Entrepreneurs, business owners have role to play in fixing economy

I'm a serial entrepreneur, and I have the highest regard and affection for all entrepreneurs, so I get asked a lot, "What's going on in America?"

The easy answer is that the economy is in turmoil. The more difficult question is how do we fix the problem?

From an economic perspective, things just don't seem to get fixed from a government level, and the lack of progress and change in Washington affects us all. In my opinion, what's going on is disturbing, but there are some solutions to fixing our economy, and in my experience it all starts with business owners.

Entrepreneurs and business owners will play a huge role in fixing the economy and getting America back on track economically.

I've attained a certain level of success throughout my career, and I get asked regularly what it takes to succeed in business. In my experience, there are some key characteristics that I look for and believe that an entrepreneur or business owner in possession of these traits will have an advantage and a greater chance of succeeding. These characteristics include:

Vision: If a business owner doesn't know what they want, what their goals are, what problem their product or service will solve or who their customers will be then they'll never even get their business off the ground.

A business person with vision knows what they want and follows their dreams. A clear vision often leads to the building of great companies that employ hard working people from the community, pays wages and provides benefits to workers who in turn pay mortgages, buy food and clothing, and shop in nearby stores.

Giving back: Thoughtful business people give of their wealth to help students, the poor, the less fortunate, the arts and myriad social services. They also give of their time and act as mentors to help future business leaders understand what it takes to succeed.

Desire: A successful business owner will have a burning in their belly, an unquenchable desire to commercialize an idea, a product or service.

It's all they think about day and night. This desire helps them overcome daunting obstacles and great barriers to move their dreams forward.

Fearless: Every business owner will make mistakes and fail. The most important thing they do though is they learn from their mistakes and they try again and again until they reach their goal. I believe it's a part of their DNA, something they can't help. They experience marvelous emotional highs and the darkest most painful lows but they never give up or back down.