Home > Getting Started > Entrepreneur's Quiz

Do you have what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur? One way to find out is to take this quiz and see how your score stacks up against 1,500 entrepreneurs surveyed by the Center for Entrepreneurial Management. All are now running businesses that they started.

For each question, write down the letter for the appropriate answer.

1. How were your parents employed?
   1. Both were self-employed most of their working lives.
   2. Both were self-employed for some part of their working lives.
   3. One parent was self-employed for most of his or her working life.
   4. One parent was self-employed at some point in his or her working life.
   5. Neither parent was ever self-employed.
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2. Have you ever been fired from a job?
   1. Yes, more than once.
   2. Yes, once.
   3. No.
3. What is your family background?
   1. You were born outside of the United States.
   2. One or both parents were born outside the United States.
   3. At least one grandparent was born outside the United States.
   4. Your grandparents, parents, and you were born in the United States.
4. Your work career has been
   1. Primarily in small business (fewer than 100 employees).
   2. Primarily in medium-sized business (100-500 employees).
   3. Primarily in big business (more than 500 employees).
5. Did you operate any business before you were 20?
   1. Many
   2. A few
   3. None
6. What is your age?
   1. to 30
   2. to 40
   3. to 50
   4. or over
7. You are the ___ child in the family?
   1. Oldest
   2. Middle
   3. Youngest
   4. Other
8. What is your marital status?
   1. Married
   2. Divorced
   3. Single
9. What level of formal education have your reached?
   1. Some high school
   2. High School diploma
   3. Bachelor's Degree
   4. Master's Degree
   5. Doctorate
10. What is your primary motivation in starting a business?
    1. To make money.
    2. You don't like working for someone else.
    3. To be famous.
    4. As an outlet for excess energy.
11. Your relationship to the parent who provided most of the family's income was?
    1. Strained.
    2. Comfortable.
    3. Competitive.
    4. Nonexistent.
12. How do you find answers to difficult questions?
    1. By working hard.
    2. By working smart.
    3. Both.
13. On whom do you rely for critical management advice?
    1. Internal management teams.
    2. External management professionals.
    3. External financial proposal.
    4. No one except myself.
14. If you were at the race track, which of the these would you bet on?
    1. The daily double - a chance to make a killing.
    2. A ten-to-one shot.
    3. A three-to-one shot.
    4. The two-to-one favorite.
15. Name of the ingredient that you consider both necessary and sufficient for starting a business.
    1. Money.
    2. Customers.
    3. An idea or product.
    4. Motivation and hard work.
16. How do you behave at a cocktail party?
    1. I'm the life of the party.
    2. I never know what to say to people.
    3. I just fit into the crowd.
    4. I never got to cocktail parties.
17. You tend to "fall in love" too quickly with?
    1. New product ideas.
    2. New employees.
    3. New manufacturing ideas.
    4. New financial plans.
    5. All of the above.
18. Which of the following personality types is best suited to your right-hand person?
    1. Bright and energetic.
    2. Bright and lazy.
    3. Dumb and energetic.
19. You accomplish tasks better because?
    1. You are always on time.
    2. You are superorganized.
    3. You keep good records.
20. Which do you hate to discuss?
    1. Problems involving employees?
    2. Signing expense accounts.
    3. New management practices.
    4. The future of the business.
21. Given a choice, you would prefer
    1. Rolling dice with a one-in-three chance of winning.
    2. Working on a problem with a one-in-three chance of solving it in the time allocated.
22. If you could choose among the following competitive professions, your choice would be
    1. Professional golf.
    2. Sales.
    3. Personal Counseling.
    4. Teaching.
23. When do you enjoy being with people?
    1. When you have something meaningful to do.
    2. When you can do something new and different.
    3. Even when you have nothing planned.
24. In business situations that demand action, will clarifying who is in charge help produce results?
    1. Yes.
    2. Yes, with reservations.
    3. No.
25. In playing a competitive game, you are concerned with
    1. How well you play.
    2. Winning or losing.
    3. Both of the above.
    4. Neither of the above.