ESTPs have the boldness and the natural drive to do really well in their own business. They’re naturally driven and like to be in action and trying new things. These traits often mean they naturally end up starting their own business and enjoying great success with it.
Vision and Insight
ESTPs have great vision and insight. They use extraverted sensing as their dominant, which means they’re always looking for new experiences, new ideas, and new things to do, and they bring this to their own business as well. They’re also extremely bold and practical at the same time. This combination of traits helps them see problems and come up with solutions that other people just don’t think about. This practical type of vision is often the basis of their business drive, and it often helps them to become extremely successful in the career as an entrepreneur too.
ESTPs are natural leaders who are usually very good at sharing their vision with other people. Despite their natural unease with emotions, they’re still a very social type who have a direct and blunt communication style. This can cause problems for them in relationships, but in business it can inspire trust and belief, and this is often enough to encourage others to follow where they lead.
Emotional Strengths and Weaknesses
ESTPs are rational people who aren’t all that comfortable with their emotions. They have them of course, every type does, but their understanding is fairly basic and uncertain. ESTPs use extraverted feeling as their tertiary function, which means that their emotions usually come out when they’re stressed or feel attacked. And because this often results in out of control displays, this is something that ESTPs try to avoid. As a result, ESTPs aren’t usually overly effusive about their business or obviously passionate. This doesn’t mean they aren’t dedicated though. Instead this type usually displays a kind of rational passion about their work and the results they hope to see.
One problem that ESTPs have with their brand of passion and dedication is boredom. This type hates boredom perhaps more than any other type and will quickly drop a project or a business if they find it tedious or constraining in some way. In fact, this is the quickest and the easiest way to ensure that the ESTP loses their passion for their business and starts looking for a way out. This often results in a very exciting life, but it can be devastating for the ESTPs career and for anyone involved with them in their new business.
Workplace Strengths
ESTPs are usually well liked in whatever role or business they find themselves. This type has a blunt humor as well as a zest for life that other types find very attractive and they’ll bring these qualities to their business to good effect. As an added bonus, their natural sociability usually draws others to them, which means they’ll find plenty of support and help on their journey to become an entrepreneur. And the ESTP will happily repay these favors in their own practical, good natured way.
ESTPs are fairly emotionally insensitive and this often makes them impervious to criticism. Not that they often encounter this kind of situation, this type is almost universally popular and liked by all, but when they do they’ll usually just shrug it off. This practical confidence serves them well in a business setting, where backstabbing, criticism and gossip is often a big part of doing business. Most ESTPs don’t have the patience to be interested in these kinds of interactions and so won’t pay attention when others indulge in it.
Social Skills and Networking
ESTPs are social people who enjoy networking and interacting with other business leaders and entrepreneurs. They aren’t the type to get caught up in the socializing side of it however, and no matter how friendly they seem their rational minds will be constantly active and exploring the options offered by the interaction. This doesn’t mean that the ESTP won’t make friend through this process of course, ESTPs make friends wherever they go. But the logical side of them will always be there and always looking for a way they can benefit their goals and their business while still helping the people around them at the same time. And this is an amazing mindset to have in business.
In the Planning Stage
ESTPs aren’t very good planners. Practical they may be but they also live in the moment, wringing every bit of pleasure and excitement they can get from the present. As a result, they aren’t overly interested in the future and never plan for it. Planning for the future is the same as putting restrictions and boundaries around it to this type. And there’s nothing that ESTPs dislike more. As a result, they’re often very bad at planning things, and would prefer to let others do it. And when they’re forced to plan, the plans will usually be very basic and as short term as they can manage without getting into trouble.
ESTPs like to take risks. This type has an inner confidence that few can match along with a very high tolerance for danger and risk. This is due to their dominant function extraverted sensing, which often makes them adrenalin junkies in their search for more excitement and new experiences. It’s also why many ESTPs seek out the life of an entrepreneur, because the risks that are inherent in this life path appeal to that need for excitement.
Building the Business
ESTPs are naturally practical people who usually create an open, innovative business culture that encourages creative thought and exploration. This is the type of environment that this type prefers and needs to feel comfortable and to function at their best and so they’ll encourage this in their own business. This means that they often won’t set up the kinds of schedules and routines that other businesses will have, because they’re usually unwilling to work according to these restrictions themselves. But they’ll also expect anyone working with them to get things done, regardless of the lack of supervision and routine. And anyone who can’t do that will find themselves on the sharp end of the ESTPs temper.
Final Thoughts
ESTPs have a combination of skills and traits that makes them well suited for entrepreneurship. In fact, because this type is reluctant to work under other people’s rules, this is often the most natural career path for this type.
References
- Storm, Susan. “Understanding ESTP Sensing“. Mar 7, 2017. (Retrieved May 2018).
- Storm, Susan. “How Do YOU Use Extraverted Feeling?“. Dec 17, 2015. (Retrieved May 2018).
- “ESTP – The Doer“.
- “The ESTP Career Path“.
- “The ESTP in the Workplace“.