The Five Characteristics of a Successful Entrepreneur

By: Ryan Westwood, Travis Johnson

Narrated by: Jim Sartor

Researchers and psychologists have spent decades working to dissect and analyze the personality characteristics intrinsic to successful entrepreneurs. While a number of theories have been advanced about what it takes to achieve entrepreneurial success, none have tapped directly into the collective wisdom of the entrepreneurs themselves. In The Five Characteristics of a Successful Entrepreneur, serial entrepreneurs Ryan Westwood and Travis Johnson recount their two-year mission to survey 100,000 highly successful US business CEOs and founders whose organizations have grossed at least $1 million in annual revenue.

Armed with survey results from more than 2,600 respondents from across the nation, Mr. Westwood and Mr. Johnson take an in-depth look at the five personality traits most commonly identified as essential to entrepreneurial success. Filled with real-life examples, insightful analysis, and action plans at the end of each chapter, The Five Characteristics of a Successful Entrepreneur is an unprecedented journey into the rich, nuanced fabric that has made American entrepreneurs the most savvy and innovative on Earth. It is a must-hear for any aspiring entrepreneur seeking to follow a clear path to success and for any accomplished entrepreneur seeking to impart the most salient, relevant advice to the next generation.

©2015 Ryan Westwood and Travis Johnson (P)2016 Ryan Westwood and Travis Johson

Fantastic

A must read for anyone involved with entrepreneurship. The unique approach to this subject was a powerful way to claim a stake among the top entrepreneur literature.

Great Read!

Would you listen to The Five Characteristics of a Successful Entrepreneur again? Why?

Yes--Good and helpful tips.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The anecdotes provided by the narrator were entertaining and helpful. Easy to relate to.

Which character – as performed by Jim Sartor – was your favorite?

The narration was solid and the performance and reading of the first person narrator was great.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes--I almost finished it in a single sitting. Good, quick read.

Any additional comments?

Anecdotes and tips were great. Narration and voice performance was very good for an audio book. Overall very pleased with this selection.

Five keys to live and due business by

If you are a seasoned entrepreneur or one who is just starting out, the information provided in “The Five Characteristics of a Successful Entrepreneur” written by Ryan Westwood/Travis Johnson and narrated by Jim Sartor has information that will resonate with everyone. Although the book is targeted at entrepreneurs and the many examples are often business centric, the book is really about how mankind reacts to the world around them. These five characteristics are not only for a successful entrepreneur, but ways of being successful at anything you want to accomplish.

The opening chapter laid the foundation for the rest of the book. The authors did an exceptional job of defining what success is; including the research they undertook to collect the five key characteristics. One of the more sentient points that stuck with me was when they stated that, knowing is not the same as application; doing something about it. They cover many of the reasons humans are rewarded by success and inherently do not want to just work for working sake. We were not designed to be robots and simply perform monotonous tasks and feel rewarded by that activity, we all want a feeling of accomplishment and success.

The authors also focus on the importance of turning ideas into action plans and not simply wanting to get things done. This becomes clearer once you discover the five key points. They made sure to let readers know that these keys are not a secret formula for success; one does not exist. However, they do say these are seen as the most important areas of focus when researching successful business people. It was stated that these keys are only a roadmap and not simply a guaranteed method to follow. By the end of the book, one is able to see how all of these key characteristics interlink with one another and I think this is a very important aspect to grasp. They stated that applying these key characteristics is also not an easy task, but as with anything rewarding in life, they take work and time. One often needs to think outside the box to achieve success, and this requires timing and prioritization on your behalf.

The five characteristics are: have a vision, work ethically, be resilient, a positive attitude, and one must possess a passion. Again, these are not ground shattering or new concepts to any of us, however the authors are able to take these ideas and put them in a clear and concise book containing relevant examples to help the reader better understand why each key is important. Many of the examples are from well-known successful entrepreneur, or from the author’s own experiences as an entrepreneur.

Mr. Sartor did a good job of narrating the audiobook and was able to bringing it to life. Even though he is newer to the role with three published Audible titles at the time of this review, I could easily listen to him again. As this was a non-fiction work, I cannot comment on his ability to voice other characters like a fiction book requires. The reading was fluent and well-paced. His voice was clear and one you could listen to at a bit higher speed than normal; I was able to listen at 1.25x without any issues.

If I had two very nit-picky things to say about the audio quality. The first is that I experienced two periods where there was a definite volume inconstancy in the middle of two sections; ~2 hrs remaining and ~1:10 remaining in the book. Not an issue I could not listen to this book, but noticeable to those listening. The second issue I would call out is that I noticed later in the book (characteristics #4 and #5) some background noise that appears to be mouse or keyboard clicks. I did not remember them in earlier sections of the book, however they may have existed and they were more noticeable later on. As with the volume issue, these clicks are noticeable but not something that would prevent you from enjoying the book.

Disclaimer: This book was provided to the reviewer by the authors, narrator, or publisher at no charge in exchange for posting a non-bias review.

A Stand Out in the World of Business Books!

Being self-employed or working for small businesses for 25+ years, I'm always drawn to entrepreneurial literature. Unfortunately, most seem like re-treads of the same material. However, Mr. Westwood and Mr. Johnson have brought a lot of fresh insight to the core characteristics of being a successful business person. I found myself going over some areas a second or third time to make sure I was getting the finer points. This certainly is a book I will bring out from time to time when I feel I need to get re-focused on what is important as a business person.
This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.

focused, organized, and useful!

full disclosure: I received this audiobook at no cost in exchange for leaving an honest review.

All I expected from this book was to possible pick up a few useful tips as I start my business, but what it delivered was far greater. The authors took a refreshing approach to isolating useful characteristics for business owner to have and went on to develop a methodological framework (borrowing from others that they acknowledge) for business owners to assess and, if needed, improve upon these qualities. Well worth the listen, especially for new business owners.

these authors are the real deal

solid and sound advice from the trenches of 100,000 entrepreneurs. very good use of your time to listen

Excellent Tips and very resourceful

What did you like best about this story?

The tips and guidance were well directed and easy to apply to real life.

What about Jim Sartor’s performance did you like?

It was solid and made for a good listen.

Any additional comments?

"This review copy audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost."

Wisdom from the Trenches

TARGET AUDIENCE: I know that the title of this book seems to indicate that it is written for Entrepreneurs however the books is an amazing resource for all of use, not just the entrepreneur but for any of us who want to make great changes in our lives whether it be in our own business, the business we work for or within the walls of our own home. Should be called the Five Characteristics of successful people (But that is too close to Steven Covey.)

NARRATOR: The narrator did an excellent job with this book. Effectively switched between the two authors without problem and without confusion. Well read.

OVERALL: Numerous times I re-read parts of this book. Other times I took my headphones out and shared what I was listening to with my wife and teenage kids. It was very well written and full of great advice on how to become a successful Entrepreneur, and successful in life. I am glad the authors to the time to write this excellent book.

“This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.”

great tips

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.