The Anatomy Of A Successful Entrepreneur [Infographic]

Shane Dobbing http://www.kauffman.org 2m 617 #entrepreneur

The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.

Success of an Entrepreneur

One of the most proven ways of getting young and talented people interested in particular industries is having successful figures to aspire to. This is, of course, why we often read so much about the successful figureheads of some of the world’s profitable businesses. Often, some of the most talked about figures are those who built their business from the ground up, otherwise known as entrepreneurs.

Just take a look at this list of the most successful entrepreneurs since 2000 from Inc, so many of them are now what you’d call household names. Hearing the tales of Steve Jobs building computers in his garage or Sir Alan Sugar starting out on a market stalls are certainly inspirational. This is because they make us feel as if anyone could achieve their heights if we put our minds to it.

Obviously, only a microscopic amount of us ever will, so what is it about these people that set them apart from the average joe? Thankfully, a new infographic from Central London Apartments helps pick apart exactly what makes the most successful entrepreneurs tick. It’s called ‘The Anatomy Of A Successful Entrepreneur’ and you can take a look at it at the bottom of this post.

This piece is made up of lots of really interesting statistics and percentages, covering everything from higher education to whether they had children when they started their businesses. The statistics come from a study conducted on 549 business founders, taken out by the Kauffman Foundation for Entrepreneurship.

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The Anatomy Of A Successful Entrepreneur

Have you ever wondered what sets a successful entrepreneur apart from everyone else? Well a study of 549 business founders conducted by the Kauffman Foundation for Entrepreneurship aimed to find out just that: what makes a successful entrepreneur?

The results of the study are in and, interestingly, it doesn’t seem to be nepotism or an upper class upbringing that creates these business minded bosses. So, to not leave you hanging, here’s what makes a successful entrepreneur!

In most cases, the entrepreneurs had a higher level of education than their parents.

51.9% were the first person in their family to start a business.

64.2% of respondents said that they had always wanted to own their own business.

13.3% reported that they had “little or no” interest in starting a business when they were in higher education.

Less than 1% came from particularly wealthy or poor backgrounds.

The average number of siblings belonging to the entrepreneurs is 3.1.

43.5% had more than one child.

69.9% of the entrepreneurs were married when when they started their first business.

40% said learning from previous failures was an “extremely important” factor when being an entrepreneur.

The average age of the respondents when they started up their first company is 40.

Only 11% of the respondents had venture capital when they first started their businesses.

59.7% had child(ren) when they started their first business.

60% did not like the idea of working for someone else.

4.8% said that becoming wealthy was a motivating factor for starting their business.

24.5% were “extremely” interested in starting up a business when they were in higher education.

5.2% were either divorced, separated, or widowed.

75% claimed that academically they were in the top 30% of their year in school.

96% listed “prior work experience” as an important for success in business.

95.1% of respondents had acquired a least a Bachelor’s degree.

71.5% came from a middle class home.

75.4% of respondents had worked for someone else for at least six years before they paved their own paths.

Brought to you by Central London Apartments

Sources:

http://www.kauffman.org/what-we-do/research/2010/05/the-anatomy-of-an-entrepreneur

http://www.inc.com/larry-kim/the-anatomy-of-a-successful-entrepreneur-infographic.html

http://onstartups.com/tabid/3339/bid/10561/12-Facts-About-Entrepreneurs-That-Will-Likely-Surprise-You.aspx

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