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A common question that many visitors to Franchise Direct ask themselves as they consider taking the plunge and purchasing a franchise is: do I have the personality to be a successful franchisee?

For many, it’s a ‘chicken or the egg’ question. You won’t really know if you will be  successful at running your own franchise until you actually purchase one. And, even though you will be investing in a proven business plan, much of your businesses success will depend on our ability to become its catalyst.

Franchise Direct’s CEO Sean McGarry weighed in with his feelings on what makes a successful entrepreneur in a recent edition of the Business Insights video series.

Interestingly, some analysts feel that many of the traits people attribute to successful business people can be counter-productive for entrepreneurs. Thus, career coach Dr. Steven Berglas recently introduced the world to the Humpty-Dumpty entrepreneur, a business person who’s destined to failure.

Dr Berglas identifies the following two traits to identify Humpty-Dumpty entrepreneurs:

Workaholism: The desire to work ceaselessly might be a prerequisiti for some bosses, but Dr Berglas considers it a failing in entrepreneurs. He feels people who are solely driven by their work 365 days a year do so to purposely evade social contact, and the best entrepreneurs that he knows are all ‘affable charmers’. Successful entrepreneurs, it seems, also have the ability to switch off and enjoy life outside of work.

Narcissism: Dr Berglas feels that all entrepreneur should possess some sense of humility, and small-business owners driven by a sense of their own greatness are doomed for disaster.

Dr Berglas also worries for “the person who thinks, ‘I made a fortune in my previous career and now I want to buy a fledgling business so I can run the show.’”

The most important thing to do before investing in a franchise, it seems, is to take a long, hard look at yourself and try to understand what’s driving your ambitions to becoming an entrepreneur. Your ability to work with others, as well as to lead, will determine your future franchise success.