Entrepreneurs And Gamblers: Shared Traits Add in the all-important role of luck in both business and gambling and we can further reinstate the point that entrepreneurship might be even closer to actual gambling than one may imagine.
By Jeff Broth
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It is no secret that business by itself is a gamble and no one understands that better than entrepreneurs. In fact, if you think about it, successful entrepreneurs and top card players do have a lot in common. Both take risks, call bluffs and consider the timing of every move to be the most important factor in ensuring success.
Add in the all-important role of luck in both business and gambling and we can further reinstate the point that entrepreneurship might be even closer to actual gambling than one may imagine.
The Love of Risk
Entrepreneurs have a lot of investors to answer to and gamblers put what they own on the line to win more. It doesn't matter how well you play the game or how safe your business plan is, there's always an element of risk involved.
Usually, the more profitable a win is, the bigger the stakes get, and you can rest assured that all the successful entrepreneurs (and gamblers) in the world have taken quite a few big risks in their lives. With so many gambling apps for Android users being available now, anyone can bet as much as they want to, right from their smartphones or tablets.
Be careful with your money though, and if you start winning after a bit of practice with the free online casino bonuses, it's pretty likely that you will probably call some good shots in your future business endeavours as well.
Information is Everything
Unless you are a really bad one, no gambler would be betting on horses they have no idea about. They will get to know the odds, talk to the jockeys, stable hands and just about anyone who might have any information on a race before making their bet.
Similarly, no entrepreneur will risk investments, resources and efforts until and unless they have sufficient and reliable information to support what they are doing. The risk will still be there, but the successful ones only take calculated risks.
Good with Money
It may seem counterintuitive to consider a gambler to be someone who is good with his/her money but in truth, all successful gamblers are excellent money managers.
"Successful" is the keyword here as we are not talking about the people who don't know when to stop. The good gambler knows how to take calculated risks and multiply the money he/she already has. Sure, they lose money all the time, but in most cases, they win even more.
On the other hand, an entrepreneur has to be good with money by default because he/she is in the business of making money work and multiply.
Money and the management of other resources is one of the essential skills of the entrepreneur and that is once again where the gambler and the businessman share traits.
Thrill Seekers
Have you ever wondered why people gamble? Sure, it's because they want to win but that's not all, not quite. Gambling is often associated with giving off a sense of thrill that cannot be matched by anything else.
It's similar to what a surfer experiences on top of the waves, or what a sportsman feels in the middle of the field. In business, the thrill is not much different either as the thrill of taking successful risks is what drives the entrepreneur forward.
Now that you know about the traits successful businessmen and gamblers share with each other, it should come as no surprise that some of the most successful entrepreneurs are also some of the biggest gamblers of all time. The traits of the successful are similar, so it makes sense as to why this is so.
