Qualities of a successful startup founder

A recent Mashable article used the StrengthsFinder metric detailed in the book Now Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton to identify five specific talents essential for successful entrepreneurship.

The first is what the StrengthsFinder metric calls the activator theme. Activators are people with the drive to take the dream of small business ownership and turn it into reality by organizing meetings, securing funding, finding office space and setting the company's strategic direction.

Given the turbulence of entrepreneurship, adaptability is another vital quality. In the small business world, as in much of life, things rarely go according to plan, and a successful startup owner must be willing to roll with the punches.

The third theme involves having the skills to strategize effectively. This pertains to everything from creating a business marketing plan to narrowing down prospective business partners.

Discipline, the fourth talent, enables successful entrepreneurs to maintain a structured, principled approach even when things get hectic. For disciplined business owners, keeping a company running on as even a keel as possible isn't enough. Rather, they look to enact improvement in everything from cash flow management to customer service, taking every available opportunity for betterment.

Last but not least is focus - the ability to channel discipline into the aspects that most urgently require attention. It can be easy for entrepreneurs to get overwhelmed by the seemingly never-ending list of tasks, and the ability to dismiss distractions and zero-in on what needs to get done is crucial to small business success.

According to the most recent Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, the rate of small business creation fell by approximately 6 percent last year. However, it remained above pre-recession levels, with Arizona coming out on top in terms of entrepreneurship rates, while Los Angeles had the highest entrepreneurial activity out of the 15 largest metropolitan areas in the United States.