneurs we're always looking for ways increase our leverage. 

Leverage can change your life and business, but only if you take full advantage of it. 

Related: The Greatest Competitive Advantage Is How Hard You Work Before the Game Begins

In this challenging new economy you need every advantage you can get, especially in entrepreneurship and business. Gaining the competitive advantage isn’t easy and chaos is almost guaranteed, but the upside outweighs the tough times. Here are five fail-proof ways to gain a competitive advantage as an entrepreneur:

1. Positioning is better than prospecting

Everybody is looking for prospects, clients and customers. This never-ending process will eventually burn you out, and is tough to scale. An easier way to approach your business is to position yourself as the leading authority, expert, specialist or trusted advisor on your subject. This takes strategic and intentional action, but the rewards are exponential.

When you’re perceived as the expert, people will start coming to you vs. you chasing them. Be more elite and exclusive, and make it an honor to work with you. 

2. Plans fail, movements don’t

Reposition your business and make it “about something.” Think about Disney. It’s not about movies, amusement parks or cruises, the company is where “Dreams come true.” Think about how Subway went from being a fast-food chain to being a weight loss program. 

The entrepreneurs on a mission bigger than themselves are always attracting top tier talent. Life becomes much more fulfilling when you become involved in a movement or a cause greater than yourself.

3. Stand on the shoulders of giants 

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel, and you sure as hell don’t need to figure everything out yourself. Find something that is already working and make it better. In an interview I did with Gary Vaynerchuk, he said: 

A penguin cannot become a giraffe, so just be the best penguin you can be.

Related: 6 Timeless Strategies to Drive Entrepreneurship Success

A smart person learns from their mistakes, as all successful people do, but those wanting world-class results learn from other people's mistakes so they can shorten their learning curve, and not waste as much time.

4. Become a people developer

One of the biggest learning curves I had to go through as a young entrepreneur was realizing I couldn’t do it all by myself. You not only need a solid team around you, but you need to know how to develop and lead that team.

When you watch sports, you’ll find the most successful teams play well together, compliment each other and have one single focus: winning. The same goes for business and life. The people you have in your inner circle, and those you associate with the most are your team.

Who needs to be on your team to make sure you have a “dream team"? All successful people have mastered building teams, and have supportive people around them that compliment their strengths and make up for their weaknesses.

5. Create raving fans and advocates 

The likelihood of the marketplace responding because you want something is non-existent! Business is the management of promises and if you can consistently deliver and exceed promises for all your customers, you’re ahead of the game. It’s much more expensive to get a new customer than it is to take care of the ones you have.

The purpose of business is to create raving fans and advocates, who will go out of their way to promote what you do. Not because you asked them, but because they want to. Outstanding client support and service is affected by every person in your organization -- from reception to the mail room to the CEO. You must create a culture where people are passionate about meeting the clients needs.

Related: The Power of Being Unique in Your Industry

 Peter Voogd

22 Things Competitive People Know To Be True

1. Game night usually ends badly…because of you. 

2. As do pickup games.

3. Fundraising can easily get out of control.

4. Class projects make you go slowly insane because you can’t stand relying on others to do well.

5. And joining your company team is a huge gamble.

6. Even trivia night can quickly become your worst nightmare.

7. When someone is working out next to you at the gym, things get intense.

8. Signing up for a marathon means you don’t sleep for weeks.

9. Being on a team with a bunch of people that aren’t competitive is actually your worst nightmare.

10. A debate in class was always your favorite day but your classmates were legitimately upset if they had to debate against you.

11. Playing any kind of sports against your friends is NEVER a good idea.

12. In fact, you try to avoid competing against anyone you like because you are worried about how it might end.

13. Watching your favorite team and knowing you can do NOTHING to help them win is enough to destroy you.

14. It takes you longer than most to “move on” from a loss.

15. It’s difficult for you to “take it easy” on anyone, even children.

16. Things like Easter egg hunts get out of hand.

17. You always had to know everyone’s grades, not just your own.

18. You have been in legitimate fights about who called “shotgun” first.

19. It’s difficult to participate in a casual game of rock, paper, scissors.

20. You refuse to participate in any activity where you know you will lose.

21. Every moment turns into a competition and you can’t even help it.

22. And you know no matter how much you love winning…you’ll always hate losing more.

Lara Parker