You may be reading this because you want a change of pace in your career. Or maybe you have a business idea, and you’re wondering if you have what it takes to become a revered entrepreneur.

What exactly is an entrepreneur? I’d like to show you why entrepreneurism is something you’re not just “born with,” how anyone can become one, and why we as a society need you to read this article.

Entrepreneur Defined

When I researched the definition of entrepreneur, I must say, I was a bit disappointed with the results I found. I was hoping for a definition that truly encompassed the risks, struggles, benefits, and traits that were generally associated with being an entrepreneur. One definition I found online was:

“A person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so.” – Merriam-Webster

While the Merriam-Webster definition is unarguably true in many ways, I don’t think this definition gives entrepreneurs the credit they deserve. I’d like to cut and dice this definition to better illustrate the life and journey of a true entrepreneur and then get into what specific qualities true entrepreneurs must learn.

Here’s my version:

“A visionary businessperson who organizes and spearheads a movement in the marketplace and works diligently to ensure success of the initiative.”

I took out Merriam-Webster’s “taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so,” because while it is true that entrepreneurs must be financial risk takers, I believe that entrepreneurs take on more than just financial risks to pursue their initiatives, and I believe “works diligently to ensure success” better encompasses the idea that entrepreneurs will do just about anything and wear multiple hats to achieve their goals.

There are many different types of entrepreneurs. An entrepreneur doesn’t have to be the next Steve Jobs, change the way cars are built, or even start a revolution, but they do have to share a special set of qualities and characteristics that are essential all for entrepreneurs in charge small or large businesses.

5 Must-Have Qualities of a Successful Entrepreneur

If you don’t consider yourself an entrepreneur now, you can become one. Contrary to popular belief, people are not born entrepreneurs. People are born with certain qualities that they can capitalize on, and then they are presented with events in their life that create opportunities to display these qualities and build something great. The good news is that you can cultivate the qualities you weren’t inherently born with, but it takes effort. Here are five areas that you must honestly judge yourself in if you want to be an entrepreneur.

Maintained Vision
Every successful business endeavor starts with a vision. Every step you take in business should move you closer to your vision. You may refine your vision as you go, but you must always work towards this outcome that you have imagined.

Inner Drive
As an entrepreneur, you must have a burning drive to do something with the vision you’ve created. There’s not much you can do with an idea unless you have the inner passion to initiate a response to take action.

Self Discipline
Entrepreneurs typically don’t have a boss. Therefore, you must be able to manage yourself. You must know where your weaknesses lie and be able to crack down on them. For example, if you can’t finish projects without deadlines, YOU have to set the deadline. Some people need a boss. That’s what makes the world go around. Be your own boss if you want to be an entrepreneur.

Resourcefulness
Don’t let obstacles stop you from moving forward. Search for the thing that you need until you’ve found it. Network to find the right people who can help you. Don’t take no for an answer. If you’ve hit an obstacle, it just means you need something. That “something” you need is somewhere, so go find it and don’t give up until you find it.

Perseverance
Entrepreneurs must be able to pick themselves up when they fall. Don’t get discouraged by the occasional doubts you may face. In fact, the doubts you face are the perfect opportunity to prove to yourself that the vision you’ve created can become a reality. Why can’t it? If you backslide in your initiatives, get back on the wagon. Focus on your vision and what steps you need to take to move forward. You created it, so take charge of it.

Why We Need You To Be An Entrepreneur

We need leaders! We need someone with revolutionary ideas to set these “norms” for us. Entrepreneurs will continue to shape and build our business society, create jobs, present new ways of doing things, and define the way businesses should be run.
You’ve got something to contribute to this world, and your ideas could be the next big thing. Even in small businesses, you as an entrepreneur can set the standard of how business is conducted in your industry, and you can reap the rewards of being a true entrepreneur.

About the Author: Sara Schoonover is Vice President of of TicketKick, a California company that helps drivers to reduce speeding fines and/or get speeding tickets, and other traffic tickets dismissed by helping drivers through the trial by written declaration process. The company, which formally launched in 2010 after providing similar services since 2006, is the leading company in this space and growing rapidly.

There aren’t very many areas of life where you get rewarded for being bad. In fact, most of us learn at a very young age that bad behavior has its consequences — getting a spanking, having to sit inside during recess, getting after-school detention. As we get older, we realize that things really don’t change that much. Bad behavior still has its consequences although the stakes do get a little higher (e.g. ending up in jail).

However, another thing we learn as we grow up is that everything depends on your perspective. What one person sees as bad may be considered good by somebody else. Let’s take credit cards for example. From my point of view, I’m a great credit card user. Thanks to the credit card companies, I get cash back and rewards for money that I was going to spend anyway.

Credit card companies see things differently though. In fact, the credit card industry even has a name for people like me — deadbeats. That’s right. I’m a credit card deadbeat and proud of it. Guess what? You can be a deadbeat too.

Use your credit card like it’s cash. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that if you use your credit card like it’s cash, then you’ll never end up in debt. Why? Because if you treat credit cards like cash, then you’ll never spend more than you actually have. Easier said than done, I know, but nobody said being a deadbeat was easy.

Pay off your full balance each month. Once you start treating your credit card like it’s cash, you’re well on your way to becoming a successful deadbeat. The next step is simple. Since you’re already spending within your means, you should be able to easily pay off your credit card balance in full every month. Credit card companies hate that.

Cash in on the rewards. So now that you’re spending only what you can afford and paying off the full balance each month there’s only one thing left to do — milk the credit card companies for the rewards. Get yourself some cash back, gift cards, plane tickets, or whatever else you can find, and then enjoy! You are now the ultimate credit card deadbeat. Being bad has never felt so good.

After spending the past couple of years living in apartments where utilities, cable, and internet were already setup before I moved in, I seem to have forgotten how much of hassle it can be if you don’t plan ahead for setting these things up. To help you avoid making the same mistakes I’ve made in the past, here are 5 things you should do before moving into a new apartment.

1. Contact the utility company at least a week in advance.

You should do this for two reasons. If the utilities are in your name at your current place, you need to give them a date to stop the utilities at your current residence unless you really like paying for utilities that you’re not using. If the same company handles the utilities at your new place, then you can set that up at the same time. If not, it will be a little more of a hassle as you’ll have to contact multiple companies.

2. Call to get your cable/internet/phone/etc. set up at least a week in advance.

I made the mistake of not doing this for my new place, and I just spent over a week without an internet connection. I didn’t realize that the cable company here required an appointment, and of course, the next available appointment time wasn’t until a week later. Make sure you’re not disconnected by calling at least a week in advance to schedule these appointments.

3. Change your address and get your mail forwarded.

There are two options for getting your mail forwarded. If you’re old school, you can take a trip to your local post office and fill out a Change of Address Form in person. If you enjoy the convenience of technology and don’t mind paying a $1, then you can fill out a Change of Address Form online. Even though this will get most of your important mail forwarded, you still need to remember to change your address on your bank accounts, credit cards, subscriptions, etc.

4. Sell stuff that you don’t need anymore.

Moving is a great time to get rid of stuff. By stuff I mean things you don’t need anymore. If the stuff you have is still in good condition, you can try selling it on craigslist or eBay. If there are already new tenants lined up for your old apartment, you can see if they’re interested in buying some stuff from you. If so, then you don’t even have to pack/move/disassemble/reassemble your stuff, and you get some extra cash.

5. Start packing early.

If there’s any advice that I’m going to give out but never actually follow myself, this is it. I suck at packing early, and I’ve suffered the consequences — staying up all night to finish packing, forgetting where I put things because none of the boxes are labeled, and ending up with backbreaking boxes filled with textbooks. All of these issues could have been easily avoided if I had started packing sooner rather than later. The sooner you start, the more time you have to realize that you’re doing something stupid, like putting 100 pounds of textbooks into a single box that you’ll have to carry up and down stairs.

I recently maxed out my Roth IRA for 2008. This is the first time I’ve had enough income to make the full contribution for a year. Thank you, full time job!

In fact, since I kept living like a college student after landing my job, I managed to save up quite a bit of money over the past year. Here I am at the beginning of 2009, and I already have enough saved up to max out my Roth IRA for 2009. This has never happened before, so now I have a decision to make.

Should I invest the $5,000 in my Roth IRA immediately as a lump sum or should I invest it over the course of the year by dollar cost averaging?

When I first started getting into personal finance, I remember reading about the benefits of dollar cost averaging (DCA) everywhere. DCA is basically investing a fixed amount of money at regular intervals over a defined period of time. This results in buying more shares when the price is low and fewer shares when the price are high, making your average cost per share lower over time. This sounds great, and I’ve read it so many times that I assumed DCA would be the way to go.

Well, I was wrong.

After doing some research, it turns out DCA almost always produces lower returns compared to lump sum investing in diversified portfolios over long periods. The only time DCA is effective is when the market is going down, and over time the market rises more than it falls. By investing the lump sum immediately, your money has more time to work for you in the market.

From the information I’ve found, it looks like investing the money as a lump sum is the best approach to maximizing your returns in the long run, so that’s what I’m going to do. What would you do if you were in my shoes?

Here are some other opinions on the topic of dollar cost averaging versus lump sum investing.

• The Costly Myth of Dollar Cost Averaging at MSN Money
• Does Dollar Cost Averaging Work? at Moolanomy
• You’ve Got Money: Invest It All or Dollar Cost Average? at The Digerati Life
• Dollar Cost Averaging versus Lump Sum Investing at My Money Blog

If you don’t have a lot of money to spend on Christmas gifts this year, don’t worry. The best gifts aren’t always the most expensive ones, and coming up with an awesome frugal gift is easier than you think. Here’s a simple recipe for what I like to call, “The Best Frugal Christmas Gift Ever.”

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tsp edibility
• 2 tbsp deliciousness
• 1 dash tender lovin’ care (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat mind to think of something that is both edible and delicious.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together edibility and deliciousness. Add dash of tender lovin’ care if desired.
3. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Remove and place on wire racks to cool.
4. Wrap in festive packaging and give to friends and family.

If you follow the recipe carefully, you should end up with something like this. (Results vary depending on how much tender lovin’ care you put into it.)

Photo by EverySpoon

That’s right. Giving the best frugal Christmas gift ever is as simple as baking cookies that are edible and delicious. Everybody (girls, guys, grandparents, grandkids, annoying aunts, creepy uncles, etc.) loves cookies. And they’re cheap to make.

Also, if you can’t bake, please don’t try. No matter how much tender lovin’ care you add to the recipe, it’ll be easier on you and your loved ones’ taste buds to just buy something edible and delicious. It’s hard to go wrong with a tub of Garrett’s Popcorn. However, it is definitely still possible to go wrong…

Photo by turtlemom4bacon

This article is part of the College Money Network’s Frugal Holiday Ideas series. For more great frugal holiday ideas, check out these other articles.

• Expertise: The Gift College Students Can Afford
• Holiday Gifts: Thoughtful is > Expensive
• Frugal Gift Ideas
• DIY Gifting: Public Domain Art