10 Entrepreneurial Skills to Defy All Odds and Rise to the Top Innovation shines when a go-getter decides to set their ideas into the form of an experiment

Entrepreneurship has become a buzzword in India. The country is seeing a large part of its young workforce experimenting with ideas they believe will transform their dreams into businesses that will create change and growth. In this milieu of experiment and reality, life's hard-hitting challenges present themselves on an everyday basis and therefore a set of skills needs to be imbibed by the new entrepreneurial generation to taste real success.

Success and failure are part of day-to-day existence. It is impossible to find any entrepreneur globally who hasn't had to experience both. What really helps an entrepreneur defy all odds and rise to the top despite the ups and the downs can be understood by a few significant traits:

Attitude

An individual with a "let's do it' attitude always ends up sailing their entrepreneurial ship instead of waiting by the shore for safe waters. Irrespective of gender and geographical barriers, a positive and welcoming attitude towards the thick and thin of starting up and then weathering the storms of the journey always work well.

Experimentation

Innovation shines when a go-getter decides to set their ideas into the form of an experiment. Following a set way of executing work -- from choosing a workplace and setting up a team to catering to clients and using technology -- is always easy but may not result in the most desirable outcome. In a highly charged, competitive and global entrepreneurial world, experimentation with the new -- and sometimes untested -- has the potential to ensure the entrepreneur stands out.

Conviction

To believe in your idea and work relentlessly towards making it successful isn't everyone's cup of tea. It requires grit, determination and absolute conviction in oneself to win against the odds time and again. All of it mixed with sound advice works magic in carving the path to success.

Clarity

At a time when there is more demand than supply in the products as well as services sectors in India, it has become crucial for entrepreneurs to have total clarity about their road ahead. When an idea is further worked out to develop into a full-fledged business, it is important to have a clear understanding of the stakes involved, specifically in terms of monetary requirements of the business to run and further expand. Once optimum clarity prevails, the toughest of businesses becomes easier to undertake.

Patience

Old virtues often end up getting neglected when the new is embraced. In the pursuit of making money and growing quickly, entrepreneurs face the arduous task of keeping the calm needed for contracts to be executed and businesses to be built. Patience or perseverance often plays a big role when the going gets tough; businesses have to be sustained over time, because entrepreneurship is never a one-time-only activity. It takes a long-sustained effort with constant nurturing to turn the entrepreneurial dream into a successful reality.

Zeal

A passion to create quality consumer goods for the world has ensured tech giant Apple's success through the decades. Similarly, for any entrepreneur, unflinching zeal is paramount to their success over obstacles both physical and mental.

Punctuality

Time management is a skill relevant not only for success as an entrepreneur, but also to be a fair boss, a resourceful team player and a likable worker. Managing one's time can help in delivering contracts on time, making clients and partners feel respected and most importantly, building strong relations of trust and empathy towards stakeholders.

Networking

Entrepreneurship is not a loner's activity that lets one scale mountains in their own silo. A successful entrepreneur needs to establish the right network to enable their business, have the most reliable mentor to ensure careful steps towards growth and have a friendly industry image with well-wishers for everyone to fully benefit from the business. Networking is an almost mandatory skill without which the odds one faces can rapidly become insurmountable.

Cognitive Thinking

It is imperative for an entrepreneur to be physically, mentally and spiritually sound to think, act and respond to the highs and lows of business demands. An individual whose cognitive thinking is emboldening has a positive outlook towards growth and is able to process failure holistically. It is hence important for entrepreneurs to take up important activities such as fitness and meditation to defy the strains of running a business and maintain their cognition at optimum levels.

Communication

A large onus of success lies on ensuring entrepreneurs communicate correctly. Team building, client-management, strategy formation and restraint all depend on how well an entrepreneur communicates with his/her stakeholders. In difficult times, an entrepreneur too needs help, and having communication as a key trait can be immensely helpful.

A fine blend of the right attitude for experimentation, patience, zeal, a great network, communication skills, punctuality and a sound thought process is the perfect mix for the entrepreneurial recipe. Actively inculcating the 10 skills listed above will ensure the entrepreneur reaches the zenith of success by defying any odds in their way.