Atlanta teen, Mason Wright, became the youngest restaurant owner in Georgia when he took his business, Mason’s Super Dogs, from a cart to a shopping plaza in DeKalb County. Image: Mason’s Superdogs
Written by Isheka N. HarrisonOct 20, 202030SHARESShareTweet
While some of his peers are trying to figure out how to navigate distance learning, Atlanta teen Mason Wright is also navigating his new business.
“They kept trying to take my name off the building because they kept saying, ‘How can a 14 year old own all of this?’ But it worked. We got the place renovated, repainted, got the kitchen ready and I got an ‘A’ on my inspection,” Wright said.
There are plenty of characteristics that make a successful entrepreneur, I’ll highlight the top 5 for me:
What are some characteristics of successful entrepreneurs?
- Creativity. Every business starts with an idea. Successful entrepreneurs differ from unsuccessful ones by their ability to think outside the box, seek for new solutions and opportunities and this considers not only the stage of launching the startups but the whole process of running it: looking for new ways of promotions, hiring creative people, constant updating of the product, and so on.
- Empathy. To be a good chef and good entrepreneur you should understand how other people feel and think about other things. Before launching a product, put yourself into your buyers’ shoes: will you buy that product? Will you passionately dedicate your time and effort to promoting it as an employee?
- Orientation on the future. A strong vision is a thing that moves the project forward. Successful entrepreneurs don’t focus on the minor results and pitfalls on the way to their main goal, they focus on the accomplishing. They don’t give up as soon as they face the first difficulty or lose some money, and that’s one of the things that make their startup one of the hundreds that succeeds.
- Discipline. I’ve never met successful entrepreneurs (though I know a lot) who postponed making decisions, upgrading the product, etc and preferred to procrastinate for some time instead of doing business. Have you ever tried to tell your 1-year child that you’ll feed it later? Your business=your child, there always must be time for it.
- Risk tolerance. Starting a business is a risk itself, and if you’re not ready for constant decision-making (and some decisions will seem risky, of course), I have bad news for you. Sitting and waiting for the right moment never makes history, success belongs to those who take their opportunities, and differentiate between mindless risks and calculated ones!
Ben Johnson, Consultant
