How to Determine if Your Candidate has an Entrepreneurial Spirit

As a new business owner, it’s important that the initial people you hire in your business have the entrepreneurial spirit that you have.  When you are hiring your key players, you need to know what to look for in order to make sure you are hiring top talent.

Look for Risk Takers

One of the key traits that entrepreneurs have is the ability to take risks.  This is essential in a startup business because a lot of your success lies within the ability to take risks.  If your key leaders are only interested in “staying on safe side” of things and avoiding risk, your company will not likely go far.

Of course, it is important that you hire people who know when a risk is smart or not.  If you want to judge a person’s ability to take risk as well as their judgement when it comes to risk, you need to ask the right questions.

Be sure to ask scenario type questions and give the candidate an opportunity to explain how he would handle certain situations.  Assess the candidate’s answers and determine if it matches up with your beliefs in how a certain situation should be handled.

They are Willing to Make Sacrifices

As you well know, giving up certain comforts in the beginning stages of a startup is all part of being an entrepreneur.  If you want to hire someone with an entrepreneurial spirit, you will need to look for candidates who can think about the big picture.

Hiring someone who is able to see the potential in your business and the position is very important in getting the right people on your team.

If you have someone who can’t see the forest for the trees, then they likely do not have the entrepreneurial spirit that you need.  For example, look for individuals who are more interested in the potential growth of the company and the position versus the immediate return.

Entrepreneurs understand that the big paycheck doesn’t come in the early days and that it requires a lot of time, hands-on work and effort.

Listen for Good Questions

A great way to tell if someone has an entrepreneurial spirit is by the questions they ask during the interview.  Your typical entrepreneur will be interested in where the company is heading, the company vision, and your plan on how to get there.

Trust Your Gut

When it really comes down to it, you have to go with your gut.

• How do you feel about the candidate?
• Is this someone you could see yourself working with?
• Do you believe that the candidate will contribute to your company’s growth and values?

If you aren’t satisfied with your answers to these questions, then the best thing you can do is to continue on with your search for the right candidate with an entrepreneurial spirit.

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What are some other ways to determine if a person has an entrepreneurial spirit?