With full time jobs becoming a thing of the past, more and more people are becoming entrepreneurs whether out of desire or necessity.

It requires a whole different set of skills, and a different outlook than being an employee, but by knowing where you are strong and where you are lacking, you are empowered to seek help in the areas you need it before it comes back to bite you.

1. Independence

You cant be an entrepreneur if you are constantly depending on someone else. You have to be willing to stand on your own two feet. In handwriting, Independence shows in three ways.
• Where the capital I, when used as the Personal Pronoun, is either just a straight stick, or a straight stick with a horizontal bar top and bottom.
• Independence thinking or independence of ideas, going your own way regardless, shows in very short stems on the lower case t or d.
• Self Reliant this one speaks for itself. It shows in the underlining of your signature. If you dont do that now start! Its always a positive no matter what you want to do in life.

2. Intuition

If the entrepreneur expects facts in front of her before making every decision, she will be left behind. Intuition, that gut feeling that you just know is right, is essential.
• Intuition shows in breaks between letters in script. If its all printing, this is not intuition.

3. Imagination

Creativity is too complicated a trait to give as part of this list, but imagination is one component of it.
• Imagination, especially when it comes as the ability to think outside the box (often imagination + independent thinking) is shown in large upper loops on b,h,k,l and lower loops on j,g,y.

4. Initiative

Always a positive trait, the ability to recognize opportunity and move towards grasping it.
• Initiative is shown in the strong rightward swing of the end stroke of a lower case t substituting for the t-bar.
• It also shows in a strong forward swing of the hump part of the lower case k or h.

5. Ability To Be Objective + Ability To Be Responsive

Both of these are needed by the entrepreneur.
• The ability to be objective and not be consumed by emotional reaction is shown in an upright slant.
• The ability to be responsive is shown in a forward right slant. How can anyone have both? Well, yes thats the tricky part, but a slight right slant shows the best of both worlds the ability to be empathetic and respond to people, plus the ability to keep calm and make rational decisions.

6. Lack Of Caution

Caution, as shown in handwriting, is an inhibitor. Too much caution can be crippling.
• The slant as mentioned in #5 will prevent foolhardy impulsiveness, so a lack of the caution trait would be good for the entrepreneur.
• Caution shows in a long, flat stroke at the baseline before lifting the pen from the page at the end of a word/ letter formation.

7. Honest & Integrity

An absolute necessity for anyone and especially someone whos reputation translates into business or no business.
• Honesty is shown in circle letters (a, o, the circle part of g and d) with no loops or hooks. Just clean, clear circles.

8. Clear Thinking

A clear head, the ability to see right though all the garbage and get to the important point.
• Clear thinking is shown in a lack of lead in strokes in letters i.e. when putting the pen to paper the writer starts with the actual letter formation itself, not with a curvy, or straight, lead-in stroke.

9. Persistent

It has been said that 80% of businesses that fail do so because the entrepreneur gave up too soon. There are several traits which show someone who will keep on going. Persistence is just one.
• Persistence shows in a counter clockwise knot which can appear anywhere, but frequently can be seen as a connected t-bar, in the formation of the bar in a capital H or A, in a lower case f and sometimes by itself in place of the word and.

10. Self Motivated

And lastly self motivation. No-one is going to push the entrepreneur to get his work done. No-one is going to complain if he skips some things he doesnt like to do. But his business will suffer.
• His motivation to succeed and his ability to get himself going is shown in a strong, heavy t-bar heavier than the rest of the writing.

These are just some of the entrepreneurial traits, but some of the most important.

If youre starting on your entrepreneurial journey, I wish you well.