Entrepreneurs: doing it their way: what does it take to succeed as a businessperson?

• Author: Martin, Gary L.

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Do you have what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur? A good idea for a new product or service is not necessarily enough. It takes a special kind of person to turn dreams into reality and ideas into dollars.

Besides having a little luck and the right skill set to operate a business, there also are some personality characteristics that successful entrepreneurs have in common.

Over the years, many studies have been done to try and identify what traits separate successful entrepreneurs from those who do not find their pot of gold. While a list of positive personality attributes could be extensive, a couple of key traits include being a risk-taker and having a passion for your business. Entrepreneurs tend to also have an exceptional ability to work hard and an inordinate amount of self-confidence and self-discipline.

In 2005, according to the U.S. Small Business Association, an estimated 671,800 new businesses were spawned in the United States. That same year, there were an estimated 544,800 businessmen and businesswomen who closed their doors--39,000 of them declared bankruptcy.

Also in 2005, Alaskan-owned companies (those having employees) numbered 16,921; an estimated 97 percent of which were small businesses. In that same year, about 2,000 new businesses came into being--a jump of 7.3 percent over the previous year. Bankruptcies also jumped in 2005 by nearly 30 percent.

Small business owners (entrepreneur) play a major role in both the state's economy and the prosperity of Alaska's work force. Again, in 2005, non-farm proprietors' income increased by 9.5 percent to $2.5 billion.

THE DEMONS

Normally, no one intentionally starts a business to fail, but there are many demons waiting to snatch the brass ring from the fingertips of a fledgling entrepreneur. Still, Alaska offers a fertile ground to plant the seeds for a successful business.

Regardless of how fertile the ground is, starting a new business involves risk. This does not include the risks established business owners face on a daily basis. The risk that new entrepreneurs experience is that of surviving. The common rule of thumb is that those businesses that survive their first three years will live on and prosper.

"There are no guarantees when someone starts a new business," said Olivia Lorenzo, business counselor and multi-program specialist for the Alaska Small Business Development Center (ASBDC) in Anchorage. "There are people who have sold everything and...