Entrepreneurial Characteristics Short Course
Being an entrepreneur isn’t just about owning a business—it’s about having the mindset and qualities that drive success, whether you’re running your own company or working in office administration. Understanding entrepreneurial characteristics helps young people become more confident, innovative, and motivated in any professional setting.
This guide unpacks the key traits of successful entrepreneurs and how these can help you excel in your first admin job or when learning how to start a business.
Why Entrepreneurial Characteristics Matter
Many people think entrepreneurship only applies to business owners—but that’s not true. Even if you’re working in office administration, having entrepreneurial qualities makes you more valuable to any team.
Why It Matters:
Encourages problem-solving and independence
Helps you take initiative and suggest new ideas
Builds leadership skills even in junior roles
Makes you adaptable in fast-changing workplaces
Employers love team members who think like entrepreneurs—people who are responsible, forward-thinking, and driven to improve things around them.
How Entrepreneurial Traits Help You Start a Business
If you’re exploring how to start a business, your mindset is just as important as your business idea. Knowing what makes a successful entrepreneur can help you prepare for challenges, stay motivated, and build something that lasts.
Must-Have Entrepreneurial Traits:
Resilience – You’ll face setbacks, but you learn and keep going
Creativity – Finding new ways to solve problems or stand out in the market
Confidence – Believing in your abilities, even when others don’t
Discipline – Sticking to your goals and managing your time wisely
Passion – Loving what you do and sharing that energy with others
When you combine these traits with practical business skills, you’re setting yourself up for long-term success.
What You’ll Learn in This Course
This course is designed to help young people like you discover your own entrepreneurial strengths—whether you’re aiming for a business admin job or planning your first business launch.
You’ll learn:
How to identify and strengthen your entrepreneurial traits
Real-world examples of young entrepreneurs
How to apply entrepreneurial thinking in an office environment
Ways to turn ideas into action
Tips for staying motivated and focused in your career journey
By the end of this course, you’ll see that entrepreneurship isn’t just a career path—it’s a way of thinking that can help you grow in office administration, leadership, or your own business.
Overview
Developing individual entrepreneurial characteristics involves cultivating traits like creativity, leadership, and a proactive mindset. Methods to enhance an entrepreneurial profile include continuous learning, networking, seeking mentorship, and embracing challenges as opportunities for growth.
Description
This unit standard is for learners who are required to identify and develop within themselves, the personal characteristics of an entrepreneur that ensure the successful operation of a new venture. The unit standard also introduces the learner to the economic, administrative and behavioural (psycho-social) barriers that contribute to the success in starting and sustaining an enterprise. The learner will develop strategies to work effectively in a group and set personal goals in an entrepreneurial context. Learners credited with this unit standard will be able to describe entrepreneurship, describe the characteristics of a successful entrepreneur, develop individual entrepreneurial characteristics and explain methods to enhance an entrepreneurial profile.
- Entrepreneurship is discussed in terms of employment opportunities
- Entrepreneurial opportunities are identified and described within a specific economic area related to the interest of the learner
- An explanation is given of the advantages and disadvantages of entrepreneurship
- Reasons for business failure are identified and discussed with examples
- An explanation is given of the role of entrepreneurship in social development
- Examples of successful entrepreneurs are discussed in terms of their characteristics
- Skills, aptitudes, personality and values of entrepreneurial behaviour are clearly differentiated with examples
- The importance of each characteristic is analysed in the context of a specific new venture
- The technical, business, managerial and personal strategies required for establishing a successful venture are explained with examples
- A base-line knowledge of self in respect of personality, interests and aptitude is established by the learner
- The characteristics of a successful entrepreneur are identified and listed in the individual`s own context
- Own strengths and weaknesses as an entrepreneur are determined with examples
- Strategies to address shortcomings are developed and implemented where possible
- Enabling programmes for the new entrepreneur are identified and explained in terms of their benefits and limitations
- Short term goals are articulated and discussed for self in entrepreneurial context, medium and long term goals are planned and determined in the context of sustainability
- Methods of mind programming are explained within the context of career paradigm shift
- An understanding of mental laws is explained using applicable theories
- Techniques and principles to implement a paradigm shift from employment paradigm to entrepreneurial paradigm are described in the context of development of business opportunities
- Personal strategic plan is designed and developed in order to select a feasible and viable new venture
- Non-accredited: Short course only
- Duration: 1h 30m
- Delivery: Classroom/Online/Blended
- Access Period: 12 Months
