Elena Bajic, Forbes.com

I didn’t mean to become an entrepreneur.  Let me correct that.  When I headed off to Columbia to get my MBA after a stint in corporate America —with my shiny blue suit neatly pressed – I was counting on answering that  “what do I want to be when I grow up” question.

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After slogging through Accounting and Intro. Finance, I landed in an Entrepreneurship class and I had my “Oh WOW!” moment.  The light switched on, my career trajectory took a 180 degree turn, I buried the blue suit deep in my closet, and I never looked back.

Some research would suggest that a person’s entrepreneurial aptitude is less about being born to it and more about being in a culture that nurtures and inspires it. Personally, I think it’s both.

The “Nurture” part: I come from a family of entrepreneurs – my grandfather started a  law firm that eventually grew to 30 plus employees spanning two countries.  My father launched a luxury yacht building business in land locked Serbia (go figure?) leaving his law degree to gather dust on a shelf.  And my aunt grew a 2 person non-profit enterprise into a 1000 person UNICEF-funded operation.  So yes, I’ve had more than my share of entrepreneurial role models in my life.

But even if you haven’t had role models in your life, there’s always the “Nature” part.

I think I was destined to do my own thing.  As a child, I spent my time between my home in pre-war Yugoslavia and visiting my mom in the U.S.  When visiting the U.S. I used my hard earned allowance to start a venture I believed had real promise.  I bought pencils – you know, the sparkly colored, bursting with pizzaz, FUN kind — and brought them back to Yugoslavia to sell to classmates. I was 6. I soon ran out of allowance and inventory and the venture folded. I eventually found a low cost, local pencil supplier in Belgrade – the local video store next door.  I would buy their stock and sell it at my school for twice my cost.  It was a solid return on my investment. (I just hoped my classmates wouldn’t discover my local source!)  I was 12.

So how do you know you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? After long observation of the “entrepreneurial species,” here is my take on answering that HUGE question.  Think of this as an entrepreneurial “litmus” test.

If you can answer the following questions with a resounding “YES,” you may well have what it takes

1. Are you a believer in — Yourself? Your ideas? Your ability to land on your feet? (no “herd animals” allowed)
2. Are you a risk taker?  Do you get energized and excited by ambiguity and unknowns and the possibilities inherent therein?
3. Are you creative? Can you look at what exists and “see” what could be?
4. Are you analytical enough to size up a situation quickly and correctly? (zero tolerance for paralysis by analysis)
5. Are you decisive? (no waffling permitted!)
6. How is your “bounce”?  If you make mistakes (and you will) do you have the resilience to recover, learn and keep moving forward.
7. Are you determined?  Not just sort of determined…but REALLY determined (the steely resolve kind)

Consider carefully.  Entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone.  But when it’s right, it’s the most satisfying career path one can follow.