What does it take to start a successful business? While there's no such thing as the perfect entrepreneur -- even Bill Gates has made mistakes -- a number of personal qualities can help you to build a successful business. If you pass muster on most of these traits, you're off and running.

    1. You can delegate. No matter how smart and energetic you are, it's a mistake to try to attend to every detail yourself. Unless you're a solo act, you're going to have to trust employees to do their jobs so that you can run the business.

    2. You are a teacher. In order to delegate successfully, you will need people with appropriate skills -- and they may have to learn some of those skills from you.

    3. You are self-motivated. As a small business owner, you won't have a boss to tell you when to get to work. If that's a problem, keep your day job.

    4. You can work with numbers. You will spend a fair amount of time keeping track of money -- expenses, revenues, taxes and the like. A math phobia won't help.

    5. You don't mind making mistakes. You will make them; the trick is to learn from them and move on. Not everyone finds that easy to do.

    6. You like to work. Contrary to myth, you don't need to be a workaholic to start a successful business. Many entrepreneurs find that it makes more sense to establish a reasonable working pace -- one that lets them strike a balance between work and their personal lives. That said, don't start a business unless you enjoy work. There's going to be plenty of it.

    7. You don't mind selling. You'll have to sell products to customers, of course. You may also need to sell lenders or other financial backers on the prospects of your company. And you'll need to convince potential employees to accept jobs with your firm rather than going to work for the competition.

    8. You don't quit easily. You'll encounter obstacles that might stymie some individuals. You'll have more success if you are the type of person who relishes such challenges. A dash of optimism helps; it will help you handle the uncertainty that is part of every venture.

    如何成功地创业？不存在十全十美的企业家——即便比尔盖茨也会犯错——不过具备一些素质能帮助你成功。如果你在以下的大部分事项中做得足够好，那么你就拥有了一个好的开头。

    第一，会委派工作。不论你是一个多么聪明和精力旺盛的人，事必躬亲是错误的做法。除非你唱独角戏，不然你要信任员工，派他们完成工作，这样你才能有空经营企业。

    第二，老师型。要成功委派工作，你将需要有具有合适技能的人，而他们也许要从你那里学一些技能。

    第三，自我激励型。身为小企业家，没有老板会告诉你什么时候来上班。如果你有工作动力问题，还是继续打工吧。

    第四，能和数字打交道。相当一部分的时间需要跟踪资金——开销、收入、税等等。怕数学可不行。

    第五，不怕犯错。你一定会犯错误；关键在于能够汲取教训然后继续努力。这不是人人都能容易做到的。

    第六，喜欢工作。和那些创业神话相反，并非一定要是工作狂才能成功。许多企业家都认为建立合理的工作节奏更重要，在工作和个人生活之间建立平衡。除非对工作热爱，否则不要创业，因为今后会有很多的工作。

    第七，不介意销售。你肯定得将产品卖给客户。同样，你也许需要把你公司的前景“推销”给借款者或其它金融资助方。你还需要说服潜在雇员为你工作，而不给对手打工。

    第八，不轻易放弃。你将会遇到可能让人停步不前的障碍。如果你是一个喜欢这种挑战的人，那么你会取得更多的成功。一些乐观主义会有帮助的，它将帮助你处理每一个企业中都存在的不确定性。