Dragons Den’s Evan Davis on the Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurship

After 4 years hosting Dragons Den Evan Davis probably knows more than most about entrepreneurs. At a conference in December held at the Royal Agricultural College on the topic of "Inspiring Entrepreneurship" in agribusiness, he described the 5 characteristics he feels all successful entrepreneurs possess.

1. Optimism
This is the key requirement. Successful entrepreneurs possess an optimism “bordering on the delusional”. Those who make it see the glass half full all the time, they are never put off by obstacles thrown in their way, and bounce back after the hardest of knocks.

2. The ability to spot how things could be done better
The good entrepreneur has the knack of spotting the irritations in life’s everyday activities, and working out how they could be removed or reduced. Evan advised would-be entrepreneurs to make a point every day of finding two products or services which could be improved.

Equally entrepreneurs can see ways to create opportunities. He gave as an example the couple who developed cardboard beach furniture, but decided that the most lucrative route was to sell the opportunity to brand the furniture, rather than sell the furniture itself. Their product ended up on Henman Hill at Wimbledon, carrying the logo of a well known company.

3. The energy to make things happen
Being highly creative is on its own not enough, great entrepreneurs come out of the clouds, get their shirt sleeves rolled up, and work out the nuts and bolts of putting their ideas into practice.

4. Basic business knowledge
And, in the same vein, they have basic business skills. They can write a business plan, and understand costs and cash flows. This skill often clashes with their optimism resulting in wildly overblown projections, but the successful entrepreneur can temper the optimism with reality.

5. Willingness to adapt and change
The best entrepreneurs have tested their ideas thoroughly on potential customers, not just mum and dad, or sympathetic friends. They have listened to feedback, and adjusted their idea accordingly.

Despite all those skills an entrepreneur’s idea may not get off the ground, and even if it does, may not fly for long for all sorts of reasons. The most successful business people can catch a cold as the recent failure of green haulier JPM Eco Logistics which received investment from Dragons Deborah Meaden and Theo Paphitis showed.

But that’s presumably where the optimism comes back in. The best entrepreneurs just dust themselves down and get going again, regardless.