BEING A MONEY-MAKER

            In 2005 I was invited to attend an annual Mary K conference. Besides the fact that there were no men’s bathrooms it proved to be an inspiring experience. Hundreds of women paraded across the stage to celebrate their success. Many women were making significant livings selling cosmetics, but I was mainly impressed with the women who were making 50k . . . a month.

            I attended a workshop led by a 50k woman and her husband. The intended purpose was to suggest how to lend support to a wife or significant other on her way to success. One man told the group that his wife spent 70 hours a week on the business. She listened to all the tapes and attended all the meetings, but she made very little money, then he turned his question to the workshop leaders, “What’s she doing wrong?” The 50k woman said, “I can’t give you a specific answer without knowing what your wife is doing, but most people who put that much effort into their business and don’t make money are probably spending most of their time doing things that don’t make money.” I tend to agree with her answer, but there are people who seem to do exactly what money-makers do and can’t make it happen.

            Sustaining profitability must be more than merely doing the right things. An integrationist approach to entrepreneurial profitability claims that successful entrepreneurs have a specific combination of personality traits, genetic propensity, and experience that gives them an advantage over other business people. Strategic Growth Markets Area Leader for Americas, Maria Pinelli (2007) writes, "there are traits and experiences that make it more likely that an individual will choose the path of entrepreneurship and, crucially, succeed over the long term." Recent research indicates that succeeding as a money-maker requires certain cognitive and affective qualities that are uniquely selected in certain individuals. “Entrepreneurs are truly a different breed of person. . .” (Bender, 2007). Much of the current research contradicts many of the caricatures of successful entrepreneurs. The business community has depended too much on anecdotal evidence for identifying entrepreneurial profitability. It is to their advantage, however, to invest resources to recognize individuals with money-making traits in the early stages of their development. “It [Successful entrepreneurship] is highly under-researched and has potential to answer several questions regarding traits and behaviors of entrepreneurs, is why, when, and how some people and not others discover and exploit opportunities” (Shane, 2000). So far the research reveals that successful entrepreneurs are not like the rest of us. When successful entrepreneurs are compared to others it's like comparing apples to oranges. In future blogs I will reveal the research identifying distinctive trait-like properties of the money maker.