Top 10 Signs You're Made to be an Entrepreneur

Someone forwarded me a request for information put out by a USA Today reporter. He was writing an article about entrepreneurial personality traits. He wanted suggestions from "experts" in compiling his list. The idea was to help people decide whether they should seek self-employment or not.

I was intrigued by the idea so I submitted my list to him. He did not email or call back so I assume either he was not amused or my submission was not his cup of chai. In any case, I thought my list was cool so I now present it to you and wait (with lazily suspended breath) for your insightful reaction.

P.S. Additions, enhancements and/or subtitutions are heartily encouraged.

Fred's Top 10 Signs You're Made to be an Entrepreneur

10. You are unemployable. You can’t hold a job. You don’t want to hold a job. And you react to getting a job the same way a cat reacts when you try to give it a bath.

9. You are anti-authoritarian. You can’t fathom the thought of being anything less than Boss, President, Chairman, Don, and/or Emperor.

8. You have the uncanny ability to get other people to do all the work.

7. You are always looking for and/or seeing economic opportunity everywhere and in everything. While at a concert, you occupy yourself by estimating the evening’s take and its gross margins instead of listening to the music.

6. You spend more time and energy looking for easier, faster, cheaper, more effective ways of accomplishing something than if you just did the task outright.

5. You would enthusiastically trade a life-time pass to Disneyland for one ride in the Vomit Comet. In other words, you would give up a secure, even-keeled, bland existence for a life that whipsaws uncontrollably between exhilaration and terror.

4. You don’t see lack of money, lack of knowledge, and lack of experience as barriers to entry. You are also not deterred by the existence of formidable competition.

3. You favor multiplication over addition and you lull yourself to sleep by calculating price-earnings ratios.

2. You would happily invest your home’s equity and your life savings (and your mother’s life savings) in your start-up.

And the Number One sign you are made to be an entrepreneur . . .

1. When you project future earnings, your spread sheet shows that by Year 5, you can buy Argentina and sell it to Brazil.

www.lazyway.net

Comments

[Scott R. Hotchkiss]

I make it on about half of your list.

One thing IAM always doing is figuring out how I can make some item or gadget I just bought better. Adding features to things to make them work the way I want them to work.

I put velcro on my tennis shoes and threw away the laces years before I saw that on any store shelf. I guess I should have gone to Taiwan and started making shoes, huh? I just didn't want to become just a shoe-maker.

Too much work!

[Joe Lowski]

Do you really believe in your stuff? Seriously?!! You can't be real.

[Mike]

Sounds like I'm a perfect fit. I guess there's hope for me after all! ;)

[AJ Hamilton]

I thought the below link would be interesting to your readers to see how they rank on an Entreprenurial scale.
http://www.careerdiscovery.com/hbspsba/bcii_start.html
AJ, Seattle

[adria]

Sounds good to me. The one thing I have a problem with is the "price-earnings ratios." Ideas are exciting to me, numbers are not. What does this mean for me as an entrepreneur?

[Peter Glyman]

I love it Fred...work smarter not harder

[Chris Naaden]

For the Saint: There's no such thing, until you've covered your monthly nut.

[Deon Botha]

When you put it like that....

[Dawn Faith Kaka]

Hi Fred

I loved every bit of what you wrote. I laughed with it all.

Blessings
Dawn

[Paula]

What will become of me!! I scored a big fat zero! Can I get to have more money in my life or am I a lost cause?
Help!
Paula

[Rachel]

I'm 10/10. Wheee!

[avria]

I really liked how you said 7."You are always looking for and/or seeing economic opportunity everywhere and in everything" that is great in the sense of taking an ordinary thing/subject and making it into a business. I'm helping my dad promote University of Victory by finding cool entrepreneur stories.
I admire the top 10 your made to be an entrepreneur.
~avria (student grade 7)

[Victory Darwin]

After my daughter showed me this top 10 list, I had to order "Lazy Way to Success". You know you have a profound, essential truth when it is both outrageously funny and yet 100% true. Not only do I score 10 on this list, but the only reason I found it is because I hired my daughter to find unique entrepreneur/education content for my entrepreneur university (universityofvictory.com). My official contribution: #11 When you have a job so easy that you can't justify hiring another employee, and you should just get your ass in gear and do it yourself, you hire your kids instead!
~V

[Ryan Surratt]

Hey guys,

I am a graduating senior from college and I just happened to stumble upon your your top ten signs of an entrepreneur and they are so true. I am busting at the seams to get out in the world and make it big, my way. Love the positive atmosphere of your website!

[Tedel]

According to these 10 points, I am a born Entrepreneur and happy to know it, thanks a lot. =)

[Business Blogger]

Very Nice post! I'm sure that we could have some great business conversations. I think you just nailed down every entrepreneur reading this.

[ta4ka]

I got 9 out of 10, pretty good acording to me ;)

[Ezinet Global]

I did a cover version of the above motivation quote I want to see it here:
http://search4article.com/review/for-the-millionaire-focus-minded/
Since I saw no name per se to credit the original to I gave the creative licence to www.lazyway.net with a link on the page pointing back to this webpage.

I hope it's O.K with the variation I wrote as I found it very inspiring.

[lazyasell]

I only have 3 1/2 of those characteristics, so I guess I'm not much of an entrepreneur. Unfortunately, two of those characteristics guarantee that I won't be happy with a regular job. #10: I'm almost unemployable and don't want to hold a regular job. #9: I'm anti-authoritarian. I don't want to do what others say, I want to what I want to do. #7: Sometimes I go through phases where I'm always looking for an economic opportunity. #6: Yes, this describes me perfectly.

I may also be able to mold myself into #4 and #1.

[Billy]

Number 6 is very much me. However I don't worry to much about profit Ratios... just Profit is good in my eyes.
Also, I'm always creating inventions in my head, I think of something on a nearly weekly basis! I never act on any of these inventions.... maybe I should aye?

[Koka Sexton]

This is a great article. Though some of the point are a bit extreme, by nature entrepreneurs are extreme and that is how they excel. The tough part is getting to the point where you can make the break from working for a company and becoming the company. If you have the guts, the drive and have found the right market to go after, you are already steps ahead of most startups.

[Okan]

I am still laughing. Oh... man... When I read the number one reason.... I could so see this.... so true..... all those f...n spreadsheets... Very well said... Thank you. You made my day.... sh....t...

[VlogHog]

I do everything on this list except get others to do work for me.

Then again, I do post a lot of other people's videos on my blog.

[Raymond]

damn..!! haha
this is my first time to write a comment in all the articles i have read.

i actually have all those that are listed..

i'm currently studying webprogramming, I dropped my secondary school in order to pursue my dreams.

i'm 19 years old, i admit it, i'm really suck when it comes to education.

now i'm on my way to make my own website, i dont care if my father hates me from doing this but i believe that i will be someone someday.

thanks.. really

[Riz]

When i read your 10 traits of being lazy I felt someone had got my secret. You are right on dot when you say this.

In 2005, after working for 10 years in a company I had planned to quit my job, and start a business. Tough decision. So what do i do. Dig myself into the couch. Everyone at office and at home thought i was not serious about my plan, and was either too comfortable with my job, or too scared to venture out. In fact I was looking for a solution where I could put half the effort and get both the worlds. Lo and behold i got a better plan! I discussed it with my boss, and now voila.. I have my job and also run my business remotely.

My job involves getting projects, managing them and the work is outsourced to my own company! I have an assistant to manage my work at office, and a General Manager who manages my work at my company.

My boss, My clients, My employees, My family are happy now. Me? am back in my couch reading books, watching all work, and trying to find something better and easier to do..