For over twenty years I have been an avid entrepreneur. Along this journey I have learned a lot about what makes a successful company. In this article I have written about common charateristics of successful companies and what makes certain entrepreneurs more successful than others. Questions to ask yourself: How many of these strategies are you doing? Is it time to reevaluate your company’s business plan?
The Characteristics of Successful Business Owners
There are certain qualities successful entrepreneurs share in common. Some types of people are more suited than others to go into business for themselves, but I am a big believer that one who naturally doesn’t have the distinguishing entrepreneurial characteristics doesn’t necessarily mean he or she won’t be a success. However, knowing these entrepreneurial commonalities can give you an idea of your propensity to be a successful business owner:
1) Desire Independence
2) Strong Sense of Initiative
3) Motivated to provide for family
4) Expectation of Quick and Concrete Results
5) Ready to act and react quickly
6) Very dedicated to the business
7) Entered the business as much by chance as design
Take The Entrepreneur Test
Below are 20 personality traits to gauge your potential as an entrepreneur. On a scale of 0 to 7, with 7 the highest, rank each personality trait:
- Ability to Communicate
- Can Motivate Others
- Organized
- Accepts Responsibility
- Can adapt to Change
- Decision-Making Capability
- Have Energy & Drive
- In Good wellness
- Good Human Relations Skills
10. Have Initiative
11. People Person
12. Good Judgment
13. Open-minded
14. Planning Ability
15. Persistent
16. Resourceful
17. Self-Confident
18. Self-Starter
19. Good Listener
20. Risk Taker
Scale:
- 110-140 Very Strong
- 85-109 Strong
- 55-84 Fair
- 54 and below Weak
I tend to be on the upper end of this entrepreneurial test but that is just me.
Many a successful business owner is not strong in every area, and the reason why smart and successful entrepreneurs recruit those partners and employees in areas where they are weak. If you are a hardworker, a big prerequisite, then over time you can work on improving and developing these skill sets.
Just admitting to yourself that you need to work on some areas is hard for entrepreneurial person, but the smart ones do admit it and go about training themselves to make up for that management gap.
We have discussed reasons why businesses fail and what are the common traits of successful small business owners. Wouldn’t it be nice to know some of the reasons why certain small businesses are successful? It is important to know what not to do as it minimizes mistakes, but being proactive and knowing what to do can significantly increase your chances of success.
What Leads to a Successful Company?
An Effective Business Plan
Going off what I said in a previous article about business failure due to inadequate planning, it is perfectly essential to have a good Business Plan and good planning within your business. What’s the distinction? You can develop a good business plan, but if you don’t implement it and make it a part of the fabric of your business, then its usefulness is minimal. However, to develop an effective Plan, you need to have a good business planning arrangement to employ, and it is often very helpful to work with an experienced Business Consultant in its design, development and implementation.
A Well Defined Market
Market Research is critical as it gives your planning a dimension of predictable results. It links your Product Development with your Strategic Plan.
Understand Your Industry and Market Trends
Understanding both wherever your industry and market are heading is important to staying competitive and continuing to meet your customer’s needs. Never assume you have captured your market and can sit on your laurels. set up Marketing Systems in your business to continually analyze and predict customer and market behaviors and needs. Having consistent contact with your customers can help you establish better products, offer better suited services and grow along with your trending market.
Using Accurate Information
Being accurate in market trend and business growth planning relies on intelligence that is both realistic and accurate. The ability to take that information and apply it to your business is key to success. You must be honest with yourself whether you can really exploit the intelliegence gained given your financial, human and operational capabilities and resources.
A Solid Capital Acquisition Strategy
It is important to come into a business with a strong equity position. You can then leverage off that cash strength with competitive, appropriate funding. A cohesive Financial Strategy, and implementation of it, is vitally important to a business’s success. A business western union sri lanka ratmalana needs not just adequate capital, but the right type of capital for the business, its goals and objectives.
Good Recruiting and Excellent Human Resources
Going into business with the right people and subsequently recruiting and retaining good people is vital for a business’s success. Often a talented, experienced, highly-skilled employee will save you money in the long run and be very effective in a crisis; as compared to, scrimping on your labor costs, having to constantly train new people, relying on more people to get the job done and experiencing high-turnover and low employee morale.
Expertise and Experience are Key
From the Company’s Founders and Principals to the employees in the field, a high grade of experience and expertise is crucial to effectively compete in today’s markets. The most successful entrepreneurs, bar none, are those that surround themselves not just with talent, expertise and experience, but have people on their team which fill the gaps in their personal experience base. We are only as smart and talented as those we surround ourselves with. Know your limitations and have the right people on board to fill the gaps.
Understand the Implications of Government Regulation in your Business and Industry
Being surprised by changing regulations is not good. Keep yourself well educated on Government Regulatory Trends through good government relations and active membership in Industry and Business Associations. The efficacy of your product, service or market can change 360 degrees on the whims of government. So be involved and cognizant of this significant component.
Very Effective Time Management
A small business owner is pulled multiple directions at the same time all day long, every day. Your ability to multi-task is important, however, putting systems in place to effectively balance tasks and time is just as important. Delegation and planning are essential in effective time management. As pointed out previously, you must have good people around you to delegate responsibility, as well as, to assist you in managing your time as effectively as possible. Effective Time Management is a function of good planning as one comes with the other.
Work Hard for Long Hours
Last but certainly not least, Successful Business Owners must be willing to work very hard and spend many long days and weeks getting the job done for their customers. The Entrepreneur is often the first one to arrive early in the day and the one who leaves late in the day or night. Having a good Business Plan helps the successful business owner to work “smart”, but there is no way around good old fashioned hard work, in particular in the early stages of a company’s growth. You must be willing to put in the long hours to reap the benefits of self employment.
Concluding Advice
If you are contemplating starting a new business, do something you really love to do and have a passion for. The work is hard so you might as well enjoy it. Providing a snap product or service to your customers is a worthwhile experience and should be something you really believe in. Passion is what carries you through the inevitable rough patches, no matter how well you plan and set up your Company. Small Business is uncomplicated: see a need and fill it. Working hard will be replaced with working smart as you build your Company over the years, gaining priceless firsthand knowledge. You will find, though, as your Company matures, the real efflorescence for an Entrepreneur is the start-up phase, when you build something from scratch and do it successfully. Good luck in your endeavors.
About the Writer
Frank western union ukraine krasne Goley is a business consultant, business turnaround consultant, and business planner for ABC Business Consulting. Frank is an expert in writing, developing and implementing business plans, business turnaround plans, business funding plans, marketing plans, strategic plans and web marketing plans. Frank offers comprehensive business consulting, business coaching, business turnaround consulting, along with web seo, web development and web marketing consulting, to small and medium size companies.. Frank is author of the business westernunion plan book, The Comprehensive Business Plan Workbook – A Step by Step Guide to Effective Business Planning, and he has over 50 published articles on business success strategies. He also writes the Business Success Strategies Blog.