Open, creative, and conscientious: Personality also plays an important role for craftspeople who start their own businesses. (Photo: © seventyfour74/123RF.com)
Read aloud:
August 11, 2022
What are the characteristics of people who start their own business, and what distinguishes craftspeople from entrepreneurs in other sectors? A new study by the ifh Göttingen provides exciting insights, even for those who are still hesitant about whether to venture into starting a business.
Personality plays an important role in entrepreneurship. Open-minded and empathetic individuals who enjoy taking matters into their own hands and are open to new experiences are more likely to become self-employed than cautious, introverted individuals.
But what's the situation in the skilled trades, where it's often said that good training, experience, and skill are the most important foundations for successful self-employment? How does the personality of self-employed craftspeople differ from entrepreneurs in non-skilled trades?
Dr. Jörg Thomä and Dr. Petrik Runst from the ifh, the Institute for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Crafts at the University of Göttingen , investigated these questions . Their findings are compelling and could motivate those still hesitant to start their own businesses in the skilled trades. They are also likely to be relevant for business start-up consulting services offered by trade organizations.
Psychologists speak of the "Big Five," the five fundamental personality traits that a person often possesses from birth and that hardly change into old age: These are emotional strength, openness to experience, extroversion, conscientiousness, and agreeableness. And some of these five traits have a positive impact across all industries on the willingness to become self-employed.
Operations management
Operations management
Operations management
"Personality traits also play an important role in entrepreneurship in the skilled trades. Certain personality factors are even significantly more relevant for starting a business in the skilled trades than in non-skilled trades," Jörg Thomä told the Handwerksblatt.
The study found that it was striking that among owners of craft businesses, Extroversion plays a significantly larger role than in other economic sectors. "Craftsmen and women need these qualities to informierenTo network and um to get in touch with customers", says Thomä.
Smaller businesses rely on interactive learning and external knowledge to secure their innovative capacity . This requires openness and communication.
"Extraversion is also an important driver in the skilled trades because the owner of micro and small businesses usually has all the threads converging. They are the most important contact for customers, employees, and trainees," says Thomä.
Whereas the willingness to take risks is a greater driver of start-ups in non-crafts. "Here, start-ups are more focused on growth and innovation from the outset, which also entails greater risk. Craft start-ups are more likely not focused on quick profit. This makes them more durable and stable overall. "The entrepreneurial risk is lower in the skilled trades."
On the other hand, there is an above-average strong Desire for self-determined work and personal autonomy"This striving for self-determination is much more pronounced in the skilled trades than in other sectors," reports Thomä.
Even more interesting, however, is the aspect of conscientiousness . "Care, quality, and precision are key to success in craft-based entrepreneurship and significantly influence the willingness to become self-employed," reports the economist. This is more true than in any other sector of the economy, where conscientiousness is sometimes even viewed critically.
In the skilled trades, conscientiousness is not an exaggerated pedantry that stifles the entrepreneurial spirit, as might be the case with tech start-ups, but rather an aspect of craftsmanship.
"Big Five": The five big personality traits The "Big Five", the five major personality traits, are usually present in a person from birth and often into old age:
1. Extraversion: How extroverted is a person? Is he or she sociable and open to others?
2. Openness to experiences: Is the person open to new things and willing to gain new experiences? Is they creative?
3. Conscientiousness: Is he or she conscientious, that is, careful, determined and precise?
4. Compatibility: To what extent is someone as a person socially compatible, empathetic and willing to cooperate with others?
5. Emotional stability: Is the person emotionally stable, able to cope well with stress and setbacks and less likely to suffer from severe mood swings, or not?
In addition to this broad classification, there are more narrowly defined personality traits that are more likely to change over the course of life. These two factors, among others, play a role in the willingness to become an entrepreneur:
1. Locus of control: To what extent do you feel you can control your own life?
2. Risk-taking: Do you have a certain risk tolerance?
Entrepreneurial types tend to be extroverted, meaning they approach other people openly and are particularly receptive to new ideas. They are willing to take a certain amount of risk and are convinced that they can make a difference if they take matters into their own hands (so-called locus of control or self-efficacy).
Such personality issues also play a role in Start-up advice for the craft organization The consultants can incorporate the results of the study into their consulting, for example in the form of a Strengths and weaknesses considerationOf course, personality traits like the Big Five or risk-taking aren't strongly developed in every potential founder, but consulting can help identify how weaknesses can be compensated for and strengths can be leveraged.
In addition, the researchers are convinced that even in the Addressing and promoting new target groups (Women, people with a migration background, or students) should consider personality aspects more closely. For example, those who hesitate because they fear the risk of self-employment can be made aware that starting a business in a skilled trade is "a relatively safe bet," meaning the entrepreneurial risk is comparatively low.
That conscientiousness and enjoyment in dealing with other people are greater guarantees of success in the craft business than risk-taking or the pursuit of quick profit and growth. And last but not least, that in the craft sector, you can fulfill your potential and work autonomously more than in any other economic sector.
The analysis is based on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). This is a broad and representative dataset of the German population. Using this dataset, the ifh Göttingen can identify craftsmen and non-craftsmen and identify those who are self-employed. Based on this dataset, both the broad and narrowly defined personality traits of entrepreneurs were examined.
DHB is now also available digitally! Simply click here and register for the digital DHB!
Newsletter
Write a comment