Personality, technical and ethical qualities needed for successful entrepreneurship in Osun state, Nigeria

This paper obtained the views of entrepreneurs in Osun state on the personality, technical and ethical qualities needed for successful entrepreneurship in the state. Population of the study was 1,150 small and medium scale registered entrepreneurs out of which 1,000 samples (925 men and 75 women) were selected through simple random sampling technique. Three research questions guided the study. A self developed questionnaire with reliability of Cronbachs’s alpha .989 was used and administered on the samples and data obtained. Data were analyzed using mean. Results showed that personality qualities needed for successful entrepreneurship in Osun state include: proper dressing, good hair cut/style, good physical health, interpersonal, human relationships and ability to make and keep friends; Technical attributes include: communication, ICT skills, networking building, job related knowledge or skill, proper records management and financial prudence among others. Ethical attributes are: avoidance of misleading financial analysis or statements; avoidance of giving and receiving bribery and kickbacks and being upright and telling the truth always. Based on the outcome of this study, suggestions were made on how to improve entrepreneurial activities in the study area.