John Warrillow has been studying entrepreneurs for fifteen years. First as the producer of a syndicated radio show, then as the founder of a research company that surveyed ten thousand business owners each year, and now as an angel investor and columnist for both Inc.com and CBS NEWS.

As it happens, he has a terrific new book out this week (buy it here) — so I asked him to describe what he thought are the three most important habits of highly successful entrepreneurs.

Here’s John:

1. Resourceful

When they couldn’t get a loan to start a yoghurt store, Aaron and Michael Serruya signed a two-month lease on a kiosk. They learned what flavors sold best, how to merchandise and market while pocketing the profits. With the money they saved that summer, they established a real store, called it Yogen Fruz, and it would become the largest yogurt chain in the world. What the Serruya brothers did – and what I’ve seen most successful entrepreneurs make a habit of – is improvise.  Saras Sarasvathy, a professor at the Darden School of Business, has discovered that entrepreneurs think more like an “Iron Chef” than a methodical planner. They size up the resources they have available and develop the best outcome.

2. Competitive

Entrepreneurs look for ways to measure themselves against their peers. That’s why the Inc 500, the list of the fastest growing businesses in the U.S., is such an amazing franchise. It’s also why groups like Entrepreneur’s Organization ($1 million + in sales to join) and Tiger 21 ($10 million + in liquid assets to apply) go out of their way to communicate their membership qualifications.

3. Action Oriented

I, along with forty other entrepreneurs at a workshop, took Kathy Kolbe’s test which measures you on the dominance of four personality traits.  A handful of us were “Fact Finders” (seek knowledge before acting), one or two were long on “Follow Through” (good at finishing tasks) but virtually everyone of us were “Quick Start”  (start lots of things) which just goes to show that entrepreneurs have a tendency for perpetual motion. They are happiest when bushwhacking — trying lots of things to see what works.

4 Responses to “John Warrillow’s 3 habits of highly successful entrepreneurs”

  1. Daniel Decker says:
    April 29, 2011 at 9:37 am

    Excellent. Just bought the book (2 copies). Thanks!

  2. john serpa says:
    April 30, 2011 at 2:32 pm

    Hello,

    Entrepreneurs also need to Think BIG, Think New, then Think Again (to quote my colleague Bill Murphy from his book The Intelligent Entrepreneur).

    First, the harsh reality is that many entrepreneurs do not think BIG enough. By thinking BIG your decisions become more strategic and you do far less back pedaling.

    Second, by thinking NEW you stand out and can captivate an audience and market—merely blending in doesn’t build a tribe that will follow you and buy your product or service.

    Third, always practice the art of “think again” before diving in. Spending a few minutes with a well buffered strategy and/or mastermind team will take your venture much further in the long run because these people will ask the tough questions and every successful entrepreneur needs a continual feedback loop— whether you are pedaling road side produce, starting a hedge fund or launching a new book about thriving in the conceptual age, (my current venture).

    Thrive! Today
    John Serpa
    Vienna, VA

  3. C. A. Hurst says:
    May 2, 2011 at 2:29 am

    Great post, Dan. Thank you!

  4. Mac says:
    May 11, 2011 at 12:28 pm

    Hi Dan, good post.

    I (mostly) agree with John Warrilow’s take on the three most important habits. However, I also think that having a purpose bigger than ‘just selling’ is also important for the enterprise. Here is an example:

    http://Clientonomy.com/credo

    A purpose, credo or manifesto puts emotional energy and engagement into a workforce, particularly a sales workforce.

    Regards, Mac.