One Personality Trait Most Successful Entrepreneurs Share

Survey a group of founders about the personality traits that made them successful, and they will likely be quick to use words like determination, sacrifice, and hard work. Others may show more humility and chalk their success up to personality traits like curiosity. Still others may credit dumb luck. 

However, there is another personality trait that many of the most successful founders have in common: discipline. 

They have the discipline to stick to their original vision despite the temptation to veer off course. 

The discipline to stick to their original product or service offering despite clients asking for different things… 

The discipline to ignore whatever shiny ball is demanding their attention and instead focus on what they set out to do… 

How Saying No Led to a 7-Figure Exit[1]

Andy Cabasso studied law at university but never really practiced. Instead, he co-founded JurisPage in 2013, an agency specializing in helping law firms with their marketing.

Cabasso understood the marketing services lawyers need, and his partner, Sam Brodie, knew how to build websites that ranked on Google. Their service was popular among lawyers but also attracted the attention of other service businesses that needed a website that ranked organically as well. 

Cabasso and Brodie were tempted to wander outside of their niche but ultimately turned down the opportunity to work with other types of companies, knowing they had something unique to offer lawyers. 

They also knew the importance of recurring revenue so insisted that their clients use JurisPage for website hosting, which gave the partners a base of recurring revenue. Prospects offered JurisPage thousands of dollars to build them a website for someone else to host, but Cabasso turned them down, knowing that the recurring website hosting revenue was a fundamental component to building a valuable business. 

In the end, Cabasso and Brodie’s discipline paid off because they attracted the attention of Uptime Legal, an Inc. 5000 business specializing in technology and practice management software for law firms. 

The two companies fit together like peanut butter and jelly, which is why Uptime Legal acquired JurisPage in a seven-figure deal that closed in 2016. 

The moral? While curiosity and grit are important personality traits for any would-be founder, the ability to remain disciplined in the face of opportunity may be the most important attribute of all.

[1] https://builttosell.com/radio/episode-305/

James Gnefkow, Registered Principal and Financial Advisor of Park Avenue Securities LLC (PAS). Securities products and advisory services offered through PAS, member FINRA, SIPC. General Agent of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America® (Guardian), New York, NY. PAS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Guardian. Peachtree Planning is not an affiliate or subsidiary of PAS or Guardian. Not practicing JD, LLM for Guardian or its subsidiaries or affiliates. CA Insurance License Number - 1860570. 

Material discussed is meant for general informational purposes only and is not to be construed as tax, legal, or investment advice. Although the information has been gathered from sources believed to be reliable, please note that individual situations can vary. Therefore, the information should be relied upon only when coordinated with individual professional advice. 7557538.1 Exp: 1/2027