Many of us love to be associated with the word ‘Entrepreneur’ probably because it sounds cool, but only few really understand the sacrifice and hard work that comes with it. Of course the word itself is cool but it’s way more than that.

I remember how it felt starting my journey as a creative entrepreneur and blogger, it was quite stressful because I had to juggle it with my 9-5 job but what kept me going was passion and the pursuit of purpose.

Yes! I didn’t have all the right tools and resources in place, but I started anyway because there is never a perfect moment to start something you are deeply passionate about. It took grace, hard work, research, focus, perseverance and a deep level of commitment to get to this level.

I do have the believe that before anyone can kick start their journey to the wonderland of entrepreneurship, there is so much to learn.

Related: Seven Entrepreneurial Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make

Entrepreneurship is the capacity and the willingness to undertake an idea or form of conception, and the management of a productive venture with several risks involved, while seeking profit as a reward.

Starting something from the scratch is no small work, because you may be faced with uncertainty at the beginning. But, if you got what it takes and possess the right knowledge, qualities and tools, you can be certain of a bright future.

You may want to ask, what are the key qualities to possess as a start-up entrepreneur?

entrepreneurship-tools-for-success

Have an undying hunger to learn

If you know me too well, you know I love learning and finding out new things. It’s my special hobby. I could go out of my way to learn something I am really interested in. As an entrepreneur, you must be ready to make countless sacrifices, read books, attend seminars, study and try new things, etc.

People be like, Naomi how were you able to do this? how did you know that? how did you find it? and I just laugh it off because it’s as a result of my curiosity and willingness to learn on a daily basis.

Learning is a continuous process. When we stop learning, we begin to die.

Warren Buffet, Abraham Lincoln, Bill Gates, Obama, Adichie, Achebe, Bishop David Oyedepo, etc; all these people you admire from afar have enormous love for books and an insatiable hunger to read and learn.

Creativity and Innovation

To be successful in the entrepreneurial world, you have to be creative and innovative. Be curious and try new things.

Don’t be a copy cat, create your own reality.

Always think outside the box, be unique and distinctively different from the crowd. Don’t worry if others don’t support you at the beginning, work hard at your own thing and opportunities will come around.

Passion and Excellence

It pains me a lot to see people take their businesses and work for granted. Some even take on it like they were forced to do it. This is why, it’s always advisable to venture into something you are really passionate about. Because if you are not passionate about it, you won’t put so much effort and love into it.

Wherever God has put you, that is your vocation. It is not what we do but how much love we put in to it. – Mother Teresa

Excellence is a must key to possess as an entrepreneur. It attracts kings and nobles to you, it also gives you the access and opportunity to work with them. Some may say it doesn’t matter but I would say, it matters. It’s the quality of your work that will determine the kind of reward and results you get.

Honesty and Integrity

Without honesty and integrity in what you do, there can be no trust. Nobody would want to buy into something fake or full of lies. And even if you succeed in deceiving them, you can’t keep deceiving them for long. You will loose referrals from people, you will also loose your credibility with them.

Practice honesty in business. Lies project a bad image on your company or business. 

Once you learn how to satisfy your customers, and can be validated and trusted, you will earn their loyalty and support. They will always want to partner and do business with you.

Patience is a virtue

I don’t know how Thomas Edison, the light bulb inventor kept at it, but I certainly know that he does not have two head. We can all do it if we are determined. He failed a thousand times but never gave up, he persevered and kept on persevering until he arrived at his goal.

He paid the price for what we all enjoy today, and what an awesome thing to have a light bulb in my room driving the darkness away. But, how many of us are really ready to pay the price to get where we want to get to?

It’s not an easy road but it’s always worth it at the very end. Be patient on your journey.

Courage and Confidence

As an entrepreneur, you must be bold, confident and courageous. You must have the audacity to move ahead with your plans even when you are not sure of the desired outcome or success. That’s why it’s a risk.

Even if you are faced with the fear of failure or clouded with uncertainty, you must forge ahead. Insist on building capacity in order to develop the strength to keep pushing and never give up. It’s definitely not for the faint in heart.

Relational and Networking Skills

Entrepreneurs are naturally net workers unless you are not a real one, Lol. Relationships really matters if you want to get to where you ought to be. You have to be friendly with people, and be willing to connect with others in discussions and all things related to your field of interest.

Build relationships of greatness. Isolation is dangerous place. – P.F

Always remember that your network is your net worth. Who you get to associate with goes a long way on your entire journey and process. You can get to meet someone who knows someone who in turn knows someone in need of your services. Build valuable connections, be smart about it and don’t hesitate to reach out when you need help.

Believe in Yourself

I don’t know how many times you probably need to hear this but it’s one true fact. Our thoughts often becomes our beliefs which automatically becomes our actions. If you have a bad mindset about yourself or constantly believe that you can’t make it, you may never actually make it.

Related: How to be an Entrepreneur in 5 Simple Steps

So, brace up yourself. Believe you can and believe all things are possible. Even if no one else believes in you, do it for yourself.

What are the entrepreneurship tools you should know about?

Google Docs/Google Drive

You probably know about this. This tool allows you to collaborate and share documents with your clients, customers, freelancers and employees. You can also work on multiple files with it.

Asana

If you regularly have a tight work schedule and often find it difficult to carry your co-workers or team members along, you will love Asana app. It’s the ultimate tool for project management.

Asana is a team management app that allows you to easily communicate with your employees, assign tasks, keep track of everything happening within your work environment, have discussions with your team, get results with just one touch. No e-mails required and it’s free.

See a related post on 10 Mobile Phone Apps That You Need To Know

Canva

If you are a freelancer, blogger or business owner who works online most of the time, you will be needing this. Canva is an online graphic design platform. I do all of my designs, logos and art work for my website there and it’s free. Sign up with Canva.com and explore your creative side using this template.

Pinterest

Pinterest is a great place to find inspiration to use in your own projects as well as a place to share your contents, products and interests. You can follow my Pinterest page here Naomi Destiny

DropBox

This is great for storage and back ups to avoid loosing files when you change or loose a device. You can access it anywhere and it’s free too.

Buffer

Buffer is an intuitive social media management platform trusted by individuals, brands, businesses and agencies to help you drive social media results. It automatically helps you run and shares posts to your Twitter, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Facebook accounts at a scheduled time.

TypeForm

It’s a free service that can be used to create awesome looking surveys. This online form is used to get feedbacks from readers, listeners and customers. TypeForm provides you with a beautiful, clear and mobile friendly surveys so you can get valuable feedback from people.

Eventbrite

This platform allows you to plan, organize, sell tickets and promote your upcoming events across your social network platforms. I found out about it when I attended a She Leads Africa program, they use it to organize most of their events. The good thing is, you get to discover events that match your passion and create your own with online ticketing tools.

Shopify

This is an e-commerce platform that has everything you need to sell online and everywhere. You can as well create an online store and start selling your products or services there. It’s easy, fast, convenient and trusted.

Do you know about any other tool? Can you relate with the qualities mentioned above? I am always intrigued and excited to find out about new accessible tools and information that will help accelerate my work, business and career.

Share with me below.