2.3 The qualities of a successful entrepreneur  (Page 4/4)

When problems or obstacles came Mr Chin’s way, he turned them into advantages and opportunities. This was particularly dramatised sometime in 1958 when, after a political upheaval in Thailand, Mr Chin had to flee to Hong Kong as an exile. He was labelled an economic criminal. He tried to continue steering the bank from abroad, but found it useless. He quickly started a new life and succeeded in setting up a flourishing rice trading business, which continues to grow to this day. He also expanded Bangkok Bank’s network overseas. The bank had already opened two overseas branches in 1954 – one in Hong Kong and the other in Tokyo. During his exile in Hong Kong he opened four more branches – three in Vietnam and one in Taipei.

One of Mr Chin’s chief ingredients for success was his ability to develop and cultivate business contacts over the years. Many times his contacts with businessmen and high-ranking government officials made the achievement of business goals easier.

In Mr Chin’s time it was difficult to be a good banker and a good trader at the same time but he managed to be very good at both because he was very close to leading businessmen and officials of the Thai government at the same time. He had grown up with them and they all understood each other well.

He worked himself and his people hard. To him, the task of growing was most important and he was determined to win over those who wanted to get rid of him in the banking industry. At the start there were no holidays for him and his people for many months. They worked long office hours, including Saturdays and Sundays in order to cope with the customers’ needs.

Unlike many successful self-made men, Mr Chin had almost no enemies at all. No one really disliked him. He did not take advantage of people. When others took advantage of him, he would just quit by selling out or taking over the business. He believed that if someone was his enemy, he had to win not by defeating, nor hurting that person, but by believing the other person was his friend.

Thus did Mr Chin approach life, business and people.

Source: The Nation, Bangkok, January 1988

Activity 2:

To establish if someone is well-suited to become an entrepreneur

[lo 4.1]

Does Mr Chin display any of the characteristics mentioned at (b)?

4. Which characteristics can make a person into an unsuccessful entrepreneur?

The most important driving force for any successful entrepreneur is related to attitudes and motivation – inner qualities that can hardly ever be acquired through any kind of training. Remember that all entrepreneurs do not have all the necessary qualities, and good qualities that are driven too hard can have a very negative effect on the business. It is never good, for instance, to have too much self-confidence. This can lead to megalomania, and make it difficult for the entrepreneur to see warning signals in the business.

The following are some of the deficiencies or flaws for which an entrepreneur should be on the lookout:

1. Setting unrealistic demands

Entrepreneurs are often in a hurry to be successful or to make money. They want to achieve their objectives very quickly and therefore misjudge the time and input that is really needed to make a success of their business.

1. Keeping ideas and recipes for success to themselves

They frequently want to do everything themselves and neglect to call for help from other people. Through this they often make serious mistakes or commit cardinal errors.

1. Allowing too many interruptions

Because entrepreneurs are eager to be involved in everything, they often allow too many interruptions, of which many interfere with the success of the business. For example: he or she wants to take all the telephone calls and to talk to all visitors to the business, whether they have arranged an appointment or not.

1. Working without a definite plan

Many entrepreneurs prepare a very thorough plan when they start off their new business, but never look at it again once they get going. They feel that they are clever enough to manage the business on instinct.

1. Neglecting to do “homework”

Entrepreneurs frequently are in too much of a hurry to start a business, or to expand it, and therefore neglect to do proper market research and to determine the strength of their competitors. They do not try to find out whether there is anybody who might want to buy their specific services and/or products.

1. Unwilling to give everything

Hard work and dedication is a prerequisite for a long-term successful business. Personal sacrifices are vital.

5. A successful entrepreneur has to be willing to roll up his sleeves and get to work:

Yes, if you want to be successful, you must be totally committed – prepared to “eat and sleep” your business.

Assessment