Determination

Determination is the drive, resilience and persistence an entrepreneur shows to keep working towards a business goal.

Setting up a business rarely goes smoothly. An entrepreneur may be turned down for a loan, lose a customer, have stock arrive late or find that a marketing idea does not work. Businesses face many hurdles and constant problems, so determination helps the entrepreneur deal with them one by one instead of giving up on the idea. Resilience helps them recover after a knock-back, and persistence keeps them taking the next step.

A worked example

Aisha makes and sells custom phone cases at weekend markets. Her first application for a stall is rejected because the organisers have no spaces left. A few weeks later, a batch of cases arrives with the wrong colour printing. Rather than stopping, she asks to join the waiting list, offers to share a stall with another trader and asks the supplier to replace the faulty batch. Her determination keeps the business moving forward instead of closing after two setbacks.

Determination does not mean refusing to change the plan. It means carrying on despite setbacks while still being willing to adjust how you reach the goal. If sharing the stall works well, Aisha could sell that way from then on, so determination can lead an entrepreneur to a better way of running the business.