5 Characteristics Of Successful Internet Entrepreneurs


The new breed of entrepreneurs isn’t so new anymore. Let’s face it, the internet has been around for some time now and more people are starting to realize its potential for pumping out the big bucks. The only problem is that in order to be a successful internet entrepreneur, you have to have what it takes. Here are 5 characteristics of successful internet entrepreneurs.

Patience

If I’ve learned anything as an internet marketer, it’s that traffic takes time – a lot of it. When you are an internet entrepreneur, you have to be prepared to wait for a lot of things. No matter how great your advertising strategy is, it will still take time to see real results.

As ironic as it sounds, patience is something that becomes easier with time. The more sites you launch, the more products you promote, the more you learn to deal with the time it takes to get results. In many cases, the more known you are in your field, the bigger your chances are of a successful launch.

Sociability

Just like in real life, the only way people will get to know you is if you make conversation. In other words, don’t be the kid hiding in the corner.

I like to compare internet entrepreneurs to real estate agents. Real estate agents need to be known around town. Their name is everywhere, if not, nobody would know they exist. Internet entrepreneurs absolutely have to make themselves known on the major social sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

Ambition

You have to have a true passion for what you do or else your destined to fail. The first priority of any internet entrepreneur is to make sure that they are happy with their current project. They have to make sure they are building something that they will believe in from beginning to end.

An ambitious entrepreneur is the kind of person who can’t stop thinking about the project at hand. They’re the kind of people who fails to fall sleep at night because they’re so anxious to see what will happen next.

Flexibility

In the world of online entrepreneurship, anything can and will go wrong and you have to be prepared to change your plans. Whether your marketing plan fails or your partner bails out, it is important to have a backup plan, just in case.

Not one successful business has been started without a Plan B. In fact, most have Plan C’s and D’s but hopefully you won’t have to go down that dark alley. The most important thing to remember is that the internet is ever changing and you’ve got to be okay with that change.

Optimism

It is extremely important to be optimistic about what you’re doing at all times. It can be very hard to retain your optimism when your website’s traffic is going down or when sales of your product have virtually stopped. It is important to try and find the good in every bad.

The successful internet entrepreneurs are the ones that constantly believe in themselves and in their product.

What other characteristics do you think make a successful internet entrepreneur?

  • TrafficColeman

    These characteristic are a mirror of myself, you have to be patient an be willing to wait for your success.

    “TrafficColeman “Signing Off”

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  • Giordany

    You forgot the most important one!

    Discipline, because without it, all of the other ones are useless.

    I know a friend who has all of these attributes, but because he lacks discipline, he gets nothing done!

    • http://www.sperkinsblog.com Stephen Perkins

      Yes, very true. It is definitely beneficial to discipline yourself if you want to be successful.

  • http://webinspire.me webInpsireme

    Patience is really important. I’ve seen guys launching a site and expect to make money in the first couple of months. That’s just not going to happen.
    You’ve got to build quality traffic if you want to run a successful website.

    • http://www.sperkinsblog.com Stephen Perkins

      Right, as I said, it takes time to develop but it keeps you from bailing out just because things don’t happen right away.

  • http://worthycellphone.com Dana

    Never afraid to try new thing. It is a must to always tray new thing (or new perspective) indeed since the internet is always move.

    • http://www.sperkinsblog.com Stephen Perkins

      Yes. It’s very important to adapt to the changing business climate.

  • http://www.thesaleslion.com Marcus Sheridan-The Sales Lion

    Great list Stephen. Considering you’ve been living this stuff, you’d certainly know. I really appreciate your point about patience because most people that get into internet marketing expect miracles over night. 99% of the time, this just ain’t gonna happen…

    One other quality I’d add is PASSION. Without it, all the money in the world can grow old. Our jobs must give us a feeling and sense of purpose and satisfaction. If they don’t (ie we lack passion), we’re doomed to burn-out or fail…

    Thx for the read…

    • http://www.sperkinsblog.com Stephen Perkins

      Thank you and good point. I want to get up every day and know that I do what I do because I love doing it, not because I have to so I can make money. Very good point.

  • Hunter

    Patience should definitely be number 1. Without it you will never get anywhere.

  • http://www.icttrends.com Suresh Khanal@seo mmo tips

    All most essential traits you’ve listed. A keen watcher and a quick learner gets success.

    BTW, I liked the graphics work on your post. Impressive.

  • http://www.megabizflakes.com samuel

    Awesome post man! Yeah, i agree with your points. Being patient help pin up an entrepreneur loopholes. Thanks for sharing.

    • http://www.sperkinsblog.com Stephen

      Thank you and yes, patience is the most important.

  • http://www.laurenashleymiller.com Lauren Ashley Miller

    Polite persistence. That was my old journalism teacher’s favorite quality in a person, and I think it applies to entrepreneurship as well. You can’t give up, you have to be patient, but most importantly you have to keep trying without getting angry at the slow tempo and complaining.

    • http://www.sperkinsblog.com Stephen

      I totally agree with you there. You have to keep trying new things.

  • http://davidshawblog.com David Shaw

    I would say confidence is an important factor!

  • http://www.firstfound-blog.co.uk/ Andy @ FirstFound

    I’d have put Optimism at the top of the list. It takes a special person to keep their chin up when everything looks like it could come crashing down around them.

  • http://bakerthebrand.com Baker

    excellennt info. I agree that these are important to overall success as an internet entpreneur.

  • Dfanman

    What I have experienced as a begining entrepreneur is that what matters the most and i belive to be #1 is that you must plain out your idea. You can have all the patients in the world the disciplain, persistence and passion but with out planing all thoes things will never matter.even in the ever changing internet market

    • http://www.sperkinsblog.com Stephen

      Good point! You definitely have to know what your doing before your get into things.

  • http://thestartupist.com Ethan

    Stephen –

    All really great qualities to have!

    Allow me to add just one more – EXECUTION! Some of the most well known entrepreneurs have made it to the position they are in because they could execute their strategies and plans extremely well. (Examples include Tony Hsieh of Zappos and Mark Pincus of Zynga)

  • http://www.replaceyoursalary.com/work-from-home-blog/about Alan Mater

    Hey Stephen,

    Good points. Patience is a must for sure, and quite possibly the most important. Probably why it’s #1 on the list. I believe optimism can go a long way because if you believe it, you’ll conceive it. Positive thinking will get you far.

  • http://www.working-miracles.com Dana Dwyer

    What you call ambition I call passion. I think it is important to believe in your product and know you are creating some value for your customers. It can’t be just an ambition to make money.

    Coach Dana Dwyer
    http://www.working-miracles.com
    Turning Small Business Owners into Confident Business Leaders

  • http://www.foursides.ca James M

    There is a difference between ambition and passion. Ambition is wanting to do something more than what currently exists, whereas passion is having a keen interest in something and wanting to do it day in, day out. I can be passionate about mountain climbing but stick to local hills, boulder climbing, etc. Being ambitious would make me want to climb the tallest peaks in the world.

    A few other things I think you have left out: expect the unexpected, and live without fear. The first one is rather self-explanatory, and the second, don’t be afraid to put yourself out there, to take a bit of a financial risk, or to release a product in an alpha format before finalizing it. Taking that risk and making a commitment to it will only help you actualize your final goals.

  • http://gettingtothapaper.com/2010/11/18/make-money-dont-let-it-make-you/ William Tha Great

    Hey Stephen,

    Awesome list dude!

    You are absolutly right about your list. It takes many things to become a successful entrepreneur. The five characteristics you mentioned above you will find in any successful entrepreneur.

    For me patience is the hardest characteristic to conquer, because I want everything to happen now. That is all part of my development.

    Thanks again.

    God bless,
    William Veasley

  • http://blog.fishbowlinventory.com Robert Lockard

    How about creativity and ingenuity? I would say those are critical factors in an entrepreneur’s success. Entrepreneurs need to have a good idea that they can expand on and sell other people on.

    Great article!

  • Mauro A.

    Yo intento ser un emprendedor exitoso pero mi sitio web siempre tira “Database error”. Tengo paciencia pero mi sitio esta online cuando no tengo tiempo al pedo, seria sociable con el soporte tecnico pero no me atiende, soy ambicioso pero temo que mi sitio se caiga frente a un inversor, soy flexible pero mis usuarios no se acostumbran a que mi site diga “We apologise for any inconvenience.” explicar que eso es contenido relevante para mi site no me hace mas flxible, por ultimo soy optimista, pero nadie me va a responder este mensaje.
    Hoy dia el entrepreneurship sufre de un gran problema, creer que en internet se puede hacer negocios en el tiempo libre, sin recursos ni sacrificios y cobrar un cheque de google cada 30 dias.
    Google, Facebook, Groupon, tienen una dedicacion mas intensiva de lo que tuvo Ford para producir vehiculos.
    Sean optimistas, pero dejen la fe para los creyentes, laburen, apuesten, conozco mas gente que cuenta lo que podria haber sido, de la que cuenta los fracasos que tuvo por apostar, y eso que los golpeados son bastante transparentes. Dejen la ingenuidad para cuando miren a sus hijos y esperen a las 10am para reclamar a su hosting que su sitio esta offline, ya que escribir un comentario esperando que “soporte online” se conecte a la madrugada es mas triste que tomar esto como un libro de autoayuda.

    • Guillermo4567

      Es el comentario más estúpido que se puede hacer a este gran post. Deja las quejas y pon te a trabajar que si el mundo estuviera lleno de gente como tú todavía estaríamos en la edad de piedra. Seguro que tu celular funciona sin ninguna falla o el internet jamás se te cae. Repito que comentario tan estúpido.