Do You Have the DNA of an Entrepreneur? Take the quiz!

You have a hot idea for a new phone app. It’s revolutionary. How many times have you heard some successful person say, “I did this in spite of my parents”? But here’s the deeper truth: They actually became successful because of their parents’ issues, faults, and flaws. Whether it was anger at the parent(s), fear of winding up the same, or determination to do it differently, their parents gave them the push they needed to activate their own innate Entrepreneur DNA.

But you get sick to your stomach thinking about going through the development process alone. Or maybe you have a ton of DIY decorating ideas that all your friends love. You’ve flirted with the idea of starting a business. But spend all your savings on a “wild hair idea” that’s bound to go nowhere? No way! Better stick with the boring nine to five. After all, you’re not “wired” for success and entrepreneurship. Your grandfather wasn’t Dale Carnegie. And you’re not related to Bill or Melinda Gates. Or Oprah. 

But just because Dad was a “company man” and your mom stuck with the same nursing job for 30 years doesn’t mean you don’t have the DNA of an entrepreneur. Yes, we absolutely do inherit thought patterns, emotional habits, and even our attitudes about success and money from our ancestors. The rapidly expanding science of epigenetics shows that environmental circumstances like famine, war, and pandemics, personal experiences like losing a bunch of money, and even learned attitudes like playing it safe affect gene expression—and that expression can be passed on to later generations. 

But epigenetics doesn’t determine your fate. Walt Disney was one of the most successful entrepreneurs of all time even though his father failed repeatedly at numerous work endeavors, from construction to farming. In fact, many successful entrepreneurs owe their success to the fact that their parents and grandparents were not go-getters. 

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So, let’s take a quick look at some of the inherited epigenetic programming that might be putting a damper on your dreams. Identifying the patterns—the multigenerational voices in your head that have you stuck and afraid of shining your light—and seeing who and where they came from is a big step toward letting them go. 

Negative Voices 

Take a time out. Turn off your phone. Get comfy and let yourself daydream about that idea you have—starting a business, buying that little Airbnb apartment on Maui, becoming a travel journalist after Covid. Whatever.

Listen for the voices. The whispers that say, “Impossible! Don’t be silly. You’ll never pull it off. Who do you think you are? You’re not smart enough. Good enough. Educated enough. You’ll lose all your money. Women don’t do that sort of thing.” Etcetera. Write down all the objections and multigenerational can’t. 

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Now, take some Post-it notes and jot down the names of your family, one name per note, and stick them on the table (or the floor—wherever you’re sitting). Look at your list of objections and just let your mind cruise around, identifying the voice(s) attached to each objection. Maybe your father had a thing about having to have a college degree to get ahead. Maybe your grandmother was neurotic about getting “too big for your britches.” Or your mother put her life on hold to start a family and was always doing for others and not herself. Whatever the pattern, simply notice what comes up and where/who it comes from.

Do you see it now? Most of your blocks aren’t yours. They belong to other people. Other generations. Once you see that, you have room to let them go.

Now, let’s discover some of the empowering, entrepreneurial patterns that you did inherit. Take a look at the following list. How many questions can you say “yes” to? 

Entrepreneur DNA Quiz #1

1. Do you often notice what is missing or what is needed in the work that you do?
2. Do you like to find solutions to problems?
3. Are you interested in making the world a better place? Wanting to add to what’s already there?
4. Do you have a unique, even quirky way of looking at things?
5. Do you have a good imagination?
6. Do you notice details about people and situations?
7. Do you have a sense of purpose, even if you can’t identify it?
8. Do you stick with tasks once begin?
9. Do you try to communicate well with others?
10. Are you sensitive to the needs of others?

Here is the part where you can begin to reframe some of the habits you’ve picked up that you might have once thought were holding you back. For example, maybe your mom was always picking at you, getting you to notice all the things you hadn’t done or done wrong or hadn’t finished: not putting the dishes away properly, not noticing that there was no more milk in the fridge, not finishing the laundry like you said you would. It used to drive you wild. And then, horrors! You found yourself doing the same thing to others. Well, guess what? Noticing holes, noticing lacks, and noticing where something got overlooked is a wonderful asset if you’re in business for yourself. So is sticking to a task and finishing it properly.

And how about your grandfather’s annoying insistence that you help him figure out the crossword puzzles without looking up the answers? Strange, isn’t it, how good you are at not going for the “quick fix” and known sources for help? Hm. Maybe you have inherited qualities that will make you a good entrepreneur after all.

Entrepreneur DNA Quiz #2

Now, let’s see how much innate entrepreneurial DNA you have developed because of or despite what others around you say and do.

1. Do you like to push the boundaries?
2. Do you like challenges?
3. Do you like proving people’s thoughts about you wrong?
4. Do you have an appetite to experience more in your life?  
5. Do you like the adrenaline rush from a sense of accomplishment?
6. Do you ever find yourself angry and frustrated by supposed restrictions?
7. Do you ever think “What else is there?” or “What more can be done?”
8. Do you like to try new things or improve on old things?
9. What would you do if you had all the money in the world?
10. If you could wish for one thing to do or be in the world, what would it be?

Saying “yes” to any of the above indicates existing Entrepreneur DNA. And asking questions like these stimulates Entrepreneurial DNA just waiting to be activated. Once you begin asking yourself “What more is possible?” the lid comes off and the adventure begins. Our dreams and desires can unleash the difference that only we can make in the world, catapulting us into a remarkable future. If we have the courage to follow them. 

Do you have the DNA of an entrepreneur? The short answer is, of course, you have it. The more intriguing question is “Will you step beyond old programs and epigenetic influences and activate it?”

By Judy Wilkins-Smith