Future Enterpreneurs Test

Do you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Take this self-test to find out. The more honest you are, the more useful the results will be.

We all wish we could answer these questions a certain way, but that’s not very helpful to decide if we’re ready to become entrepreneurs yet. I’ll be the first to admit that when I first took this test from Monster.com, I scored poorly. But, I took the results to heart—and also kept the test. I knew someday I’d be able to test high enough and finally be ready to take the leap. So, I bided my time—and kept taking the test.

I’m glad I did. In doing so, it finally sunk in what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. I was able to assess whether I either had the necessary traits/skills/attitudes/beliefs or at least was honestly willing to work hard to develop them. It was that “honestly” part that kept me waiting for so long to start my own business—for the third time. But, had I ignored the truth, I know I would have failed yet a third time. I did a lot of things differently this time around, and one of the most important ones was finally taking this test and passing it with flying colors!

FUTURE ENTREPRENEUR SELF-ASSESSMENT TEST

1. How do you feel about hard work?

a. I can’t work long hours.
b. I can work hard if I heed to, but would rather not.
c. I do what the job requires.
d. I have a proven history of being a hard worker.

2. How would you describe your energy level?

a. I’m affected by the moon.
b. I need my time off.
c. I have enough stamina when I need it.
d. I’m indefatigable.

3. How would you characterize your approach to a new task?

a. I prefer to have explicit instructions.
b. I like to know the job’s boundaries.
c. I hate to have someone peering over my shoulder.
d. I’m a self-starter.

4. When I step back and think about where I’m going, I realize:

a. I don’t know what “success” means.
b. I want to make enough money to retire comfortably.
c. I get bored when things go smoothly.
d. My most important job is setting meaningful goals.

5. When it comes to risk-taking:

a. I play the horses.
b. I like the challenge of long odds.
c. I think that business is a crapshoot.
d. I bet on my own skills, not on luck.

6. What do you depend on when making assessments?

a. I’m really smart.
b. I follow my hunches.
c. I am decisive.
d. I’m street-smart.

7. How does your personality dovetail into your work style?

a. Sometimes I drop out.
b. I’m an easygoing person.
c. I have to see projects through to completion.
d. I am tenacious, a regular bulldog.

8. When it comes to looking over my scorecard:

a. I welcome constructive criticism.
b. I like to see results quickly.
c. I set goals so I can measure my progress.
d. Feedback is vitally important to me.

9. How would you describe your communications skills?

a. I’m a doer, not a communicator.
b. I sometimes have trouble getting my point across.
c. I set the goals; it’s up to my employees to achieve them.
d. I always communicate clearly.

10. How do you deal with the future?

a. I don’t have a crystal ball, so why waste time planning?
b. Que sera, sera.
c. I try to look ahead.
d. I plan ahead—carefully.

11. When it comes to the type of business you want to start, how much experience have you had?

a. All businesses are basically the same, so lack of experience is no barrier.
b. I’m new to this business.
c. I’ve been in a similar business, though not the same.
d. I know this business from working in it.

12. When it comes to your attitude towards the group, how would you describe yourself?

a. I am a good employee.
b. I’m a team player.
c. I welcome responsibility.
d. I am more of a coach than a team player.

13. What’s your style when things are chaotic or unresolved?

a. I get stressed if I don’t know the answer.
b. I’m a closure person.
c. I can live with incomplete information and uncertainty.
d. I can’t always wait for complete information before making a decision.

14. Which choice best describes how you feel about this business?

a. I see this business as my ticket to riches.
b. The more I know about this business, the more I like it.
c. There are plenty of exciting businesses. The trick is focusing on one of them.
d. This business really excites me.

15. How would you assess your attitude towards financing your venture?

a. All I need is an income.
b. I can bootstrap my business.
c. I have a lot of money tucked away for this venture.
d. I know how to raise money.

16. How do you feel about working with or relying on others?

a. Nice guys finish last.
b. I’m careful not to go overboard.
c. I’m very results-oriented.
d. I’m reliable and find others to be the same.

17. How do you feel when the buck stops with you?

a. Unfair competition scares me.
b. I’d rather be the quarterback than a pulling guard.
c. I learn from my mistakes.
d. I don’t make excuses.

18. How’s your self-confidence?

a. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.
b. I sometimes wonder if I’m making the right decision.
c. I have a can-do attitude most of the time.
d. I didn’t lose. I ran out of time.

19. What do you think of creativity and change?

a. Being creative and creative is a drawback in business.
b. Once my plans are set, I never deviate from them.
c. I like to follow set patterns.
d. I like to come up with new solutions to problems.

20. How do you feel about sharing your burdens with those close to you?

a. I’m keeping this venture a secret for the time being.
b. I don’t know if my friends and family think this is a good idea.
c. My wife is worried about the risk, but we’ll work it out.
d. My friends and family are behind me in this venture.

21. How do you feel about doing it all?

a. I’m a people person. What else do I need?
b. I have all the business skills I need.
c. I don’t know what I need to know. Help!
d. I have most of the skills I need and know how to find people with those I lack.

ANSWER KEY & ANALYSIS—PLUS MY SCORES & COMMENTS

All of the “d.” answers are the best answers, according to Monster.com. The reasons are set forth below, along with my scores and additional comments.

1. How do you feel about hard work? I have a proven history of being a hard worker. Monster.com Analysis: Hard work is a key success factor. A history of hard work is a better indicator of success than a promise of hard work. Lots of effort over a long time is needed to make your venture work.

I can certainly attest to this being one of the major factors contributing to my current and growing success on my blog. However, when I originally took this test about four years ago, I answered, “I can work hard if I need to, but would rather not.” I really didn’t see the point of working harder than I had to. Later, when I worked for nearly two years nonstop pulling all nighters several days a week and 10-12 hours the rest of the time, including weekends, I knew I could work hard and actually enjoy it when I truly cared about the work I was doing.

2. How would you describe your energy level? I’m indefatigable. Monster.com Analysis: Health and stamina allow you to do all that hard work. Many start-ups report 80-plus hours workweeks for the first year or two—that takes a lot.

Yup! Here again, my answer four years ago was, “I have enough stamina when I need it.” That attitude is just not good enough, I’m afraid. You have to be like John Henry against the steam hammer, willing to go at it with all you’ve got till you win. At least that’s the attitude you have to have going into it.

3. How would you characterize your approach to a new task? I’m a self-starter. Monster.com Analysis: Self-motivated people thrive in entrepreneurial businesses. People who need directions and like to work in a box are disadvantaged when it comes to start-ups.

My answer was, “I hate to have someone peering over my shoulder.” Maybe the reason this was not the best answer is that the focus of this is on the negative of working for someone else checking my work, and if that’s the main reason I wanted to be an entrepreneur, that’s just wasn’t a good enough motivation to push me to succeed. Or, maybe the problem with that answer is the reality that when you become your own boss all your customers/clients are now the ones “looking over your shoulder.” Anyway, “I’m a self-starter” is clearly the best choice of the four.

4. When I step back and think about where I’m going, I realize: My most important job is setting meaningful goals. Monster.com Analysis: The need for achievement ranks near the top of entrepreneurial traits. Setting clear goals is part of this; making money for the sake of making money is self-defeating in the long run. One surprising trait shared by entrepreneurs is that once the goals are reached, they get bored and start looking for new ways to test themselves.

For this one, I picked the worst possible answer: “I don’t know what ’success’ means.” That scored me a big, fat zero for this question, whereas for the rest of the ones up till now I had scored a 3 out of 5.

5. When it comes to risk-taking: I bet on my own skills, not on luck. Monster.com Analysis: Entrepreneurs are moderate risk takers. They bet on themselves and realize that winning at business isn’t a matter of luck.

Finally, I got one right: 5 out of 5 scored for this answer! Still, not nearly enough to quit my day job at the time. : )

6. What do you depend on when making assessments? I’m street-smart. Monster.com Analysis: Having good judgment beats being brilliant any day. Good street smarts are important, followed closely by the ability to be decisive. Those who pride themselves on being really smart have a tough time in business—though they thrive as professionals.

Back to 3 out of 5 for me with this one: “I am decisive.” I’ve since gotten a lot more street-smart, or improved my emotional intelligence quotient, thanks to Dr. Lois Frankel’s two books, Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office and Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich and Dr. Les Parrott’s High-Maintenance Relationships.

7. How does your personality dovetail into your work style? I am tenacious, a regular bulldog. Monster.com Analysis: Tenacity is a desirable trait. Easygoing people are fun but may give up too soon, not unlike fumbling on the 5-yard line after an 80-yard drive.

Again a 3 out of 5 for me: “I have to see projects through to completion.” I used to view tenacity as a negative trait. But, watching TV shows like The Apprentice, Project Runway, Iron Chef America, Dinner Impossible, and The Food Network Challenge all helped me realize the necessity of dogged determination to get even seemingly impossible tasks done under the most unrealistic deadlines. So I became a bulldog, too, meaning I never give up!

8. When it comes to looking over my scorecard: Feedback is vitally important to me. Monster.com Analysis: Entrepreneurs crave feedback, the faster and more specific the better. They also set goals to measure progress, like quick results, and actively seek constructive criticism.

Hmm. It seems like there’s no real wrong answer to this question, just slightly more right answers. I scored another 3 out of 5 with, “I set goals so I can measure my progress.” I certainly didn’t crave feedback back then. I pretty much wanted to be left alone at work. Mostly because all the feedback I had gotten over the years up till then had been, if not directly contradictory, at least very confusing and nonsensical. I pretty much found my own way was best. Fast forward to my current blog business, “crave” is not too strong a word to describe how much I appreciate the information I can glean from ShortStat, Google Analytics, and, especially reader’s comments and emails.

9. How would you describe your communications skills? I always communicate clearly. Monster.com Analysis: Good communication skills are vital. You have to constantly and clearly sell your ideas to employees and investors and other stakeholders, your products and services to your markets and your value to potential purchasers. Some experts say that this is the number one trait shared by successful entrepreneurs.

Yikes! I scored a 2 out of 5 with, “I sometimes have trouble getting my point across.” Sell? That scared me. I hated the idea of selling anything. This analysis more than any of the others made me decide to stick to my legal career. I probably would have stayed, too, if I didn’t finally realize that even in that stately old profession I had to sell, sell, sell to move up the corporate ladder. So, I finally told myself, “If I have to sell anyway, I might as well sell for myself and sell something I truly believe in with all my heart.”

10. How do you deal with the future? I plan ahead—carefully. Monster.com Analysis: Future orientation is another characteristic often demonstrated by successful entrepreneurs. They make their future rather than suffer it—but don’t endlessly consult the tea leaves.

Another 3 out of 5 for me for this one: “I try to look ahead.” Doesn’t sound too confident, does it? Not even close to good enough to jump on the entrepreneurial bandwagon at the time. Now, I have daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, and even decades-long goals and check them regularly to monitor my progress, make necessary adjustments, and so on.

11. When it comes to the type of business you want to start, how much experience have you had? I know this business from working in it. Monster.com Analysis: You can’t beat experience in the business. All businesses look terrific from the outside. Experience shows you the warts and blemishes as well as the tricks of that particular trade. Inexperience in the business is a killer.

At the time I first took this test, I had some vague plan of starting my own law firm someday, so I answered, “I know this business from working in it,” and scored a 5 out of 5. However, when I finally did decide to leave my day job, I abandoned my legal career completely and started this self help blog, instead. Although I had never thought of blogging for a living before, I studied other self help blogs enough to know that my prior legal writing experience combined with decades of journaling would be good enough for the content, and I was doggedly determined to learn everything else I needed to make it all work. So far, so good!

12. When it comes to your attitude towards the group, how would you describe yourself? I am more of a coach than a team player. Monster.com Analysis: Being a good employee and team player is fine, but an entrepreneur functions as the coach and leader.

I was happily surprised that I scored a 5 out of 5 with this one. So far, I’m just coaching and leading myself. But, someday, I know I’ll have to do this for others as part of my business. Even if I never have employees, I still need to interact with readers, other bloggers, potential business partners, vendors, and so on.

13. What’s your style when things are chaotic or unresolved? I can’t always wait for complete information before making a decision. Monster.com Analysis: A tolerance for ambiguity helps you sleep. In business there are seldom any correct answers, and there will never be complete information to base decisions upon. You learn to make decisions under uncertainty and ambiguity.

I was very happy I scored another 5 out of 5 here because I’m all about making decisions. I can always change directions later if that seems best at that time. Balancing decisiveness with flexibility is a skill I mastered after so many years as a lawyer dealing with constantly changing circumstances out of my control.

14. Which choice best describes how you feel about this business? This business really excites me. Monster.com Analysis: If you don’t have a passion for this business, you will fail. If your sole motivation is that this business will make you rich, chances are it’s the wrong business for you to be in.

I scored my second big, fat zero with my answer to this question: “I see this business as my ticket to riches.” I had a huge debt of student loans and credit cards that I needed to repay, and I wanted to make the big bucks that I thought my bosses were making. I foolishly thought, “If they could do it, why can’t I?” The simple answer was, of course, “Because I don’t really want to.”

15. How would you assess your attitude towards financing your venture? I know how to raise money. Monster.com Analysis: A slam dunk. Knowing how to raise money is the key to building a substantial business. (It means you can put together a team, know the financial players, have a profitable product fit with your market, communicate it well, and have a proven track record of success.)

I got 1 out of 5 possible points for my answer: “All I need is an income.” I certainly didn’t have a proven track record of success with my two prior failed businesses. But, I was able to for this third time around (third times a charm!), put together everything I need to make a solid go of it: a team of me (no more partners!); know the financial players (me!); have a profitable product fit with my market (my lifetime of experiences in writing for all the interested readers on the internet), communicate it well (my writing skills), and have a proven track record of success (well, I did have a great track record getting myself through law school and 10-plus years of a tough legal career—I figured that ought to count for something!).

16. How do you feel about working with or relying on others? I’m reliable and find others to be the same. Monster.com Analysis: Reliability is a big help. You need other people to make good; “trust but verify” might be a good entrepreneurial motto. A result-orientation is a plus, just not as big a plus.

“I’m careful not to go overboard,” got me 2 out of 5 possible points. I should have gone for my second pick, “I’m very results-oriented.” It seems that would have at least given me one more point. To be fair, I did rely on others when they seemed reliable. But, I usually had to spend more time “verifying” my “trusting” of them to the task whenever I delegated anything I was ultimately responsible for.

17. How do you feel when the buck stops with you? I don’t make excuses. Monster.com Analysis: Responsibility and willingness to accept it (and learn from mistakes) is important. Think of a quarterback: Win or lose, the reponsibility is put on his shoulders.

“I learn from my mistakes” was my answer, and it scored me a 3 out of 5. I can see now that “I don’t make excuses” is a stronger answer because it focuses on the desired result and nothing but the result. There will be time enough to learn all the lessons to be had from studying our less-than-desired results later. Yet, to survive in the corporate world, you do need to have a good excuse ready along the way just in case the boss demands to know what’s holding up the production and who all exactly are responsible for it and why. But, as I learned from taking this test repeatedly, being an entrepreneur requires a whole different skill set to succeed than those required to survive in the corporate world. Good to know!

18. How’s your self-confidence? I didn’t lose. I ran out of time. Monster.com Analysis: Entrepreneurs have to be self-confident. Their egos are on the line constantly, and they have to trust their own judgment when going against the conventional patterns. An entrepreneur never loses, he just runs out of time.

My 3 out of 5 answer was, “I have a can-do attitude most of the time.” Now that I’m an entrepreneur, I realize that “most of the time” is just not enough. I have to believe I can go through walls, then, the tiny chink I actually create with all that force of will turns out to be all the leverage I need to bust my way through it.

19. What do you think of creativity and change? I like to come up with new solutions to problems. Monster.com Analysis: Entrepreneurs tend to be creative and innovative. They plan ahead, but if the feedback says to change course, they change course.

My fifth and last 5 out of 5 answer. Thank goodness! These 5 spot on answers gave me enough hope not to chuck this entire test away and my dreams of ever becoming an entrepreneur with it. Instead, I decided to work on the other 18.

20. How do you feel about sharing your burdens with those close to you? My friends and family are behind me in this venture. Monster.com Analysis: If you don’t have support from family and friends, watch out! Their emotional support (or acquiescence) will help you keep focused on the main job: Making the business work. If you don’t communicate with them, they’ll subvert you one way or another.

My 2 out of 5 answer was, “I don’t know if my friends and family think this is a good idea.” I hadn’t really discussed the idea of starting my own law office with anyone at the time I first took this test. Probably because I wasn’t that crazy about it myself. I was really trying to run away from my bosses rather than run to my own business. But, by the time I was ready to quit law last year to start blogging, my boyfriend was even more gung-ho than I was. It was actually his idea!

21. How do you feel about doing it all? I have most of the skills I need and know how to find people with those I lack. Monster.com Analysis: Successful entrepreneurs have good management skills. If they don’t, they know how to hire people to fill the skill gaps. They also are aware of the Lone Ranger fallacy: They don’t go it alone, but instead seek out skilled people. Andrew Carnegie claimed that his success was due to hiring people who were smarter than he.

My answer was, “I don’t know what I need to know. Help!” I was actually shocked that it earned me 3 points! I guess just recognizing that I needed help was a huge step in the right direction. By the time I started this blog, I could confidently answer the best answer for this question. In fact, when I could honestly answer 5 out of 5 for all of these questions, I knew I was finally ready to take the plunge!

CONCLUSION

The strength of your answers will vary depending on the type of business you’re thinking about starting or taking over. You’ll need to educate yourself on exactly how to do it, but don’t let that stop you. The key is to pick something you love. I know you’ve heard it a thousand times, but there is a reason for that: You simply cannot succeed unless you love what you intend to do with your business.

The second key is to have 100% confidence that you will succeed. How do you get that confidence? By doing your homework. Read a lot of books and blogs about it. Ask anyone you know who has done it. Become an expert on the subject. You’ll only be motivated to do all these things if you truly love it, so it’s also a good test to find out if you do love it and, hence, whether you’ll ultimately succeed.

Even if you love your business idea to death, you still might not succeed right away. Maybe not even for 3 to 5 years. But, you will eventually succeed if you love it, do your homework and keep doing your homework, always invest your money carefully and slowly, always keep your business and personal expenses down, and, most of all, never, ever give up. That’s my formula for success in a nutshell.

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