Do Entrepreneurs Need to Take Risks?

A new study, "Making of a Successful Entrepreneur" researched the attitude of 549 successful business founders - to provide an insight into company owners' beliefs - has been released by The Kauffman Foundation.

The survey, involving company founders of successful businesses in high-growth industries, including aerospace, defence, computing, electronics and health care, looked at what influenced the success or failure of a start-up business.

In summary, asked what were the most important factors in their success, the entrepreneurs cited prior work experience; learning from previous successes and failures, a strong management team and good fortune.

When asked what they thought were the most common barriers to entrepreneurial success, 98% of the entrepreneurs surveyed answered the lack of willingness or ability to take risks.

Other barriers to entrepreneurial success cited by respondents were:
The time and effort required (93%),
Difficulty raising capital (91%),
Business management skills (89%),
Knowledge about how to start a business (84%),
Industry and market knowledge (83%),
Family/financial pressures to keep a traditional, steady job (73%).

The solutions to raising most of these barriers seem pretty straightforward; a person who doesn't have industry or market knowledge or know how to start a business can easily find out. A person without business management skills can take courses in business management and/or solicit the help of a mentor/coach.

However, this did give me something to think about - 98% citing ‘lack of willingness or ability to take risks.’ Could have fooled me! How do you teach
a risk-averse person to take risks? Or is risk-taking even as important an attribute of entrepreneurship as most studies would suggest?
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