If you're an entrepreneur, do you believe you were born with certain traits? Or do you believe that anyone can become an entrepreneur? Here are 20 perspectives from the members of Succeed: Small Business Network, Powered by Staples.

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Are entrepreneurs BORN or MADE?
The members of Succeed: Small Business Network weigh in with
20 perspectives on the age-old debate.

2. “I believe I was born to be an entrepreneur. I feel as though what I do now was
predestined for me long before my birth. Let’s face it, entrepreneurship is a lot
harder than it looks. Some people just weren't born with the natural drive,
motivation, persistence, dedication, and perseverance as entrepreneurs.”
Brittni Abiolu
Owner & Founder of CapitaLinker.com, Inc.

3. “I believe entrepreneurs are made. You are born with certain traits that will
make it more of a reality: taking risks, being fanatical about achievement
and success, and stopping at nothing to get it. I notice that is the one trait
all successful entrepreneurs have — many times it is nothing more than
perseverance that does the trick.”
Faye Turner
Paralegal of Law Offices of Bruce Kiselstein

4. “Some people have the gift for entrepreneurship while some people have
ended up becoming entrepreneurs because of circumstances. But everyone
needs to have strong work ethic and be lifelong learners, regardless of
whether they have the natural gift for entrepreneurship or they have to work at
it. Even someone extremely gifted like Mozart had to do a whole lot of
practicing to be really good at what he did.”
Nancee Marin
Marketing Professional

5. “I look at an individual like a pumpkin seed. Each pumpkin seed [shares]
genetic traits with its ancestral pumpkin plants. However, it is how the plant is
taken care of when it is growing, where it is grown, and other environmental
conditions that will determine how the pumpkin will turn out. In the same way,
a person is born with certain characteristics that may make him or her more or
less able to be a successful entrepreneur.”
Nicholas P. van Vliet
Business Development and Sales at Atlantic Trading

6. “A little of both. I'm sure that most people will adjust to whatever
environment they find themselves in... If that happens to be an
environment of entrepreneurial types, then there's a good chance
they'll adopt entrepreneurial ways about them.”
Eric Brewer
BS in Business Management from WGU, Entrepreneur

7. “I would have to say born with it. Everyone is born with their own
personality traits. An entrepreneur — well, let's say a
SUCCESSFUL entrepreneur — must possess ambition, drive, and
common sense. It's hard to teach those things.”
Melody Gonzalez
Human Resources Manager

8. “Crazy to say born, but some of us are born better athletes, artists, have more
common sense or excel in math and science. Entrepreneurs are born and
view business, projects and work differently than others. If they make it, they
start again because they have to — and if they don’t, they are looking for the
next chance to do it again.”
John J. Mahon
Strategic Payments

9. “Everything that you are is a collection of experiences. Sure a kid that is 6'6",
275 is more inclined to be a football star than the kid who is 5'5" and 150.
However, not every big kid is a good football player and not every small kid
is a bad one. Parents, mentors, and friends light the spark; experiences,
(good and bad) provide the fuel.”
Mark T. Davis
Experienced Supply Chain, Transportation and Logistics Executive

10. “You either have it or you don't. Some people just want a job and
be told what they need to do to make it to the next paycheck. If
they feel stressed, they just get another job. If you can't juggle
many balls at the same time, you don’t make the cut.”
Elliott Hirsh
Owner at Levis Hot Dogs

11. “It's an inherent personality trait: you're either a risk taker or you're not,
so I would say ‘born.’ However, anyone with persistence, passion and
a clear goal of what they want to accomplish can be entrepreneurial
and overcome what nature didn't provide.”
Elliot Galdy
President and Owner, AdForce, Inc.

12. “I would lean toward born. There is a very small percentage of people who
have a desire to lead. If we were all born to lead, then who would follow?
Then of those leaders, there is an even smaller percentage with the drive to
forsake the consistency of being employed for the peaks and valleys of
owning your own business.”
Joseph Lockhart
Lockhart Low Cost Cleaning

13. “Everyone is born an entrepreneur. All children (well, 99 percent) are
naturally curious, fearless, brave, and their whole existence is about
discovery, observation, and trying new things to learn about the world
around them.”
Sydney Morgan Diamond
CFO/Controller at Sound Answering & Business SVC

14. “I have tons of great ideas from books to martial arts programs to inventions.
Right now my business is to put one of those ideas into action and ta-da, I'm
an entrepreneur. It has little, if anything, to do with being born with any
tendencies, or even the way we are raised. What do we want and how much
do we want it? What are we willing to do to get it? There's the difference.”
Michelle Moore
Owner/Instructor EMPOWERED Women's Self-Defense

15. “My opinion is that success is like everything in life — it's a learnable skill. I was
‘born’ with ‘drawing talents’ but did not become a great artist because I chose not
to work hard on it. However, I became an entrepreneur by first making a choice,
accepting the challenges, and learning from them to get where I am today. Talent
only makes it easier in the beginning, but one must want to be ‘made’ by
overcoming obstacles and difficulties.”
Shue Han Chou
Business Development Consultant/PMO Manager at Ohana, Inc.

16. “The answer is both. You have some who develop that
entrepreneurial mindset over time based upon experiences, and
others who just do not like being told what to do and love to
experiment with new things.”
Nick Olivas
Marketing Sales Representative, Loan Processor

17. “Born. Anyone can learn, adapt, find themselves in a fortunate situation but
this does not change their fundamental DNA. Entrepreneurs have certain
common traits, regardless of whether they find themselves self-employed or
employed by others. They are not afraid to question the status quo, take risks
and find excitement in improving things rather than maintaining them.”
Ruth Xovox
Head of Compliance and Co-Founder of DataDivider

18. “Everyone is born with a different set of traits and abilities. The determining factor
is nurturing and encouragement. Do parents encourage their children to discover
solutions to challenges? Do parents give positive reinforcement? Do parents let
them know that all people face obstacles? Success and accomplishment is
largely a matter of choice.”
Leland Burton
Group Benefits Specialist

19. “I have to say born. My upbringing was in a family who served the
UK government at war and through peace time. Absolutely nothing
about that upbringing could be seen as causative of my being
entrepreneurial. One of the most common comments I got when
starting businesses was, ‘Where did you get that from?’”
Andrew Smith
Vice President, Lightyear Wireless

20. “Those of us who have vision and see the opportunity are born
entrepreneurs. The rest have to be trained and taught, or they just
don't see the possibilities.”
Wanda Stephenson
Executive Consultant, Rodan + Fields

21. “Every blossom bud wants to bloom, but whether it turns
to fruit is determined by its roots attached to the tree.”
John Davis
Howard Industries

22. Cover Slide: Horia Varlan
Photo #2: Mark Skipper
Photo #3: ArtsieAspie
Photo #4: Francesco De Francesco
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Photo #6: wiwin.wr
Photo #7: Walker Carpenter
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Photo #21: Steve Garry
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Are entrepreneurs BORN or MADE?
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