I have worked with a lot of groups. I have been able to see some characteristics in some entrepreneurial projects and not in others.
First, the leaders who start the businesses, whether private or collective, must have a clear vision. They look forward in time, they see where they want to be in 5 years and in 10 years. When they start a business, they do not play things by ear.
They also have a direct connection to the market. There really does have to be an actual need. If someone wants to set up a print shop in the village where there are two already, it is not going to fly. To prevent that from happening, people like that do their homework and check whether there is a genuine market.
They verify that their market exists with a feasibility study and a business plan. If they are less methodical, if they are not able to enlist help in preparing those documents, or even if they turn that task completely over to a consultant yet are not able to understand the documents the consultant provides, they will never manage to run their businesses. They have to be able to recognize their personal strengths and weaknesses and they have to have the necessary training or find the necessary support.
An entrepreneur is also someone on the move. You can be an entrepreneur in the public service, but, in a community, you take risks. If you have invested your own money, they are often calculated risks.
You must also be able to invest time and energy, and to be patient. You cannot expect a business to get off the ground immediately just because you have worked on a good idea, grasped a good business opportunity, and written a business plan. It takes time.
There is also strategy and timing. The most committed businesses I have worked with take considered decisions. Do we continue to move forward? Do we change the game plan?
There are 25 characteristics of an entrepreneur. I have found them in the winners, those who, individually or collectively, have been successful in business.