Three Traits of Entrepreneur that Lead to Trouble We’ve all heard the wise saying that “your weaknesses are your strengths, in excess”. This is somewhat true when it comes to entrepreneurs. Often to be a widely successful entrepreneur you have to go where no man (or woman) has gone before… I know when I started my first company, MuniFinancial, in 1989 I was repeatedly told that I was crazy. Common comments were that the market was too small and specialized and that no one would buy what I had to offer. I literally had to invent a market; and it took off! In conducting the research for Mistakes Millionaires Make I found four common attributes that were common amongst the entrepreneurs interviewed. This is a short summary of the four main commonalities and how they can lead to your fall: 1- Ego Driven- You have to have an incredibly strong sense of self to become an entrepreneur. Nearly every entrepreneur will recount stories of people telling them that they’re nuts for starting a company. In my book there were examples of corporate securities lawyers, Harvard MBA’s on Wall Street and others that left high paying positions in order to hang their own shingle. Lesson Learned: Once you start gaining success and wealth it is vital to keep your ego in check long enough to protect yourself, your family and your employees. I saw many cases in which the hard charging entrepreneur was so focused on moving from a $75 million net worth to $100 million that everything was lost along the way. Diversify, take enough chips off the table to lifestyle protect you and your family. More information is available at www.PathwayPartnersLLC.com

1. 3 TRAITS of
ENTREPENEURS
that get them into trouble
Photo via Shutterstock.com
Excerpts from Mistakes Millionaires Make, by Harry Clark
Take the Entrepreneurial Risk Assessment
at: www.pathwaypartnersllc.com

2. My name is Harry Clark and I
thought I had it made.
By 2004, I had:
founded two INC.
500 companies
450 employees
a $100 million
net worth

3. BUT I LOST
EVERYTHING

4. NO
RESOURCES
I realized that there were
to help entrepreneurs avoid
common mistakes

5. ENTREPENEURS
That lead me to interview
30

6. CRASHED
that
spectacularly

7. CLIMBED
and
back

8. SHARE
I want to
what I discovered
Photo via Huffingtonpost.de

9. 3 TRAITS of
ENTREPENEURS
that get them into trouble
Photo via Shutterstock.com

10. Photo via Pexels.com
EGO
Trait #1
DRIVEN

11. You have to have a
STRONG
SENSE
OF SELF
to become an entrepreneur

12. To go where
no man has gone before
Photo via Trekmovie.com

13. Photo via Bigstockphoto.com
EGO
Keep your
in check
to protect yourself, your family and your employees
Lesson learned

14. Once you start gaining success
DIVERSIFY

15. And take enough chips
LIFESTYLE
PROTECT
you and your family
off the table to
Photo via Yoyowall.com

16. Photo via Pexels.com
UBER
Trait #2
OPTIMISM

17. DON’T
LISTEN
Many of your friends and family will tell you that
you are nuts and you’ll fail
Photo via Pcog.org

18. You have to be a bit of an optimist to succeed
but
DON’T OVERDO IT
Photo via Huffington Post

19. Lesson learned
Once you gained
some wealth,
shift your thinking
from a full throttle optimist
to a more balanced
RISK
MANAGER
Photo via Warner Bros.
RISK
MANAGER
RISK
TAKER

20. Example
80% OF ACQUISITIONS
fail to perform at desired level, so don’t make
optimistic projections
Photo via Huffington Post

21. Photo via Pexels.com
FEELING OF
Trait #3
INVINCIBILITY

22. Photo via Shutterstock.com
After many years of success
and business wins
a sense of
INVINCIBILITY
you might have

23. If you’ve done well
consider yourself
BLESSED
Lesson learned
Photo via Flickrk.com

24. Gamble with an amount that, if lost, would make
NO
SIGNIFICANT
DIFFERENCE
to your lifestyle
Photo via Pixgood.com

25. Learn more by reading my up-coming book

26. Or by taking the
Entrepreneurial Risk Assessment Survey at
http://pathwaypartnersllc.com/
Or by subscribing
And remember:to my blog
sharing is caring