Dan Malmstrom, president and COO of Douglas Scientific stated it well at the recent Business & Industrial Appreciation Day Luncheon when he said, "There are some attributes of Alexandria that you won't find in other communities. Leaders in the Alexandria community care about each other and like working together on things of significance. The community has a cultural belief that there is room at the table for multiple people to be successful. Established businesses support each other and also provide support and assistance to entrepreneurs and new business start-ups so that they can find success as well."
The AAEDC staff provides assistance to entrepreneurs and small business owners every day through individualized consulting and group training events. Services provided are tailored to individual and company needs and are confidential and cost free. Below are a number of commonly shared traits of entrepreneurs that are exhibited throughout the Alexandria and Douglas County MN community.
Commonly Shared Entrepreneurial TraitsSource: Nx Level Guide for Agricultural Entrepreneurs
The following is a list of traits that have been identified as being common in successful entrepreneurs.
Please Note: All of the following traits have one thing in common - they are all things that an individual can work on and improve at.
Passion: Loving what you are doing or going to do is essential to doing it well.
Persistence: Entrepreneurs are determined. They carry a task to completion and are willing to work longer and harder than others to get it done.
Good Health & High Energy: Starting and running a business takes a tremendous amount of energy. When an owner's health fails, the business is often not far behind.
Creativity/Innovation: New products and services come from new ideas and new ways of looking at a problem. Its important to step back and take a new look once in a while.
Independence & Self-Reliance: When you own your own business no one is going to make the decisions for you. With that in mind, an important part of independence is knowing what you don't know and what you don't do well and finding help.
Intuition: Entrepreneurs with intuition often have the ability to predict how a given set of circumstances will affect their business.
Self-Confidence: New business owners have to believe in their ability to make their business prosper. The owner is the best advocate for the business - in sales, requesting financing, and marketing. That being stated, successful entrepreneurs are also realistic and open to change and outside assistance.
Market Awareness: Successful business owners create their business around what customers want rather than deciding what their customers need.
Lack of Need for Status: Entrepreneurial status needs are satisfied by achieving goals rather than by accumulating "things" such as clothes, cars, boats, homes, etc.
Ability to Accept Challenges: Entrepreneurs are willing to accept challenges where they can influence the outcome.
Hard Work Ethic: Creating and growing a successful business takes a lot of hard work and a lot of time.
Intuition: Entrepreneurs with intuition often have the ability to predict how a given set of circumstances will affect their business.
Self-Confidence: New business owners have to believe in their ability to make their business prosper. The owner is the best advocate for the business - in sales, requesting financing, and marketing. That being stated, successful entrepreneurs are also realistic and open to change and outside assistance.
Market Awareness: Successful business owners create their business around what customers want rather than deciding what their customers need.
Lack of Need for Status: Entrepreneurial status needs are satisfied by achieving goals rather than by accumulating "things" such as clothes, cars, boats, homes, etc.
Ability to Accept Challenges: Entrepreneurs are willing to accept challenges where they can influence the outcome.
Hard Work Ethic: Creating and growing a successful business takes a lot of hard work and a lot of time.
