Why are aptitude and interests important?

Your aptitude and interests determines what you are good at, and what you like, or are motivated to do. If you have a natural tendency or ability to learn languages, you will most likely be good at it. And if you are good at it, you most probably are interested in it for you to voluntarily spend all your time and effort on studying new languages. From an entrepreneurial perspective, aptitudes and interests can help you decide which type of business to get into. It is advisable to start a business in a field which you have skills or expertise in, and find interesting. Your skills and expertise in the field will give you a good foundation to start a business, and your interest in the field will keep you motivated and committed to stay on with the business

Aptitude Aptitude is defined as capability; ability to learn; innate or acquired capacity for something; talent (Angioni, 2008). Aptitude can be natural talent or be obtained through experience and/or education. This means that even if you do not have innate aptitude; aptitude can be learned. Some people have an aptitude or natural talent for music which enables them to learn music without as much effort, and without having to apply too much force. It comes naturally to them. However, even if you do not have an innate aptitude for music, it can still be learned. How can you learn aptitude? Most of all, you have to be willing to learn. Both education and experience are important as well. Education serves as a foundation for you to build your aptitude. Education can give you the theoretical and practical knowledge specified to the field you are engaged in. Whereas, experience gives you the exposure to your field that is necessary to build confidence and expertise. However, without education, your foundation may not be as solid, and you may have difficulty in utilising your experience effectively (Kuratko, 2004). How can you identify your aptitude? Usually your skills, expertise and knowledge are products of your natural aptitudes and interests. Someone who has a strong musical aptitude, for example, will learn how to play musical instruments easily and so develop skills and expertise in music with further practice and learning. The match between aptitudes and interests of the entrepreneur, and the type of enterprise is of utmost importance when it comes to the success of the entrepreneur. It is advisable to start a business in something you are interested in, and have the aptitude to carry out. In fact, the best way to go about deciding what business to start is to first identify your skills, expertise, knowledge and aptitude, and think about how you can apply them to any enterprise. Skills usually refer to manual work and can be learned. You can learn to become a farmer, a florist, a carpenter, etc. Expertise is based on knowledge that you acquire. Expertise and knowledge is obtained by studying and/or through experience. People can be experts in fields such as psychology, medicine and hair styling. Interests Your interests say a lot about you as a person. If you are a person who is interested in extreme sports like bungee jumping, skydiving and white water rafting, it shows that you are a person who seeks thrill and excitement, and have a low aversion to risk taking. On the other hand, if you are a person who

enjoys yoga, reading and meditation, it shows that you are a calm, solitary and self- aware person who focuses on personal growth and development. So, in a sense if you know what your interests are, you know who you are. Knowing yourself is the most important factor that will contribute to both your entrepreneurial and personal success. Interests can be defined as activities that capture your attention, and that you enjoy doing. Interests may refer to hobbies, intellectual curiosities or any activity that gives you pleasure. Other than that, interest plays an important role in personal development. How you develop as a person is very much related to your interests. For example, if you are interested in health and fitness, your personal development will grow in this direction as well. You are more likely to eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly and lead a balanced life. Interests develop your skills and expertise. When you are interested in something, you tend to spend a lot of time on it; and when you spend a lot of time on something, you eventually become good at it. Then, you may decide to become a health or fitness consultant, or start a business in a related field. How do you know what your interests are? Well, you have to try out a lot of things first in order to know what captures your attention the most. Surf the Internet, read blogs and lifestyle magazines, and discover the interests that lie within you. Remember, the more interests you have, the more you learn, and the more skills you develop. Interests can help you develop as an entrepreneur as it is much easier to do something when you are interested in it, and you are also more likely to be more successful. Other than that, interests make you more interesting and dynamic in terms of your personality, which may directly or indirectly cause your entrepreneurship efforts to expand. For example, many successful entrepreneurs are motivated to start up several small businesses because they have so many interests one may be interested in books, in cars and a lot of other things. These interests can motivate you to set up a business. It is never too late to pick up on new interests. Interests adds colour and vitality to our lives. Start searching now!. Values Values can be defined as important and enduring moral beliefs or ideals shared by the members of a culture about what is good and bad. For a long time now, the image of the entrepreneur has been a greedy, ruthless corporate fat cat who makes profit at the expense of others. However, times are changing, and entrepreneurs are changing. We are living in urgent times; times that demand we change the way we do our business or perish. For example, in the past many entrepreneurs only cared about making a profit without even considering the impact their business had on the environment. These days however, a majority of the entrepreneurs aim to have as little environmental impact as they can, and make their business more green and sustainable. There is a very practical reason for the value-based entrepreneurship that has evolved. That is, it is the only way to sustain a business in the long run. If you as an entrepreneur get a bad reputation as somebody who is causing destruction to the environment, you will lose the respect of your customers, and as a result your business will suffer. However, if you build up a good reputation by sticking with your values and principles, people will start to trust you and have confidence in you, which will in turn improve your business prospects. An entrepreneurs most valuable possession is not his expensive cars and money, but his reputation. When you are dishonest and corrupt, the marketplace will eventually discover it. As a result, you will lose all your credibility. Once your reputation is tarnished, it is very difficult to change that image, and

regain the trust of people again. Figure 3.2 shows a picture of the recent oil spill tragedy at the Gulf Coast. How truthful is BP having a tag line like beyond petroleum because they obviously have not even thought about how they were going to fix a problem when they drill so deep into the ocean. All the greenwashing they did before is not going to help their image now. In fact, it has only made them look worse, like hypocrites. Motivation Motivation can be defined as drive. When you are driven to do something, you usually have a clear reason behind it this is what is known as motivation. How can you motivate yourself as an entrepreneur? Why is motivation so important for entrepreneurs? Motivation has a direct impact on productivity. Although many entrepreneurs are passionate about what they do, entrepreneurs are still human beings and do run out of steam at times. As an entrepreneur, it is very important to keep yourself motivated. Many entrepreneurs are inspired and motivated by other entrepreneurs. Talking to other entrepreneurs and finding out the keys to their success is one way of motivating yourself. Look out for talks, seminars and events organised for entrepreneurs. You can also watch YouTube. There is plenty of good stuff on the Internet to keep you motivated and inspired. I personally like hearing other entrepreneurs stories of their struggles and journey to reach their goals Networking can also be a form of motivation in many ways. Networking can help when it comes to sharing knowledge and resources. Very often, one person does not have all the resources, skills or expertise to run a business. Networking with fellow entrepreneurs can in some ways compensate these limitations. In a sense, networking also serves as a support group for entrepreneurs. By connecting and communicating with other entrepreneurs, it opens your doors for more opportunities to work together with other people. For example, by using Twitter, you can share tips with other entrepreneurs, and receive feedback about subjects you are not familiar with. Other than Twitter, other social networking sites recommended for entrepreneurs are LinkedIn and Facebook. Networking can also help you keep track of your competitors performance and compare it to your performance, which in turn will motivate you to do better. What motivates entrepreneurs? A study conducted by Subodh Bhat and Richard McCline (2005) on entrepreneur motivation found that the desire to create something new, the desire for autonomy, wealth and financial independence, the achievement of personal objectives and the inclination for doing is what motivates entrepreneurs. Another main motivation was the excitement and thrill involved in the unpredictable and risky adventure of entrepreneurship. A majority of the entrepreneurs emphasised that the reason for starting an enterprise was never just for the money alone. Their goal was to leave a legacy in the form of a profitable long-standing business.

ATTITUDES AND PERSONALITY Attitudes Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference - Winston Churchill Aptitude, knowledge, skill, experience, expertise and values are very important for entrepreneurs. However, there are many entrepreneurs who have better skills or more knowledge than you in the same field you may be pursuing. So how can you compete? What gives you the edge over the more experienced entrepreneur? Your attitude. Your attitude is something that is totally controlled by you (Reiss,2010). How many times have you seen the nobody win over the more popular and talented opponent? The attitude makes all the difference. Attitude can be defined as the demonstration of your perceptions, beliefs and values in your behaviour. For example, if you believe that work should always be done properly no matter who is watching, then this belief will show in your behaviour and your attitude at work. The following six attributes are guidelines to set you in the right attitude for entrepreneurial success. (a) PPassion: When your heart is in the right place, your attitude is right too. Take the time to renew your passion whenever you are feeling like the fire is fading out. You may do this by finding new ways of indulging in your passion to keep the fire burning. If it is support that you need, do not be afraid to look for it. (b) IIntegrity: Do the right thing even when nobody is looking. The right attitude will pay off in the long run. Building a good reputation may take years, but only a few minutes to destroy. Without a good reputation, you can forget about being a successful entrepreneur. (c) BBalancing fflexibility aand ffirmness: Some situations may require you to bend the rules (plans and goals) to accommodate to changes. However, be careful not to compromise on your core values for immediate profits. (d) FFailure aas oopportunity: Perceive failure as a mistake to be learned from. Having the right attitude about failure can determine whether you will succeed or fail as an entrepreneur. (e) SSetting ppriorities rright: The biggest asset to the company is you. So give priority to your mental and physical health and well-being which will in turn enhance your mental outlook. (f) MMission aand vvision: Make sure you are starting a business for the right reasons. Do not do it just for the sake of money. Instead, see it as a way of improving your life and doing something productive for yourself and others. The entrepreneurial mindset must consist of a positive attitude at the very core and at all times. If you do not have a positive attitude, no amount of specialised or technical skills will enable you to achieve the goals that you set out to achieve. At the initial stages of starting a business, entrepreneurs are often driven by excitement and enthusiasm. The real challenge emerges when obstacles and difficulties arise. Some entrepreneurs may eventually lose their drive and enthusiasm along the way. In times like these, it is most important and also most challenging to have a positive attitude. When you maintain a positive attitude in spite of the problems you may be facing, you remain open and you will be able to see more opportunities. Individuals with a positive attitude see failure as an opportunity to learn from mistakes. Problems and obstacles along the way are welcomed as challenges and as an exercise for improvement. Your positive attitude will help keep you focus on solutions instead of problems. The more positive your attitude is, the more motivated you will be. Your positive attitude will give you the strength you need to persist till the very end. Remember, attitudes are contagious. As

an entrepreneur, you may have to work together with a team, and having a positive attitude will help the team to feel motivated and positive about their work. The productivity of the team and quality of the work will also improve with a positive attitude. Personality Personality can be defined as the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviour that make a person unique. What type of personality should you have in order to become a successful entrepreneur? Did you know that almost all successful entrepreneurs have the similar personality type? The qualities of the entrepreneurial personality type include thrill seeker, risk taker, impulsive, ambitious, hardworking and creative problem-solver. For those of us who do not fit this personality type, the key to success is to be selective, and only choose the opportunities that are suited to your personality, and then select the right people to hire and work with. Individuals who choose business ventures that are suited to their personality type tend to experience the greatest level of success and fulfilment. Every individual and every personality type has the potential to become a successful entrepreneur. You just need to determine the right opportunity. The gap between who we are and what the opportunity requires can only be bridged through selfawareness and a deeper understanding of the opportunities that are available. When you understand your own personality, you can utilise your strengths, improve your weaknesses and discover the type of business opportunity that matches the best. Remember to surround yourself with people who can compensate for your weaknesses. Research suggests that more than 80% of entrepreneurs have very similar personality traits. Most successful entrepreneurs are natural leaders, problemsolvers and work well under pressure (Wagner, 2006). Therefore, the idea that entrepreneurs are born, not made, is somewhat true. Although our environment, the way we are brought up, our education and development all play a role in forming our personality, the core of our personality remains the same throughout our life. In conclusion, the most important factors that distinguish successful entrepreneurs from unsuccessful ones are self-awareness and understanding of personality type, knowing how to maximise on strengths and compensate for their weaknesses. y From an entrepreneurial perspective, aptitudes and interests can help you decide which type of business to get into. The best way to go about deciding what business to start is to first identify your skills, expertise, knowledge and aptitude, and think about how you can apply them to any enterprise Many entrepreneurs are inspired and motivated by other entrepreneurs. Talking to other entrepreneurs and finding out the key to their success is one way of motivating yourself. Although our environment, the way we are brought up, our education, and development all play a role in forming our personality, the core of our personality remains the same throughout our life. In conclusion, the most important factors that distinguish successful entrepreneurs from unsuccessful entrepreneurs is self awareness and understanding of your personality type, knowing how to maximise on your strengths and compensate for your weaknesses.