Although an overview of successful entrepreneurs such as Bill Gates (Microsoft), Ray Kroc (McDonald's), or Michael Dell indicates that they have different personalities and come from diverse backgrounds, they do share certain common characteristics. Most of these entrepreneurs are driven by the passion for their work. They also possess the imagination, flexibility and ability to enable them to overcome the inevitable challenges of owning an expanding business (Drucker, 1985; Houtz & Heasley, 2002; Boyett & Boyett, 2000). In this paper, the common characteristics of successful entrepreneurs will be identified and discussed. Then the distinctive entrepreneurial characteristics of the following successful entrepreneursùBill Gates, Michael Dell and Ray Krocùwill be presented as case examples. The analysis of these three entrepreneurs will be conducted by relating their entrepreneurial characteristics to the list of the common traits of successful entrepreneurs identified in the paper.
According to many business specialists and researchers, the most successful entrepreneurs are characterized by some of the following traits:
Strong focus on their goals: Successful entrepreneurs motivate themselves by visualizing the accomplishment of their goals. Regardless of any setbacks, they continue to persevere by adopting the attitude that they can and will ultimately achieve their goals (Drucker, 1985).
Intense passion about their work: Many of these entrepreneurs are driven by their passion about their work because they are involved in creating products, services or processes, which may enhance the quality of life of the people, increase the productivity of the workplace or decrease prices. Henry Ford's creation of the assembly line is one example of how an entrepreneur succeeded in producing affordable cars that were previously inaccessible to the masses. Due to their intense passion about their work, successful entrepreneur...