Entrepreneurs, men and women who take on new business ventures and assume responsibility for the inherent risks, have always been vital to the economy. When they develop new companies and test out innovative ideas, they help to create new jobs and sustain prosperity.

But who makes a good entrepreneur? The answer is simple: a serial Houdini, somebody not content with one-off business success, but who wants to repeat it over and over.

Successful entrepreneurs have drive, ambition, persistence and determination. Empathy and influence are also vital, as is the ability to inspire others and to surround themselves with people who compensate for their own limitations. A healthy dose of dissatisfaction also helps.

Opinions vary about whether entrepreneurs are born, bred or — the most likely scenario — are a combination of both. Even natural-born wheeler-dealers must work to hone their management and interpersonal skills, but can you really learn to be a successful entrepreneur?

“If you look at their distinct characteristics, they are definitely more positive about their skills and opportunities,” says Dr Rebecca Harding, executive director worldwide of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM).

“But just because you’re not born with that natural optimism doesn’t mean you can’t become an entrepreneur. You learn to do it by watching other people and by seeing issues that you want to solve.”

Being able to take calculated risks is essential. A 2004 survey for Learndirect Business found that first-time entrepreneurs were willing to pay a high price to fulfil their dreams. Eleven per cent said they were willing to risk their relationship with their partner, 26 per cent were prepared to go into heavy debt, 30 per cent were prepared to lose their savings and four per cent were even willing to sacrifice their health for the business.

“One of the key things that defines an entrepreneur is a reasonably healthy attitude towards risk and flexibility in behaviour,” says Dr Peter Hughes, managing partner of Cognition, a branding, marketing and training agency based in Leamington Spa.

“They have to be able to cope with both success and failure, and they have to be able to learn from failure rather than be beaten by it.”

While entrepreneurs are, by nature, independent, the best also understand the importance of being a team player. “There are very few entrepreneurs who are doing it totally by themselves,” says Julia Payne, chief executive of the Centre for High Performance Development in London. “It’s important to realise that everybody needs to be included and to develop those around you, to communicate with them.

“You need initiative, drive, personal and professional pride and passionate enthusiasm — and you need to be able to convey that to others. People need to be able to relate to you, as people buy from people they like. The old adage is true: personality helps.”

But Professor Andrew Burke, director of the Bettany Centre for Entrepreneurial Performance and Economics at the Cranfield University School of Management, says there are no personality traits unique to entrepreneurs; instead, there are personality traits unique to specific enterprises.

“If you take Dell, Microsoft or Apple, it is important to have individuals who are idea-driven, a bit of a butterfly moving from one thing to another,” he says. “But if you switch to a different type of business, such as Virgin, the key thing is being in tune with the consumer.” Indeed, where would Sir Richard Branson be today if he hadn’t signed up the Sex Pistols when other record labels refused to touch them?

Even when you do succeed, it’s not all smooth sailing. Barbara Ford-Hammond, a hypnotist, works with high-achievers to help them keep up the momentum, equating them to successful actors. “They are out there, on a stage giving a performance. They can be very clever but can have little nagging self-doubts and the fear of a fall,” she says. “And the higher up you are, the further you can fall.”

Helping entrepreneurs switch on — and turn off — is Ford-Hammond’s skill. “Their brains are so busy that they can struggle to switch off the monkey chatter,” she says. “I teach self-hypnosis to all my clients so they’ve got the tools at their fingertips for whatever comes their way.”

A wheeler-dealer who studied leisure and tourism before working for his father in electric signs, Jamie Harwood, 28, has a business, UK Web Media, showed which achieved a turnover of £6.7mlast year, and is expected to make £10m in 2007.

His first idea for a website was www.marriagegiftlist.com. “My uncle was getting married and the invitation listed three or four wedding gift lists,” he says. “I thought it would be nice to have something online, consolidated in just one place.”

But starting an online business required money. When Harwood, who is based in Andover, Hampshire, asked his family for financial backing, they refused, so he got a £7,000 bank loan. His website, which still exists, flourished, although it didn’t make him rich — but the experience led him to found UK Web Media in 2002, which helps larger firms to advertise on the internet.

That venture has been so successful that Harwood has since diversified: his website www.giveortake.com gives shoppers money back at 500 online stores, which they can donate to charity or keep.

Harwood would now like to grow his own network of businesses in different areas. “I’d love to get to the point where I can run a number of businesses and just keep earning. I’ve enjoyed the ride so far,” he says.

“The key is to have confidence in what you do and know what you do. My biggest tip is to find something you really, really enjoy. If you enjoy it, the fruits of the labour will follow.”