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We investigated the relationship between entrepreneurial passion and new enterprise performance by introducing entrepreneurial perseverance and entrepreneurial competence as mediating mechanisms. Our sample comprised 228 new enterprise owners in Wuhan, Chengdu, and Zhengzhou, in China. The results of our empirical analysis show that entrepreneurial passion had a positive impact on new enterprise performance, and that entrepreneurial perseverance mediated this relationship. In addition, entrepreneurial competence had a positive mediating effect in the relationship between entrepreneurial perseverance and new enterprise performance, and partially mediated the relationship between entrepreneurial passion and new enterprise performance. That is, the stronger is an entrepreneur's competence, the stronger is the mediating effect of entrepreneurial perseverance on the performance of their new enterprise. Implications of the findings are discussed in the context of why encouraging and inspiring entrepreneurs is crucial to their success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]