Have you ever wondered which characteristics make someone an ideal candidate for entrepreneurship? Some of you might be thinking about becoming an entrepreneur. How do you determine if you are ready to be your own boss? Which personal characteristics pair well with business ownership? This article is about the mindset needed to become an entrepreneur. More specifically, I am going to highlight 10 characteristics that are associated with entrepreneurial success. Let’s look at signal number one:

1. Your peers suggest it.

If you’re at a job and people are asking why you are there, it is probably because they see you as having a higher calling, which might be a sign that you would make a great entrepreneur. Others see you as doing something at a higher level than where you are currently. Sometimes you will see people win an award, and they will say, “never let anyone tell you that you can’t do it.” Well, sometimes it is because your peers don’t recognize greatness within you. A person meant for entrepreneurship will generally never have to say that if they win an award. Be aware of what type of energy you put out.

2. You finish what you start.

Are you able to finish what you start, despite all of the distractions that we face today? Everybody has a great business idea but almost no one invests enough time, energy, or resources needed to complete a project. If you are capable of finishing what you start, congratulations, because you have what I would describe as being the minimum standard or qualification needed to become an entrepreneur.

3. You have a great deal of confidence in your abilities.

Self-confidence is usually going to come from life experiences. You are probably used to winning. There were challenges in your past and you came out on top. This creates an ideal foundation for entrepreneurship because, among other things, the right amount of self-confidence can put you at ease when taking on risk. When people say that something can’t be done, those with an entrepreneur mindset don’t necessarily see it that way. Where others have failed, they have usually succeeded.

4. You are self-motivated.

I was 19 years old when I started my business. I had no formal knowledge of business concepts or entrepreneurship. But what I had was the motivation needed to start a business. I did not wait to finish my college degree or for a person to tell me that I had what it took to do well as an entrepreneur. I never needed a vision board, diary, resolutions, daily affirmations, or motivation quotes. I was already driven… already self-motivated, having come from an athletic background. For me, it was simply a matter of applying the principles of athletic competition to the world of business.

5. You are different than everyone else.

As an entrepreneur, not many will have the same goals, vision, or ideas you have. You see the world differently than they do. They are watching sports, comedy, and reality television, and you’ve discovered that building an empire is a much better way to spend your time. As I see it, only the entrepreneur-minded person is capable of achieving any level of significance. So, you have to embrace the fact that you are different than everyone else. Because of this, you may also have to get used to doing things on your own. If you are okay with this reality, then you might have what it takes to achieve entrepreneurial greatness.

6. You are somewhat comfortable with or accepting of failure.

Do you like pain? In business, everything that goes right or wrong falls on your shoulders. Failures and setbacks are normal in business. I have not had too many failures but I did have my share of setbacks. One of them happened just a few years ago when I spent almost $17,000 on a utility patent that didn’t clear. Translation: That is $17,000 down the drain. While it was a pretty major setback, it didn’t stop me from moving forward with another patent: this time for design. So, if you are not easily defeated when things don’t go your way, it is quite possible that you are wired for entrepreneurship.

7. You don’t procrastinate.

The problem with procrastination in business is that it impedes your ability to make money. In scenarios outside of entrepreneurship, procrastination has no real consequence. The question is… are you capable of getting things done, now, without unnecessarily waiting for something to happen? You do not want to be the person that "gets to it later." Successful entrepreneurs don’t procrastinate.

8. You are comfortable with leading.

This doesn’t necessarily mean you are a natural leader or even want to lead. But as a business grows, there may be a need to hire employees. The employees will look to you for guidance and maybe inspiration. When I first joined the military, I went to Air Force boot camp. In boot camp, recruits are placed in units that consist of approximately 20 to 30 service members. The recruits are then assigned to different roles, which might include everything from cleaning duties to leadership. The highest role is the dorm chief. This is equivalent to a CEO. Because the drill instructors know very little about who you are at this stage, they usually pick the biggest or tallest recruit to be the leader based solely on physical stature or first impressions.

Unfortunately, the first person they picked fell short of expectations and I was subsequently chosen for the role. Technically, I did not want the role of dorm chief. I never volunteered. But I was comfortable being in the role. So, if you are comfortable with leading, you may have a future in entrepreneurship.

9. You see a better way of doing things.

This can be operational. This can be technical. If you can fix all the problems at your job, I'm talking to you. If you can spot improvements that can be made at a restaurant, hello, I'm talking to you. If you occasionally or constantly see better ways to do things, you are exhibiting one of the hallmarks of an entrepreneur.

10. You recognize that you were meant for something greater.

And this can mean different things depending on who you are. You might be at a job and you’ve come to the realization that you were built for something greater. Maybe something more challenging. Maybe something more interesting. Maybe something more rewarding. Or maybe you’ve observed your associates and they seem to be stuck in one place and you don’t want to be like them. You've come to the realization that you were meant for something greater.

This article highlighted 10 signs that translate well in entrepreneurship. Most of them were related to the entrepreneur mindset. How many of the signs did you align with? It should be noted that there are many more signs that can be used to determine if a person is built for entrepreneurship. But there should have been a correlation with most, if not all ten of these entrepreneur mindset characteristics.