1. All independent studies agree that entrepreneurs are high achievers and that first-born children are the highest achievers. While about 40 percent of the populations are first-born children, about 60 percent to 70 percent of entrepreneurs are first-born. However, a later-born child who is much younger than the next older sibling may demonstrate the same high achievement profile of first born.
2. My own data on 300 entrepreneurs, based primarily in the Northeast and on the West Coast, indicate that the vast majorities are married, but since most men in their 30s are married, this alone isn't a significant finding. However, I found that successful entrepreneurs tend to have exceptionally supportive spouses who provide love and stability to balance the insecurity and stress of the work. Marriages without such support tend to end in divorce, and divorce among entrepreneurs is more frequent than among the employed. Unsuccessful entrepreneurs have the highest divorce rates of all.
A supportive spouse significantly increases the entrepreneur's chance of success. Next most likely to succeed are divorced entrepreneurs. Least likely to do well are those in strained marriages.
3. Entrepreneur-ship is a male stronghold. Women have made much more progress as senior managers in corporations than in starting their own businesses. However, this may be changing. Recent data show a notable increase in the tiny percentage of women entrepreneurs.
4. Entrepreneurs are getting younger. Studies in the 1950s showed first-time entrepreneurs were most often between 38 and 42 years old; in the 1960s, the average moved down to 35-40; in the 1970s, 30-35; now I'm noticing more people in their 20s launching their first businesses.
5. Entrepreneurial traits show up very early in life. Many youngsters begin little businesses before their teens. And by their late teens, more than 75 percent of today's entrepreneurs were engaged in coin and stamp collecting, dance and concert promotion, clothing and appliance sales, lawn-mowing, snow services, paper routes or other early enterprises.
6. A master's degree is the most common educational level attained by entrepreneurs. Research in the 1950s found that most entrepreneurs failed to complete high school, never mind college. Their willingness to challenge authority is among one reason cited. But a generation later, college is the norm for future businesspeople and most earn a bachelor's degree. Even higher achieving entrepreneurs tend to follow through to a master's. However, few feel a doctorate is worth that much more extra time in school.
7. Entrepreneurs are independent free spirits who tend to have difficulty working for others. They seldom leave a secure environment and a steady job simply to make money. Instead, they view the attainment of wealth as a by-product of a more important quest to be independent. To be famous is almost never the reason for entrepreneurship; there are much better ways for that. Starting a business as an energy outlet isn't it either. Entrepreneurs are more concerned with using time productively; they don't need things to do.
8. Clearly, relationships with fathers are key, at least for men (there is very little data on women). Mothers and fathers are predominant in a person's personality development; spouses and children arrive too late in life to affect basic personality traits. Sons tend to compete with their fathers, and many entrepreneurs are the sons of entrepreneurs. Their fathers' approval remains a lifelong motivating force.
9. Entrepreneurs fall in love with a good chair and prefer it to any other piece of office furniture, so much so that they tend to carry it from business to business. (By the way, although this isn't a statistically significant finding, most entrepreneurs start more than one business; few start one and stick with it permanently.)
10. We know that money alone isn't enough. Hard work and good ideas are certainly helpful. However, mere hard work seldom turns a troublesome situation into a success, and many good ideas are never acted upon. Luck is different and is seen compensating significantly for other weaknesses. Over an eight-year period, every successful entrepreneur agreed that luck was a key factor. A few key breaks, early, were what made the difference, they said.
11. Universally, venture capitalists believe they are best friends with entrepreneurs and it's sometimes true, but only sometimes. Much more often there is great stress on the relationship. Most small businesses fail, and the vast majority need second and third rounds of financing, which moves the tone of the relationship from cordial to tense. Often there is a permanent split.
12. In my research, virtually every successful company has used a consultant at one time or another- and many unsuccessful enterprises have not. This is a fascinating finding but, unfortunately, other researchers haven't been able to corroborate it.
Entrepreneurs seldom rely on internal staff for policy decisions because employees tend to have their own interests at heart. Internal management, meanwhile, tends to agree with the boss. Outside financial advisers are even less likely to be asked; they are seen as too conservative and lacking a feeling for running a business. Optimistic, fun-loving entrepreneurs prefer outside professionals, including other entrepreneurs, consultants, college professors or successful businesspeople.
13. Entrepreneurs are doers. They do everything faster and better than anyone else, hence they're reluctant to dele gate responsibility. Being both better and faster is a handicap for most managers and planners. They also seldom are effective as venture capitalists, even after they've accumulated wealth. Entrepreneurs are more at home with products, markets and technologies. The skills of a successful venture capitalist are at a much higher level of abstraction; entrepreneurs would rather find a market niche or exploit a new technology than manage money and make financial bets.
14. Contrary to popular belief, entrepreneurs aren't high risk-takers. Instead, they're moderate risk-takers. Entrepreneurs like to set realistic, achievable goals. They're very aware of the consequences of failure. This characteristic is especially true of successful entrepreneurs, but is also true for unsuccessful ones. Competitive events based on their own skills naturally increase their propensity to take risks, but those risks are never extreme. They bet on sports when they're players, but not as spectators.
15. A business starts with an order. An order comes only from a customer. All business revolves around customers, and it all begins when someone offers to buy something. Don't be deluded into believing that you have a business when you have a prototype ready to go. It's not a business until someone buys your product. Everything leading up to that is just a prelude; that's why nine out of 10 business efforts fail.
When you have a good idea, you're on the right track. But there are other trains there, too. Move a little faster and see if you can sell something. That's what gets the train rolling, and it can get up quite a head of steam when it gets loaded with customers.