Entrepreneurship is often glamourised as a unique calling, reserved only for those daring few people who are born with an innate ability to take risks, innovate, and hustle their way to success.
But is that really true? I believe anyone can be an entrepreneur… but not everyone should, and not everyone is ready to be one.
Successful entrepreneurship isn’t about being born with special traits. It’s about developing the right mindset, understanding your approach to risk and opportunity, and building the skills and systems to navigate a constantly changing landscape.
The idea that entrepreneurs are ‘born’ is a myth. Entrepreneurship is learned, practiced, and refined over time. At its core, it’s a mindset that revolves around how you perceive risk and opportunity.
The Mouse and the Mousetrap: A Risk Metaphor
A vivid metaphor to understand this is what I call the “mouse and the mousetrap” analogy. There are three types of mice in business:
- The Cautious Mouse: Avoids the trap completely. Risk-averse, prefers stability over the unknown.
- The Reckless Mouse: Charges at the cheese without a plan – and gets caught. Thinks being bold is enough.
- The Entrepreneurial Mouse: Sees the opportunity, prepares by wearing a helmet, carefully plans the move, and still gets the cheese, even if the trap goes off.
This third mouse is the entrepreneur: creative, strategic, and resilient. Much like our mouse in this picture, they’re not fearless; they’re calculated risk-takers who prepare for setbacks and build buffers for when things go wrong.
Planning vs. Goal-Setting
Planning is essential… but so is flexibility. Many aspiring entrepreneurs confuse goal-setting with planning. Setting a goal like: “I want 10 clients by the end of the year,” is not a plan. A plan is what you’re doing today to reach that goal.
A successful entrepreneur must engage in continuous planning and review – not just at the beginning. Monthly profit-and-loss reviews, performance tracking, and short-term goals are essential.
It’s about asking: What did we do that made a difference? And just as importantly – or maybe even more so – What didn’t we do that might have done?
Long-term planning of three to five years is becoming less common in fast-moving industries. In today’s increasingly volatile and unpredictable climate, even a one-year plan may need constant adjustment. It’s not about rigidity – it’s about direction with agility, flexibility and adaptability.
Animal Instincts: Fox, Hedgehog, and Beaver
A real entrepreneur is not some sort of lone maverick. Contrary to popular belief, entrepreneurs aren’t necessarily lone geniuses or chaotic visionaries. The best ones need to be:
- Creative like a fox: Smart, cunning, and adaptive. Can solve problems and navigate uncertainty.
- Disciplined like a hedgehog: Focused on doing a few things exceptionally well, and relentlessly committed to a proven strategy.
- Alert to the presence of beavers: Those energy sapping bureaucratic blockers who build dams (obstacles) that slow down progress.
I use this animal metaphor a lot, because I think the fox, hedgehog, and beaver captures the essential mix of traits in a successful entrepreneurial leader.
Great entrepreneurs know when to pivot like a fox, when to execute with focus like a hedgehog, and when to root out inefficiencies like a beaver exterminator.
Being a great entrepreneur is not about having one dominant trait, but rather knowing when to apply which behaviour.
In early-stage startups, fox-like creativity is essential. In growth or scale-up phases, hedgehog discipline brings consistency. And throughout it all, vigilance against “beaver” behaviour (bureaucracy and self-imposed complexity) keeps your business agile.
Embracing Setbacks and Resilience
No entrepreneurial journey is a smooth ascent. Setbacks are inevitable, and resilience is essential.
Failure is baked into the process. What sets entrepreneurs apart is not that they avoid failure, but how they respond to it. They adapt, regroup, and keep going.
This requires a level of emotional resilience; a trait that can be developed over time. The ability to learn from mistakes, absorb lessons, and pivot without losing momentum is central to staying in the game.
In fact, many entrepreneurs don’t succeed on their first attempt – it’s the accumulated wisdom from earlier failures that eventually fuels later success.
From Doer to Leader
Entrepreneurs must also appreciate the need to evolve into leaders as their business grows. That means shifting from “doing everything” to setting a clear vision, aligning a team around that vision, and executing consistently.
Three key components of effective entrepreneurial leadership are:
- Vision – Knowing where you’re going and why it matters.
- Alignment – Ensuring everyone on your team understands their role in getting there.
- Execution – Delivering on the strategy with discipline and consistency.
This requires self-awareness, communication skills, and the humility to recognise when others can do parts of the job better than you. Building a team that complements your weaknesses is as vital as doubling down on your strengths.
The Beaver Problem in Small Businesses
In large organisations, a degree of bureaucratic inefficiency will usually be found and can be tolerated, up to a point. In startups or small businesses, though, it can be fatal.
Those ‘beavers’ who build unnecessary processes to make themselves seem indispensable create bottlenecks and slow progress. Entrepreneurs must be quick to identify and address these inefficiencies. A startup needs speed, fluidity, and ownership – not layers of red tape.
Creating an agile, fast-moving team means empowering people while keeping systems lean. The best entrepreneurs build cultures that enable action, not environments that are bogged down by internal politics or paper-pushing.
So, Can Anyone Be an Entrepreneur?
So yes, anyone can be an entrepreneur. But here’s the truth:
- Not everyone wants to be – and that’s okay.
- Not everyone should be – entrepreneurship comes with risk, uncertainty, and stress that not all are willing to handle.
But for those who choose to and are willing to work on themselves – mindset, planning, resilience, and leadership – it is absolutely attainable.
It’s not about being the loudest, boldest, or most confident person in the room. It’s about being the most prepared, the most adaptive, and the most willing to grow.
If you’re the kind of person who can look at a mousetrap, assess the danger, plan your move, and still go for the cheese with a helmet on – then yes, you can be an entrepreneur.
Because entrepreneurship isn’t a personality type. It’s a practice. It’s about learning to take smart risks, building with purpose, and leading with clarity.
